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Other Hotlines: Minnesota Statewide | Minnesota Duluth/North Shore

-RBA
*Minnesota
*Detroit Lakes
*September 9, 2004
*MNDL0409.09

-Birds mentioned

• Eared Grebe
• American Bittern
• Great Egret
• Cattle Egret
• Green Heron
• Trumpeter Swan
• American Black Duck
• Turkey Vulture
• Merlin
• Gray Partridge
• Sharp-tailed Grouse
• Upland Sandpiper
• Baird's Sandpiper
• Red-necked Phalarope
• Caspian Tern
• Common Tern
• Forster's Tern
• Black Tern
• Ruby-throated Hummingbird
• Red-headed Woodpecker
• Olive-sided Flycatcher
• Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
• Black-billed Magpie
• Ruby-crowned Kinglet
• Swainson's Thrush
• Grasshopper Sparrow
• Le Conte's Sparrow
• Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow
• Baltimore Oriole

Hotline: Minnesota, Detroit Lakes
Date: September 9, 2004
Sponsor: Lakes Area Birding Club, Detroit Lakes Regional Chamber of Commerce
Reports: 1-800-542-3992 (weekdays during business hours)
Compiler: Jeanie Joppru (ajjoppru@wiktel.com)

This is the Northwest Minnesota Birding Report for Friday, September 10, 2004 sponsored by the Detroit Lakes Regional Chamber of Commerce. You may also hear this report by calling (218) 847-5743 or 1-800-433-1888.

Fall in the northwest is , as always, unpredictable. The last weekend brought a significant rain event, followed by wind, so birding was difficult at best much of the time. Color is starting to appear in the trees, and the first frost appeared a couple of weeks ago. In spite of the inclement weather, many birders managed to find quite a few interesting birds winging their way south.

In Wilkin County on September 6th, Ron Erpelding found a SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER. Directions to the bird's location are as follows: From Breckenridge drive east on Highway 210 approximately 9 miles. Turn north/left onto 290th Avenue/Wilkin Co Rd 15 Drive north on 290th Avenue/Co Rd 15 for 10 miles (Note County Road 15 becomes County Road 169 after 7 miles - stay on 290th Avenue/now Co Rd 169.Turn east/right on 240th Street, a gravel road/minimum maintenance road to a farmstead. The Scissor-tailed Flycatcher was on the lower power line on the north side of the gravel road between the 2nd and 3rd power pole. I have not heard if anyone has seen the bird since. Also in Wilkin County on the 6th, Benjamin Fritchman observed a flock of 13 CATTLE EGRETS along I94 at mile marker 32, just north of the Pelican Rapids exit.

Benjamin was also in Clay County on September 4th where he found a pair of TRUMPETER SWANS south of Hitterdahl. On the 6th, Matt Mecklenburg saw many vireos, flycatchers, and ten species of warblers near Ulen.

Donna and Leon Thoreson near Climax in Polk County reported a RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, and RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, while Bruce Flaig commented on large numbers of RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRDS and BALTIMORE ORIOLES at the feeders now. On September 6th, Kim Eckert's Minnesota Birding Weekends group visited the Wetlands, Pines, and Prairies Audubon Sanctuary in northwestern Polk County where they saw SWAINSON'S THRUSH, and 12 species of warblers among many other species.

In Pennington County on the 4th, the Minnesota Birding Weekend group visited the Thief River Falls wastewater treatment ponds where they found an AMERICAN BLACK DUCK, and EARED GREBE among others. Some members of the group also found a GRAY PARTRIDGE in Pennington County.

Marshall County species found by the Kim Eckert group included AMERICAN BITTERN, GREAT EGRET, TURKEY VULTURE, MERLIN, RED-NECKED PHALAROPE, CASPIAN TERN, several species of warblers, GRASSHOPPER SPARROW, LE CONTE'S SPARROW, and NELSON'S SHARP-TAILED SPARROW. These sparrows were seen at close range along Northgate Road at the north side of Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge. A large flock of 110 BLACK-BILLED MAGPIES were seen in the same general area, perhaps the highest count of this species ever seen together in Minnesota.

In Roseau County, the group observed AMERICAN BLACK DUCK, AMERICAN BITTERN, GREEN HERON, a late UPLAND SANDPIPER, CASPIAN TERN, COMMON TERN, FORSTER'S TERN, BLACK TERN, OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER, BLACK-BILLED MAGPIES, 16 species of warbler, and all three of the sparrows mentioned in Marshall County among others. Two SHARP-TAILED GROUSE were seen 2 miles north and 1.5 miles east of the intersection of CR 10 and CR 7.

Kittson County sightings by the group included BAIRD'S SANDPIPER, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, and 15 species of warblers, the latter at Lake Bronson State Park.

The sightings by Kim Eckert's group are only a fraction of the 149 species seen collectively by the group. Included in the total were also 14 species of shorebirds migrating through an area which this year is almost devoid of good shorebird habitat.

Thanks to Ron Erpelding, Benjamin Fritchman, Donna and Leon Thoreson, Bruce Flaig, Matt Mecklenburg, and Kim Eckert for their reports.

Please report bird sightings to Jeanie Joppru by email, no later than Thursday each week, at ajjoppru@wiktel.com OR call the Detroit Lakes Chamber's toll free number: 1-800-542-3992. Detroit Lakes area birders please call 847-9202. Please include the county where the sighting took place. When reporting by email please put "NW Bird Report" in the subject line of your message. The next scheduled update of this report is Friday, September 17, 2004.

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