Previous reports: January 6 13 20 27 , February 3 10 17 .
Other Hotlines: Minnesota Statewide | Detroit Lakes

-RBA
*Minnesota
*Duluth/North Shore
*March 9, 2000
*MNDU0003.09

-Birds mentioned

• Lesser Scaup
• Killdeer
• Ring-billed Gull
• Northern Saw-whet Owl
• Horned Lark
• Common Raven
• Northern Mockingbird
• Bohemian Waxwing
• Cedar Waxwing
• Northern Cardinal

Hotline: Minnesota, Duluth/North Shore
Date: March 9, 2000
Sponsor: Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU)
Reports: (218) 525-5952
Compiler: David Benson (drbenson@cpinternet.com)
Transcriber: David Benson (drbenson@cpinternet.com)
Re-transcriber: David Cahlander (dac@skypoint.com)

This is the Duluth Birding Report for Thursday, March 9th, 2000, sponsored by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.

Jack Hofslund reported that the NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD that has been in town since early January is still being seen in the vicinity of 47th Ave East.

The birding news in Duluth this week is mostly about spring migration, which has been building steam, at least until the return of winter overnight.

Dave Evans reported a HORNED LARK in the harbor area on the 2nd, Scott Wolff reported LESSER SCAUP on the 6th, and with lots of open water on the St. Louis River, other ducks are certainly here as well. RING-BILLED GULLS returned in large numbers on March 2nd.

Large flocks of BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS were reported by several observers, including 925 counted at the Enger Tower hawk-watch on the 6th. (Note that CEDAR WAXWINGS are late migrants in Duluth, so waxwings seen at this time of year are almost certainly Bohemians-look for the chestnut color under the tail.)

Frank Nicoletti and Dave Carman began counting hawks at Enger Tower in West Duluth on February 26th, and through the 7th, they had seen 1100+ raptors, including

1001 Bald Eagles 4 Northern Harriers 5 Sharp-shinned Hawks 1 Cooper's Hawk 9 Northern Goshawks 23 Red-tailed Hawks 58 Rough-legged Hawks 32 Golden Eagles

This is very early to see this many raptors in Duluth; the Cooper's Hawk and the first Northern Harrier were three weeks earlier than ever before. The biggest count day so far was the 7th, when 450 birds were counted, including over 400 Bald Eagles. Frank and Dave also counted 100+ COMMON RAVENS on the 7th, and they saw the first reported KILLDEER on the 6th.

Frank has also banded 18 NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWLS this week, including three birds that had been banded at other research sites in the past.

Finally, there have been several reports of NORTHERN CARDINALS this week in West Duluth, between the Riverside and Fond du Lac neighborhoods.

Unless something unusual is seen in the meantime which needs to be reported immediately, the Duluth Birding Report is normally updated once a week on Thursdays, so that the next scheduled update will be on March 16th. The phone number is (218) 525-5952.

The Duluth Birding Report is sponsored and funded by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU), the state bird club, as a service to its members. For more information on the MOU, either write us c/o the Bell Museum of Natural History, 10 Church Street S E, Minneapolis MN 55455, or visit the MOU web site at .

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