Previous reports: November 10 17 23 , December 1 8 15 22 30 , January 5 .
Other Hotlines: Minnesota Statewide | Minnesota Duluth/North Shore

-RBA
*Minnesota
*Detroit Lakes
*January 12, 2006
*MNDL0601.12

-Birds mentioned

• Trumpeter Swan
• Snow Goose
• Wood Duck
• Redhead
• Lesser Scaup
• Harlequin Duck
• Common Merganser
• Bald Eagle
• Sharp-shinned Hawk
• Northern Goshawk
• American Kestrel
• American Coot
• Mourning Dove
• Northern Hawk Owl
• Great Gray Owl
• Belted Kingfisher
• Pileated Woodpecker
• Common Raven
• Bohemian Waxwing
• Northern Shrike
• Northern Cardinal
• Dark-eyed Junco
• Snow Bunting
• Western Meadowlark
• Common Redpoll
• American Goldfinch

Hotline: Minnesota, Detroit Lakes
Date: January 12, 2006
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, January 13, 2006 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.

This week folks are beginning to get out birding with all the mild weather. The northern part of the area has received some freezing rain recently which has made some roads very slippery so caution is advised.

Most interesting find this week was a pair of HARLEQUIN DUCKS in Fergus Falls in Otter Tail County. They were first found by Steve Millard at Hannah Park on January 8, and were seen by him and others as recently as January 12. Best viewing site seems to be directly across from Hannah Park where Broadway dead-ends 1 1/2 blocks south of Lincoln Ave; another place to view the birds is on the south side of the river at Hannah Park located three blocks west of the intersection of Union and Vernon Ave. Be aware that there is lots of open water around Fergus Falls, and the ducks could be anywhere at any given time.

Tom Hanson reports from Lake of the Woods County that a female NORTHERN CARDINAL has been visiting his feeders in the town of Baudette. Gretchen Mehmel is regularly seeing a NORTHERN SHRIKE in the yard at Norris Camp in the Beltrami Island State Forest.

I did an owl survey in Lake of the Woods and Beltrami Counties on January 7, and found one GREAT GRAY OWL in Beltrami County along MN 72 six miles north of Waskish , and 7 NORTHERN HAWK OWLS in either Beltrami or Lake of the Woods Counties along MN 72, and Lake of the Woods County Roads 77 and 87. These owls were seen from about noon to about 4 P.M. in this area. A NORTHERN GOSHAWK was also seen in Beltrami County on the owl survey route south of Waskish. Lisa Newton reported a BALD EAGLE in Beltrami County on January 2. On January 7-8, she saw 20 AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES in Lee Township of Beltrami County.

In Marshall County, Lisa Newton observed about a hundred BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS in the town of Grygla in the last two weeks. A PILEATED WOODPECKER, and a COMMON RAVEN were also in the area. Richard Olson saw an adult BALD EAGLE in southern Marshall County on January 7. Paul Tanberg reported a flock of 20-30 AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES coming to his feeder this winter, along with the other usual winter visitors such as DARK-EYED JUNCOS, and COMMON REDPOLLS.

Shelley Steva found two flocks of SNOW BUNTINGS in Pennington County on January 7- one was in the Pembina WMA along CR 3, the other two miles west of St. Hilaire along CR 3.

Cliff Steinhauer reported a WESTERN MEADOWLARK wintering in Red Lake County two miles south and two miles east of Red Lake Falls.

Shelley Steva also saw SNOW BUNTINGS in Polk County on January 7 - one flock was three miles east of MN 220 along CR 21, another four miles east of MN 75 along CR 21.

Tom Smith in Otter Tail County reported AMERICAN KESTREL along CR 15, and two MOURNING DOVES, and DARK-EYED JUNCOS at his feeder four miles southwest of Fergus Falls. Eddy Edwards, and Dan and Sandy Thimgan reported many species of waterfowl in the Fergus Falls area including SNOW GOOSE, TRUMPETER SWAN, WOOD DUCK, REDHEAD, LESSER SCAUP, and COMMON MERGANSER. BALD EAGLE, SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, AMERICAN COOT, and BELTED KINGFISHER have also been seen in the area.

Thanks to Steve Millard , Eddy Edwards, and Dan and Sandy Thimgan for their efforts in keeping us updated about the Harlequin Ducks; thanks also to Tom Smith, Shelley Steva, Paul Tanberg, Tom Hanson, Gretchen Mehmel, Lisa Newton, and Richard Olson 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, January 20, 2006.

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