Previous reports: July 1 , September 2 9 16 19 23 30 , October 14 7 .
Other Hotlines: Minnesota Statewide

-RBA
*Minnesota
*Duluth/North Shore
*October 21, 1999
*MNDU9910.21

-Birds mentioned

• Pacific Loon
• Tundra Swan
• Oldsquaw
• Black Scoter
• Surf Scoter
• White-winged Scoter
• Northern Goshawk
• Red-shouldered Hawk
• Red-tailed Hawk
• Rough-legged Hawk
• Golden Eagle
• Sandhill Crane
• Parasitic Jaeger
• Thayer's Gull
• Williamson's Sapsucker
• Black-backed Woodpecker
• Gray Jay
• Townsend's Solitaire
• Northern Shrike
• Blue-headed Vireo
• Tennessee Warbler
• Chestnut-sided Warbler
• Summer Tanager
• Red Crossbill
• White-winged Crossbill
• Common Redpoll

Hotline: Minnesota, Duluth/North Shore
Date: October 21, 1999
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)
Re-transcriber: Terry Brashear (beakgeek@scientist.com)

This is the Duluth Birding Report for Thursday, October 21, sponsored by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.

There was an unscheduled update of this birding report on Oct 17, primarily to report on a third-state-record WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER which was found at Taconite Harbor in Cook Co on Oct 16. Unfortunately, the bird was only seen for a short time before it flew out of sight, subsequent attempts to relocate it were unsuccessful, and it is presumed to have left the area.

Also mentioned on last Sunday's report were: that PACIFIC LOON, which was seen again in Duluth on both Oct 16 and 17 on L Superior, 1-1.5 mi beyond Lakewood Rd (and this loon has been in this area off and on since mid-September); BLACK SCOTERS Oct 16 at Paradise Beach in Cook Co (which is 13 mi east of Grand Marais); a SURF SCOTER Oct 16 in the harbor at Taconite Harbor (which was still present on the 19th); both OLDSQUAW and WHITE-WINGED SCOTER seen Oct 17 on the Burlington Bay -- or east -- side of Two Harbors in Lake Co (and the Oldsquaw was seen again on the 19th); an adult PARASITIC JAEGER Oct 17 at the main harbor at Two Harbors; a first-winter THAYER'S GULL in Grand Marais Oct 16; and a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE Oct 17 on the Croftville Rd in Cook Co, which is just east of Grand Marais.

Since last weekend, a few other birds of note have been seen in Duluth and up the North Shore. Yesterday, Steve and Diane Millard found an adult light-morph PARASITIC JAEGER at Canal Park near downtown Duluth, and this bird was still present this morning. Possibly, this could be the same individual seen in Two Harbors last weekend.

Also this morning, Tony Hertzel and Peder Svingen found a female-plumaged SUMMER TANAGER in Knife River in Lake Co. The bird was in the yard with the fire number 264 sign, which is on the dead-end road between the railroad tracks and the lake, just beyond Emily's store.

Other birds of note this week were: SURF SCOTERS today flying by Knife River; BLACK SCOTERS today in Duluth on the bay side of Park Point at about 33rd Street; and late-lingering TENNESSEE WARBLER (at Taconite Harbor Oct 19), CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER (banded at Hawk Ridge Oct 19, which is apparently the latest date ever for northern Minn), and BLUE-HEADED VIREO (today in Duluth Township).

At Hawk Ridge the raptor flight should be good into this weekend since a cold front with strong NW winds is in the forecast for tomorrow. The best daily totals recently at the Ridge were: 1,082 on Oct 16, including 764 RED-TAILED HAWKS, 29 NORTHERN GOSHAWKS and 8 GOLDEN EAGLES; 722 on the 17th, which included a RED-SHOULDERED HAWK; and 921 raptors on the 19th, including 795 RED-TAILED HAWKS and 12 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS.

Also seen from the Main Overlook earlier this week were an early flock of TUNDRA SWANS and a relatively large flock of 33 SANDHILL CRANES. A flock of RED CROSSBILLS and a single BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER flew by the Main Overlook today; on Oct 17 a Black-backed was also found in the pine plantation along the Pinewoods Trail, 3/4 mi beyond the Main Overlook, and on the 19th there were 2 Black-backeds in Cook Co at Taconite Harbor.

A few migrant NORTHERN SHRIKES, GRAY JAYS, WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS and COMMON REDPOLLS continue to be noted this week in Duluth and along the North Shore; however, so far this season there has only been one isolated report of Bohemian Waxwing, and no reports at all yet of Harlequin Duck, Gyrfalcon, Glaucous or Iceland gulls, Snowy or Great Gray or Northern Hawk owls, Three-toed Woodpecker, Boreal Chickadee, Varied Thrush, Pine Grosbeak or Hoary Redpoll.

Unless something unusual is seen in the meantime which needs to be reported immediately, the Duluth Birding Report is normally updated once a week on Thursdays, so that the next scheduled update will be on October 28. The phone number is (218) 525-5952, and callers can leave a message if they wish after the tone at the end of the tape. Also note that a message can be left without having to wait for the birding report to end: after the tape starts playing, push 5 on a touch-tone phone, the tape will then stop, the tone will sound and you can leave your message.

The Duluth Birding Report is sponsored and funded by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU), the state bird club, 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 S E, Minneapolis MN 55455, or visit the MOU web site at .

Send your rare and unusual Minnesota sightings to our electronic hotline: MOU-net@biosci.umn.edu. To learn more, send a message (the message being these two words: info mou-net) to majordomo@biosci.umn.edu. To learn more about our organization visit our web site: http://biosci.cbs.umn.edu/~mou/

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