Previous reports: June 21 29 , July 12 19 , August 2 9 .
Other Hotlines: Minnesota Statewide | Detroit Lakes

-RBA
*Minnesota
*Duluth/North Shore
*August 16, 2001
*MNDU0108.16

-Birds mentioned

• Sandhill Crane
• Semipalmated Plover
• Greater Yellowlegs
• Lesser Yellowlegs
• Baird's Sandpiper
• Stilt Sandpiper
• Buff-breasted Sandpiper
• Short-billed Dowitcher
• Black-billed Cuckoo
• Common Nighthawk
• Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
• Alder Flycatcher
• Boreal Chickadee
• Golden-winged Warbler
• Northern Parula
• Cape May Warbler
• Connecticut Warbler
• Mourning Warbler
• White-winged Crossbill

Hotline: Minnesota, Duluth/North Shore
Date: August 16, 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, August 16, sponsored by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.

The pace of early fall migration picked up some this week, with several shorebirds, a few nighthawks, and good numbers of warblers and other passerines being reported in Duluth and vicinity. Jim Lind and Dave Grosshuesch checked the 40th Ave West Erie Pier area on Aug 14, and found a few shorebirds even though the main water impoundment had high water and vegetation levels: on the far SE side of the impoundment there were LESSER YELLOWLEGS, GREATER YELLOWLEGS, STILT SANDPIPER, BAIRD'S SANDPIPER, and SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER. To reach this area, take the 40th Ave West exit off I-35, cross over to the bay side of the freeway, park by the gate just beyond the frontage road, and hike beyond the gate on the gravel road which leads to the water impoundment.

Jim has also seen shorebirds recently in Two Harbors in Lake Co, including BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER at the airport yesterday, SEMIPALMATED PLOVER at the golf course ponds near the clubhouse earlier in the week, plus the same species seen at 40th at both places. The easiest way to find the Two Harbors airport is to go N 2 mi on Co Rd 2, then W 3.4 mi. Permission is not needed to walk into the airport property as long as birders stay off the main runway, and shorebirds can be found anywhere along the grassy edges of the taxiway and runway. And the golf course entrance is on the N side of Hwy 61 just E of Co Rd 2; the best time to come here is early in the morning before any shorebirds present are flushed by golfers.

There was a small movement of about 100 COMMON NIGHTHAWKS seen by Mike Hendrickson on Aug 13 over Lenroot St near Morgan Park, and the big evening flight of nighthawks moving down the N Shore will probably be within a few days. In previous years in mid or late August there have been several one-day nighthawk counts here in the 1000s, with the highest count ever of over 43,000 seen in less than 3 hours on one August evening in 1990.

In the Sax-Zim Bog area on Aug 11, Karen Sussman, John O'Brien and Ben Yokel found a good variety of birds which included SANDHILL CRANE, BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO, BOREAL CHICKADEE, and 15 species of warblers -- including CONNECTICUT WARBLER, MOURNING WARBLER, CAPE MAY WARBLER, GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER, and NORTHERN PARULA. Many of these probably nested locally and were not necessarily migrating through from farther north.

And at Hawk Ridge in Duluth, Dave Grosshuesch continues to band warblers and other passerines in good numbers. For example, so far he has banded no fewer than 61 MOURNING WARBLERS, plus 3 BLACK-BILLED CUCKOOS, several YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER and ALDER FLYCATCHER. Dave also has seen some WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS flying past the Ridge on 2 recent days.

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 August 23. 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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