Previous reports: March 19 23 25 30 , April 6 13 20 27 , May 3 9 .
Other Hotlines: Minnesota Statewide | Detroit Lakes

-RBA
*Minnesota
*Duluth/North Shore
*May 11, 2000
*MNDU0005.11

-Birds mentioned

• American Bittern
• Snowy Egret
• Green Heron
• Harlequin Duck
• Black-bellied Plover
• Semipalmated Plover
• PIPING PLOVER
• Lesser Yellowlegs
• Solitary Sandpiper
• Willet
• Spotted Sandpiper
• Hudsonian Godwit
• Ruddy Turnstone
• Sanderling
• Least Sandpiper
• Pectoral Sandpiper
• Dunlin
• Dowitcher (species)
• Wilson's Phalarope
• Bonaparte's Gull
• Caspian Tern
• Common Tern
• Forster's Tern
• Great Gray Owl
• Short-eared Owl
• Chimney Swift
• Purple Martin
• Northern Rough-winged Swallow
• Bank Swallow
• Gray Catbird
• NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD
• Brown Thrasher
• American Pipit
• Warbling Vireo
• Tennessee Warbler
• Northern Parula
• Yellow Warbler
• Black-throated Green Warbler
• Blackburnian Warbler
• Palm Warbler
• Black-and-white Warbler
• Common Yellowthroat
• Rose-breasted Grosbeak
• BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK
• Eastern Towhee
• Clay-colored Sparrow
• Lincoln's Sparrow
• Swamp Sparrow
• White-crowned Sparrow
• Harris's Sparrow
• MCCOWN'S LONGSPUR
• Lapland Longspur
• Baltimore Oriole

Hotline: Minnesota, Duluth/North Shore
Date: May 11, 2000
Sponsor: Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU)
Reports: (218) 525-5952
Compiler: Kim Eckert (kreckert@cp.duluth.mn.us)
Transcriber: Kim Eckert (kreckert@cp.duluth.mn.us)
Re-transcriber: David Cahlander (dac@skypoint.com)

This is the Duluth Birding Report for Thursday, May 11, sponsored by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.

There was an unscheduled update of this Birding Report on May 9 to report on 3 very unusual species seen on May 8: MCCOWN'S LONGSPUR and SNOWY EGRETS at the 40th Ave W Erie Pier area in Duluth, and a BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK reported at a Cloquet feeder.

The McCown's Longspur was a male in breeding plumage, and it was seen at the E corner of 40th in the late afternoon and evening of Monday, May 8, but unfortunately no one was able to relocate it on Tuesday or thereafter. This represents only the 3rd record of this species in Minn since the 1800s.

Though not as unusual as a McCown's Longspur, records of Snowy Egrets in NE Minn are very unusual, and I am aware of only one previous record in St Louis Co, and none in Duluth. But on May 8 there were 3 Snowy Egrets which appeared at the 40th Ave W area, and they were joined by a fourth Snowy on May 9; however, I have not heard if any were seen yesterday or today.

It is not known if that female Black-headed Grosbeak, which was reported at a Cloquet feeder in Carlton Co on May 7 and 8, is still present, nor have there been any birders who have confirmed the homeowners' identification. The address is 1306 Jean Marie St, and Jean Marie turns S off North Cloquet Rd, or Co Rd 2, about 1 mi E of Minn Hwy 33 on the N side of town. Birders are asked not to walk into the back yard where the feeders are, but the feeders can be viewed by driving into the driveway and parking next to the right side of the garage. Only small groups of birders (4-5 maximum) and one car at a time can be accommodated.

Also of interest were the recent reports of both GREAT GRAY OWL and SHORT-EARED OWLS being seen in N Aitkin Co. The Great Gray was seen last weekend along Co Rd 18, about 1/2 mi E of U S Hwy 169, and a few Short-eareds are being seen in the evening hunting in fields along Co Rd 1 a few miles N of the town of Aitkin.

Many migrants, including several noteworthy species, have been reported since last weekend in Duluth and vicinity. Among these were: a female HARLEQUIN DUCK at Paradise Beach, 13 mi E of Grand Marais in Cook Co; PIPING PLOVER, HUDSONIAN GODWIT, WILLET and WILSON'S PHALAROPE all seen since last weekend in Duluth at Park Point or the 40th Ave W area; an EASTERN TOWHEE in Two Harbors on the 900 block of 9th Ave; and a NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD present the past few days just NE of Duluth on the W Knife River Rd, about 1/2 mi W of the end of the Homestead Rd.

The list of other species reported here this week for the first time this season is a very long one and includes: GREEN HERON, AMERICAN BITTERN, BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS, SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS, LESSER YELLOWLEGS, SOLITARY SANDPIPERS, SPOTTED SANDPIPERS, LEAST SANDPIPERS, and PECTORAL SANDPIPERS, RUDDY TURNSTONE, SANDERLING, DUNLIN, DOWITCHER, sp., BONAPARTE'S GULL, CASPIAN TERN, COMMON TERN, FORSTER'S TERNS, CHIMNEY SWIFT, WARBLING VIREO, PURPLE MARTIN, NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOWS, BANK SWALLOWS, BROWN THRASHER, GRAY CATBIRD, AMERICAN PIPIT, TENNESSEE WARBLER, YELLOW WARBLER, BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER, BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER, PALM WARBLER, BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLERS, NORTHERN PARULA, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, CLAY-COLORED SPARROW, LINCOLN'S SPARROW, SWAMP SPARROW, HARRIS'S SPARROW, WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS, LAPLAND LONGSPUR, ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK, and BALTIMORE ORIOLE.

A reminder that the annual St Louis County Big Day and Hawk Ridge Birdathon will be held on Saturday, May 20. This is one of the highlights of the Duluth birding year, and birders of all abilities are invited to participate. For more information on this important fund-raising activity for the benefit of Hawk Ridge Nature Reserve, call Terry Wiens at 525-6158, or e-mail him at .

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 May 18. The phone number is (218) 525-5952, and callers can leave a message if they wish after the tone at the end of the tape. Also note that a message can be left without having to wait for the birding report to end: after the tape starts playing, push 5 on a touch-tone phone, the tape will then stop, the tone will sound and you can leave your message.

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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