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Other Hotlines: Minnesota Statewide | Detroit Lakes

-RBA
*Minnesota
*Duluth/North Shore
*December 9, 2004
*MNDU0412.09

-Birds mentioned

• Spruce Grouse
• Thayer's Gull
• Iceland Gull
• Northern Hawk Owl
• Great Gray Owl
• Black-backed Woodpecker
• Bohemian Waxwing

Hotline: Minnesota, Duluth/North Shore
Date: December 9, 2004
Sponsor: Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU)
Reports: (218) 728-5030
Compiler: David R. Benson (drbenson@cpinternet.com)
Transcriber: David R. Benson (drbenson@cpinternet.com)

This is the Duluth Birding Report for Thursday, December 9, 2004, sponsored by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.

The selasphorous sp. hummingbird in Lakeside was last seen last Friday, December 3.

Owls continue to be seen at many locations around Northeastern Minnesota. There have been reports of over 700 GREAT GRAY OWLS so far, and it will be quite interesting to see how many are turned up by the organized surveys that will be conducted this weekend. The easiest place to find owls consistently continues to be the Sax-Zim bog area. Yesterday, there were three NORTHERN HAWK OWLS in the town of Cotton, on the west side of Hwy 53. We found ten Great Grays and 4 more Hawk Owls in one hour of birding along Cty Rd 7 between 52 and 319. However, owls continue to be reported from many locations; this is just one spot to try. Some birds are moving farther south. This week there were reports from Siren, WI, and from as far south as St. Paul. Please continue to report the time and location of your sightings.

Peder Svingen refound the first winter ICELAND GULL in Grand Marais on the 4th; a first winter THAYER'S GULL was also there. Mike Hendrickson found SPRUCE GROUSE at the traditional spot on Lake Cty Rd 2, .01 and 0.2 miles north of the Sand River on the 5th. Carol Schumacher reported a BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER today in Northeastern Pine County. The bird was on Cty 44 1/2 mile W of the Intersection of 45, 171, 44.

The Virginia, MN Christmas Bird count will be held on Dec. 26. To participate contact Deborah Buria-Falkowski at . Deb reported over 300 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS in the Ridgewood addition to Virginia on the 3rd.

The Duluth Christmas Bird Count will be held on Saturday, December 18, 2004. Anyone interested in participating should contact compiler Jim Lind by e-mail (jslind@frontiernet.net) for more information. The Grand Marais count will be the same day. Contact Jeff Kern (jkern@boreal.org) to participate. The Two Harbors Christmas Bird Count will be held the following day on Sunday, December 19, 2004. Please contact compiler Frank Nicoletti (bjboreal@aol.com) if interested in participating.

The next scheduled update of this report will be on Thursday, December 16.

The telephone number of the Duluth Rare Bird Alert is 218-728-5030. Information about bird sightings may be left following the recorded 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 to mou@cbs.umn.edu, or visit the MOU web site at mou.mn.org.

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