Previous reports: August 10 24 31 , September 7 14 17 21 .
Other Hotlines: Minnesota Statewide | Detroit Lakes

-RBA
*Minnesota
*Duluth/North Shore
*September 22, 2000
*MNDU0009.22

-Birds mentioned

• Western Grebe
• Great Egret
• Turkey Vulture
• Bald Eagle
• Northern Goshawk
• Broad-winged Hawk
• Swainson's Hawk
• Peregrine Falcon
• Buff-breasted Sandpiper
• PARASITIC JAEGER
• SABINE'S GULL
• ARCTIC TERN
• Short-eared Owl
• Red-headed Woodpecker
• Black-backed Woodpecker
• Western Kingbird
• Winter Wren
• Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
• Gray-cheeked Thrush
• Orange-crowned Warbler
• Le Conte's Sparrow
• Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow
• Fox Sparrow
• Rusty Blackbird

Hotline: Minnesota, Duluth/North Shore
Date: September 22, 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 Friday morning, September 22, sponsored by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union, and this update is due to an exceptional showing of birds in Superior, WI reported last night after Thursday's report had been completed.

At Wisconsin Point on the afternoon of Sept 21, an ARCTIC TERN, 7 PARASITIC JAEGERS and an incredible group of no fewer than 19 SABINE'S GULLS were all seen. The Arctic Tern was a carefully identified adult seen only on the Wis side, but some of the jaegers and all of the Sabine's Gulls also flew across the Superior Entry ship channel into Minnesota, with these gulls last seen flying E over the Minn side of L Superior. Certainly, this is the largest flock of Sabine's Gulls by far ever seen on L Superior, and perhaps anywhere on the Great Lakes.

With rain and NE winds in the forecast for today, conditions are favorable for at least some of these birds remaining in the area. To reach Wisconsin Pt, follow Hwy 2 / 53 through Superior all the way to the S edge of town, and then turn left or E at the sign for Moccasin Mike Rd / L Superior / Wisconsin Pt. To reach the Minn side of the Superior Entry breakwaters, it is necessary to hike S 2 mi from the Sky Harbor Airport on Park Point.

As reported on yesterday's regular update of this Birding Report:

During Hawk Weekend several species of note were found, including: 2 WESTERN GREBES, an unidentified dark juvenile JAEGER, BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS, BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER and BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER all at Park Point; a GREAT EGRET flying past the Lakewood Pumping Station in Duluth; a SHORT-EARED OWL at the 40th Ave West Erie Pier area; and both NELSON'S SHARP-TAILED SPARROW and LE CONTE'S SPARROW in Two Harbors.

There have been no reports of any of these birds being relocated after last weekend, although on the 18th a Buff-breasted Sandpiper was at the Beaver Bay sewage ponds in Lake Co, and on the 19th Jim Lind found another Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow at a different Two Harbors location: this one was in the weedy field S of the railroad museum and E of the Edna G tugboat dock.

About the only other species of note since the weekend were seen by Frank Nicoletti at the Hawk Ridge Main Overlook: a RED-HEADED WOODPECKER on Sept 19, and on Thursday a WESTERN KINGBIRD (which is the 4th individual of this unexpected species seen this fall in Duluth or the North Shore). Other new migrants reported in Duluth this week were WINTER WREN, GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, FOX SPARROW and RUSTY BLACKBIRD.

The best day at Hawk Ridge this week was Thursday, with over 4,000 raptors counted; these included: over 100 TURKEY VULTURES, 62 BALD EAGLES, 6 NORTHERN GOSHAWKS (including the first adult of the season), about 3,400 BROAD-WINGED HAWKS, 3 PEREGRINE FALCONS (including one which was banded), and 1 SWAINSON'S HAWK. On Sept 20, the total count was about 1,000; the total on the 19th was 401; only 141 hawks were counted Sept 18; and on the 17th the total was 2,484, including 1,837 Broad-wingeds, 4 Peregrines and 1 Swainson's Hawk.

Unfortunately, the outlook for the hawk flight the next couple days is not good. Although the forecast is for colder weather through this weekend with highs each day only around 50, rain and unfavorable NE winds are called for on Friday, with these same conditions probably lasting into Saturday morning. The winds may shift to the NW by Saturday afternoon, but Sunday looks like the only good day this weekend with partly cloudy skies in the forecast, along with NW winds. As always, for information about the fall hawk migration at Hawk Ridge, including the daily totals, visit our website at .

Unless something else unusual is seen in the meantime which needs to be reported immediately, the next scheduled update will be on Thursday, September 28.

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