Return to Home Page
-RBA *Minnesota *Minnesota Statewide *January 23, 1997 *MNST9701.23 -Birds mentioned
Hotline: Minnesota Statewide
Date: January 23, 1997
Sponsor: Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU)
Reports: (612) 780-8890
Compiler: Anthony Hertzel
Transcriber: Anthony Hertzel (tony@mill2.MillComm.COM)
Re-transcriber: David Cahlander (dac@skypoint.com)
This is the Minnesota birding report for Thursday January 23rd sponsored by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union. To skip this recording and leave a message you can press 5 on your touch tone phone.
Waterfowl seem to be more conspicuous recently with several sightings of previously unreported species. A TRUMPETER SWAN was found by Dave Cahlander along the Mississippi River near Hardman Ave. in South St. Paul on Jan 20th. A MUTE SWAN was on Cannon Lake near Faribault in Rice County on the 22nd. Cathy Graham found a flock of 25 SNOW GEESE at Black Dog Lake in Dakota County on Jan 21st. And Al Batt discovered an AMERICAN WIGEON along the river near Wilson Street in Albert Lea, on Jan 20th.
On Jan 19th Cole Foster sighted a PRAIRIE FALCON at the Moorhead sewage lagoons in Clay County. January records of Prairie Falcon are very rare in Minnesota.
Doug Johnson reports that the NORTHERN HAWK OWL is still being seen along Beltrami County Road 20 near the Turtle River. A GREAT GRAY OWL was also present just north of here on Jan 20th. And a GREAT GRAY OWL was reported to the DNR from Lake Elmo Park Reserve in Washington County on Jan 19th.
Several new reports of SNOWY OWL have been called in to me recently. On Jan 20th, a SNOWY OWL was seen by Cole Foster northeast of Glyndon along Clay County Road 87 one and a half miles west of state highway 9. Dave Baden found a SNOWY OWL on Jan 21st, along the Pike Lake Trail in Prior Lake, Scott County. And Terry Brashear found two SNOWY OWLS on Jan 22nd in Minneapolis. Both birds were within a quarter of a mile of the intersection of I-35 and Stinson Blvd. One owl was about a quarter of a mile north of here and the other was about a quarter mile south of this intersection.
Vada Rudolph, from Blaine in Anoka County had a NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL in yard on Jan 21st. Interesting is the Arctic form of the GREAT HORNED OWL reported by Marcie O'Connor just west of the St. Paul campus in St. Anthony Park, Ramsey County on Jan 21st.
In Amherst Township, Fillmore County, Nancy Overcott reports that she has four TUFTED TITMICE coming to her feeder.
Several callers reported seeing flocks of AMERICAN ROBINS. Robins were found along Olson Memorial Parkway near state highway 100 in Minneapolis on the 21st; at a feeder in Mora, Kanabec County on the 20th; and in several locations in Golden Valley, Hennepin County on the 21st.
Bob Williams found the year's first WINTER WREN on Jan 21st along the creek at the Bass Ponds in southern Hennepin County.
WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS were at the Hamden Slough NWR near the town of Audubon in Becker County on Jan 20th. WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS were also seen at several locations in southern Beltrami County by Doug Johnson on Jan 20th, and by Craig Menze in Mora, Kanabec County on Jan 22nd.
Other reports include a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK on Jan 21st in Fillmore County; Betty Ammerman still has a VARIED THRUSH at her feeder in Mora, Kanabec County; RED CROSSBILLS and PINE GROSBEAKS were in Beltrami, St. Louis and Lake counties; and 300 SNOW BUNTINGS were in Kanabec County on Jan 22nd.
The next scheduled update of this tape is Thursday January 30th.