Previous reports: May 20 24 31 , June 7 21 29 , July 12 .
Other Hotlines: Minnesota Statewide | Detroit Lakes

-RBA
*Minnesota
*Duluth/North Shore
*July 19, 2001
*MNDU0107.19

-Birds mentioned

• Red-throated Loon
• Sharp-tailed Grouse
• Northern Hawk Owl
• Great Gray Owl
• Short-eared Owl
• Three-toed Woodpecker

Hotline: Minnesota, Duluth/North Shore
Date: July 19, 2001
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)

This is the Duluth Birding Report for Thursday, July 19, sponsored by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.

In most years there is little of particular interest reported in N E Minn during July, but recently there have been sightings of SHARP-TAILED GROUSE, NORTHERN HAWK OWL, GREAT GRAY OWL and SHORT-EARED OWLS, and THREE-TOED WOODPECKER, plus a report of RED-THROATED LOONS seen two weekends ago.

A Sharp-tailed Grouse was seen in the Sax-Zim Bog area NW of Duluth on July 12; the location was along St Louis Co Rd 29, about 1.5 mi N of Meadowlands.

Also in Sax-Zim on the same day a N Hawk Owl was relocated on Co Rd 7 within 1/2 mi N of Sax. This owl plus a juvenile had unexpectedly been reported here for the first time on July 10, even though there had apparently been no hawk owl reports in Sax-Zim by any of the many birders who had been here in May and June.

In Aitkin Co a Great Gray Owl was seen at dusk on July 16 E of Aitkin along Co Rd 4, 3/4 mi E of Minn Hwy 47. (The only other Great Grays reported this month were at 2 locations in the Sax-Zim Bog on July 5: on Co Rd 319, 1 mi E of Co Rd 7; and on Co Rd 788, 4 mi S of Co Rd 27.) Also in Aitkin Co, a summering Short-eared Owl is still being seen consistently on Co Rd 1, 6 mi N of Aitkin.

On July 14 a Three-toed Woodpecker was relocated in Lake Co along the Spruce Rd, where there had been 2 reports in June. The Spruce Rd turns N off Minn Hwy 1 about 14 mi NW of Co Rd 2, and the woodpecker sightings have been 0.4-0.5 mi from Hwy 1 near the corner of Endless Waters Rd. Note that Endless Waters Rd is a gated private road which is OK to walk in on, but not drive on even if the gate is open; birders should also be sure to park so their cars are not blocking this road.

Finally, there was a reliable report of 4 breeding-plumaged Red-throated Loons seen July 8 on the lake side of Park Point in Duluth, just N of the Recreation Area. It is possible these loons might still be summering in the area, even though there are hardly any mid-summer records here of this species.

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 would be on July 26 if there is any birding news; if, however, nothing of note is being seen, the next update would be 2 weeks from now on August 2.

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 .

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