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Other Hotlines: Minnesota Statewide | Detroit Lakes

-RBA
*Minnesota
*Duluth/North Shore
*December 7, 2000
*MNDU0012.07

-Birds mentioned

• Western Grebe
• Double-crested Cormorant
• Greater Scaup
• White-winged Scoter
• Jack Snipe
• Common Snipe
• Snowy Owl
• Northern Hawk Owl
• Great Gray Owl
• Horned Lark
• Townsend's Solitaire
• Varied Thrush
• Rufous-sided Towhee

Hotline: Minnesota, Duluth/North Shore
Date: December 7, 2000
Sponsor: Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU)
Reports: (218) 525-5952
Compiler: Kim Eckert (kreckert@cp.duluth.mn.us)

This is the Duluth Birding Report for Thursday, December 7, sponsored by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.

Although the number of new owls reported at new locations in NE Minnesota dropped off considerably since last week's Birding Report, most birders still seem to be having little difficulty finding both GREAT GRAY OWL and NORTHERN HAWK OWLS.

Great Grays were found at 3 new locations: on Dec 3 in N St Louis Co about 1 mi up the Echo Trail, just NE of Ely; on Dec 1 along Lake Co Rd 9, 3 mi W of Two Harbors; and today in Duluth Twp at the end of the Wildwood Rd, which turns W off Homestead Rd about 1.5 mi N of Minn Hwy 61.

In addition to these, a minimum of 6 Great Grays were counted yesterday along Lake Co Rd 2, between Greenwood L and Minn Hwy 1; at least 1 Great Gray had also been reported in this area previously. And other owls were relocated recently at the following locations: along the Young Lake Rd in Melrude, which is just NE of Cotton; in the Sax-Zim Bog on Co Rd 7, about 1.5 mi S of Co Rd 319; and on Co Rd 133 near the jct with Co Rd 211.

N Hawk Owls were reported at 2 new locations: on Dec 1-2 along I-35, about 2 mi N of Barnum in Carlton Co; and today along U S Hwy 53 S of the Sax-Zim Bog, about 1 mi N of Canyon. Four individual hawk owls were also seen today in Sax-Zim within a couple miles of the jct of Co Rds 7 and 319 (where 3 had been reported in November); look especially 1-2 mi S of this corner on 7 and about 1 mi E on 319.

Other previously-seen hawk owls were relocated recently on Hwy 169, about 5 mi W of Ely; and in the Sax-Zim Bog along Co Rd 133, 1.3 mi W of Co Rd 7.

No Boreal Owls were reported this week, but last weekend a SNOWY OWL was relocated in the Duluth harbor area near the corner of I-35 and I-535. Another Snowy was found dead late last week in Grand Marais in Cook Co.

Other noteworthy birds seen recently were: a WESTERN GREBE still present at Two Harbors Dec 1; 2 TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRES found by Jim Lind in Knife River in Lake Co Dec 2, which were still present yesterday (look especially in the area just N and just E of Emily's General Store); a VARIED THRUSH in Aitkin Co Dec 4 at the Geerts' feeder on the north shore of Mille Lacs L; and a reported "RUFOUS-SIDED" TOWHEE (presumably an Eastern Towhee) on Dec 2 at Eagle Ridge Resort in Lutsen in Cook Co.

This week a few late-lingering migrants were also reported: DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, WHITE-WINGED SCOTER and 2 HORNED LARKS in the Duluth harbor area near the grain elevators; a GREATER SCAUP in Knife River; and a COMMMON SNIPE in Duluth Twp along the N Shore.

Finally, the Duluth Christmas Bird Count (CBC) will take place on Saturday, Dec 16. As in previous years, our standard 15-mi diameter circle will be centered at Hawk Ridge and will extend up the N Shore as far as the French R, N to Eagle L, W to the airport, and S in the harbor area to 27th Ave W and to 43rd St on Park Point. Some 50-60 birders will be out in the field that day, and if you'd like to join one of the birding groups for all or part of the 16th, be sure to contact count organizer and compiler Jim Lind -- by phone at 720-4384 or by e-mail at .

Jim would also like to hear from you if you have an active feeder within the count circle which you will be watching on Dec 16. Also if you see or hear of any rarities or late-lingering migrants between now and the 16th, be sure to report them so someone can keep an eye out for them on count day -- either by calling Jim or by leaving a message at the end of this Birding Report.

Participants are also being organized for the Two Harbors CBC on Dec 17 (call compiler Frank Nicoletti at 724-0758 for further information) and for the Dec 18 Sax-Zim Bog CBC (compiled by Mark Stensaas, telephone 590-3703).

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 Dec. 14. 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

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