Previous reports: October 18 25 29 , November 1 8 15 22 29 , December 6 8 13 .
Other Hotlines: Minnesota Statewide | Detroit Lakes

-RBA
*Minnesota
*Duluth/North Shore
*December 16, 2001
*MNDU0112.16

-Birds mentioned

• Harlequin Duck
• Long-tailed Duck
• White-winged Scoter
• Dunlin
• Thayer's Gull
• Iceland Gull
• Glaucous Gull
• Snowy Owl
• Barred Owl
• Red-bellied Woodpecker
• Black-backed Woodpecker
• Gray Jay
• Boreal Chickadee
• Brown Creeper
• Northern Mockingbird
• Yellow-rumped Warbler
• HOARY REDPOLL

Hotline: Minnesota, Duluth/North Shore
Date: December 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 Sunday, December 16th, sponsored by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union. This is an exceptional update to report on the two area Christmas Bird Counts that took place this weekend.

The unseasonal weather brought lots of surprises to Saturday's Duluth Christmas Bird Count. The preliminary total of 74 species easily eclipsed the previous record of 62 species. There were 5 species never before recorded on the count, including Greater Scaup, Ring-necked Duck, Hooded Merganser, Long-eared Owl, and Dunlin. There were 12 species for which the number of individuals counted was a record, including among others Canada Goose 749 (old record 119), Common Goldeneye 415 (old record 145), American Crow 968 (old record 747), Black-capped Chickadee 2655 (old record 2396), White-breasted Nuthatch 160 (old record 98), and Northern Cardinal 20 (last year's record 17). In addition, there were 8 species for which the count tied the record.

Highlights included the HARLEQUIN DUCK, 3 WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS, and 8 LONG-TAILED DUCKS on the harbor side of Minnesota Point near the Rowing Club, one THAYER'S GULL, one ICELAND GULL, and two GLAUCOUS GULLS at Canal Park, two SNOWY OWLS in the harbor, a RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER near Edison School, a BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER near the junction of Schultz and Arnold Road, a DUNLIN on the Lake side of Minnesota Point across from the Bayside Market, BOREAL CHICKADEES on Fiskett Road, and near 27th and 8th Street, the NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD that has been near Mesaba and 8th Street for several weeks, a YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER near the Gardenwood Motel on the North Shore, and HOARY REDPOLL on Lauren Road.

Though there were few misses, no one reported BARRED OWL, GRAY JAY, or BROWN CREEPER. Anyone who identified any of these species on the 15th, please call Jim Lind (834-3199).

Though the Two Harbors Christmas Bird Count was held today in the fog and rain, a preliminary record total of 45 species was tallied. Highlights included a GLAUCOUS GULL on the breakwater, a HOARY REDPOLL across from the school between 5th and 6th Streets, 2 LONG-TAILED DUCKS in Agate Bay, and a BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER.

The next scheduled update of this report will be on Thursday the 20th. 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, 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 mou@biosci.umn.edu; or visit the MOU web site at mou.mn.org.

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