Previous reports: September 21 22 28 , October 5 12 15 19 23 26 , November 2 9 16 .
Other Hotlines: Minnesota Statewide | Detroit Lakes

-RBA
*Minnesota
*Duluth/North Shore
*November 23, 2000
*MNDU0011.23

-Birds mentioned

• Meadowlark
• Double-crested Cormorant
• Snow Goose
• Northern Pintail
• Harlequin Duck
• Merlin
• Thayer's Gull
• Glaucous Gull
• Snowy Owl
• Northern Hawk Owl
• Great Gray Owl
• Long-eared Owl
• Boreal Owl
• Horned Lark
• Hermit Thrush
• Northern Cardinal
• Eastern Towhee
• Chipping Sparrow
• Field Sparrow
• White-crowned Sparrow

Hotline: Minnesota, Duluth/North Shore
Date: November 23, 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, November 23, sponsored by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.

Again this week, most of the birding news from N E Minn involves the 4 species of northern owls, which continue to appear earlier than usual this season in larger than normal numbers. Also of note since last week's Birding Report were several unexpected late-lingering migrants.

As far as BOREAL OWLS in Duluth, there have been no reports of any being banded in more than a week. The only sighting reported was in the Hartley Field area just W of Woodland Ave Nov 17, but it has not been seen since the 17th. Two LONG-EARED OWLS were also found at Hartley the same day. This brings the season total of Boreal Owls reported to 27 individuals (17 of these banded), all of them in or near Duluth.

There were 2 SNOWY OWLS reported: one of these on Nov 18 at Bayfront Park in Duluth just W of the Aerial Lift Bridge, and presumably this same individual was seen the next day on the Superior side of the I-535 Blatnik Bridge. The other Snowy was seen earlier this week near Embarrass in N St Louis Co, but the exact location was not reported. So far this season there have been 13 individual Snowy Owls reported in N E Minn.

Four NORTHERN HAWK OWL reports were received this week: on Nov 21 in Itasca Co on Minn Hwy 6, 1 mi N of Co Rd 37; in the Sax-Zim Bog near the jct of St Louis Co Rds 7 and 319 found on Nov 16, and it was still present today; in Cook Co still at Eagle Ridge Resort in Lutsen as of Nov 17 (this owl was first reported on Nov 1); and another relocated in Cook Co Nov 17 near the Gunflint Tr along Forest Rd 315 or the Lima Grade Rd, which has been present here since Oct 15. The number of hawk owls reported so far this fall in N E Minn now stands at 12.

But the number of GREAT GRAY OWLS reported is especially impressive, with no fewer than 17 individuals seen since last weekend, which already brings the season total to at least 31. The most recent reports were from: Cass Co Rd 8, 3 mi N of Minn Hwy 200; 1/2 mi S of Marcell in Itasca Co; Aitkin Co Rd 18, 2.5 mi E of U S Hwy 169; near the towns of Buhl and Britt in N St Louis Co; in Ben Yokel's yard in Melrude just N E of Cotton; in the Sax-Zim Bog on Co Rd 52 just E of Owl Ave, and near the jct of Co Rds 133 and 211; in Lake Co along Valley Rd W of Two Harbors, on Minn Hwy 1 about 2 mi SE of the Spruce Rd, 3 individuals along the Stoney River Forest Rd between 3 and 16 mi S of Hwy 1, and 4 owls on Forest Rd 11 between Silver Bay and Beaver Creek Rd.

The most interesting non-owl seen this week was perhaps the HARLEQUIN DUCK at Grand Marais in Cook Co Nov 20. Even more unexpected, however, were both the EASTERN TOWHEE and FIELD SPARROW seen today by Jim Lind in Two Harbors in the alley between 3rd & 4th Ave and 2nd & 3rd St, and along with them were 2 late WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS. Also of note this week were THAYER'S GULLS and GLAUCOUS GULLS in both Grand Marais and Duluth, and a NORTHERN CARDINAL at a Schroeder feeder in Cook Co.

And finally, there was a long list of other late-lingering migrants reported: DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT Nov 18 in Cook Co; HORNED LARK and unidentified MEADOWLARK Nov 20 in Lake Co; and in Duluth there were CHIPPING SPARROW Nov 17, SNOW GOOSE and NORTHERN PINTAIL Nov 18, MERLIN Nov 19, and HERMIT THRUSH Nov 22.

Unless something unusual is seen in the meantime which needs to be reported immediately, this report is normally updated once a week on Thursdays, so that the next scheduled update will be on November 30. The phone number for the Duluth Birding Report is (218) 525-5952, and callers can report bird sightings if they wish after the tone at the end of each tape. Messages can also be left without having to wait for the report to end: to do this, after the tape starts playing push 5 on a touch-tone phone, the tape will stop, the tone will sound, and you can then leave your message.

The Duluth Birding Report is sponsored and funded by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU) 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 SE, Minneapolis MN 55455; or send an e-mail to ; or visit the MOU web site at .

Return to Home Page