-RBA
*Minnesota
*Duluth/North Shore
*December 16, 2011
*MNDU1112.16

-Birds mentioned -Transcript

Hotline: Minnesota, Duluth/North Shore
Date: December 16, 2011
Sponsor: Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU)
Reports: (218) 834-2858
Compiler: Jim Lind (jslind@frontiernet.net)

This is the Duluth Birding Report for December 16th, 2011 sponsored by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.

A BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE was found by Jason Caddy on the 13th at Canal Park. Several observers have also reported ICELAND GULL, GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULLS, GLAUCOUS GULLS, and THAYER'S GULLS at Canal Park during the past week. The male BARROW’S GOLDENEYE was relocated by Peder Svingen on the 15th at Canal Park along with a late GREATER SCAUP, and he saw a SNOWY OWL at the end of the Canal Park breakwall. SNOWY OWLS continue to be reported from Duluth’s Port Terminal area.

Don Kienholz found a late-lingering WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW on the 15th in the brush piles at the WLSSD compost area in west Duluth. Mike Hendrickson saw a late HARRIS'S SPARROW in the Port Terminal on the 10th along Helberg Road.

The next scheduled update of this report will be on Thursday, December 22nd.

The telephone number of the Duluth Rare Bird Alert is 218-834-2858. 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, e-mail us at mou@moumn.org, or visit the MOU web site at moumn.org. --====1324089050====-- ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 17 Dec 2011 09:37:46 -0700 Reply-To: Alex Cruz Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Alex Cruz Subject: [mou-net] Townsend's Solitaire, Carpenter Nature Area, Dakota Co Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Matthew Bribitzer-Stull and I found the Townsend's Solitaire at Carpenter Na= ture Area just north of the bench on Savannnah Trail at 9 am this morning. A= lso saw Pileated Woodpecker, Bald Eagles and American Tree Sparrows. Looking up, Alex Cruz, Jr St Paul, Mn Sent from Alex's iPhone.= ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 17 Dec 2011 10:03:46 -0700 Reply-To: Betsy Beneke Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Betsy Beneke Subject: [mou-net] Townsend's Solitaire - Sherburne Co Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable CBC participants Dick and Gloria Wachtler found a Townsend's Solitaire at a= bout 9:30 a.m. this morning along the=A0west Edge of Eagle Lake.=A0 It was = along Sherburne CR 5, approximately 4.5 miles south of the entrance road to= Sherburne NWR's Prairie's Edge Wildlife Drive.=A0 It was sitting atop a ju= niper/cedar on the west side of the road between 23611 and 23660.=A0 There'= s a steep incline and a small creek at the bottom at this point.=0A=A0=0ATh= is site would be 1.5 to 2.0 miles SW of where Pastor Al found the 3 solitai= res earlier.=0A=A0=0ABetsy Beneke=0ASherburne NWR ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 17 Dec 2011 10:52:05 -0700 Reply-To: Alex Cruz Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Alex Cruz Subject: [mou-net] Long-tailed Duck, Point Douglas Park, north oh Hastings, Mn Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Matthew Bribitzer-Stull and I found a beautiful male Long-tailed Duck at Poi= nt Douglas Park at 11 am today. It was loosely associating with a flock of C= ommon Mergansers about 200 m north of park in open water. Scope definitely h= elps. Looking up, Alex Cruz St Paul, Mn Sent from Alex's iPhone. ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 19 Dec 2011 09:08:47 -0700 Reply-To: Jason Caddy Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Jason Caddy Subject: [mou-net] Black-legged Kittiwake Photograph Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Thank you Karl Bardon for getting a photograph of this amazing gull and pos= ting it on the MOU web page. There is no way to know for sure but I do beli= eve that this is the individual that I found in Canal Park on 12/13. The ex= tent of gray on the upper wing is variable in juvenile Kittiwakes and this = photo shows the gray just as I remembered it. The mantle has strong almost = dark gray coloration but the gray extends only slightly out past the black = M pattern. The black collar is also a variable feature on these birds and t= his black collar is very thick and dark. Both features on this bird are exa= ctly how I remember them on the bird I saw and also match the sketch that I= had drawn at the time. It sounds like the bird did not hang around very lo= ng for you either but the photograph is fantastic! Good birding everyone! = Jason Caddy=2C Minneapolis = ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 19 Dec 2011 20:10:37 -0700 Reply-To: markjunghans@AOL.COM Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Rare Bird Alert Subject: [mou-net] Aitkin County Great Gray Owl Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Great Gray Owl found just before dark on 560TH ST 2.9 miles east of Hy. 169= . Other birds in the area: Red-tailed Hawk Rough-legged Hawk Northern Shrike=20 American Crow Common Raven Common Redpoll=20 ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 20 Dec 2011 06:12:38 -0700 Reply-To: sparky stensaas Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: sparky stensaas Subject: [mou-net] Sax-Zim CBC including Snowy Owl Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Monday December 19 Sax-Zim CBC A very average 28 species Highlights: Snowy Owl (first since 1991...when we had 4) CR 29 1 to 1.5 mi N of CR133 (= found by Peder Svingen and Tony Hertzel) 2 Boreal Chickadees at Admiral Road feeder 10 Black-billed Magpies 28 Rough-legged Hawks 125 White-winged Crossbills 244 Common Redpolls (no Hoarys) no three-toed woodpeckers of any kind (windy!)=2C no Sharp-tailed Grouse (w= indy!)=2C no other owls=2C no Snow Buntings (no snow so why?) Thanks to:Dave Benson=2C =A0Pam Benson=2C =A0John Ellis=2C =A0John Heid=2C = =A0Dave Evans=2C =A0Tony Hertzel=2C =A0Peder Svingen=2C =A0Sparky Stensaas= =2C =A0Jan Conley=2C =A0Sandy Roggenkamp=2C =A0Don Kienholz Sparky Stensaas=20 2515 Garthus Road=20 Wrenshall=2C MN 55797=20 218.341.3350 cell=20 www.SaxZim.org = ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 20 Dec 2011 12:26:42 -0700 Reply-To: Bob Dunlap Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Bob Dunlap Subject: [mou-net] Carolina Wren still present, Chicago County Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable The Carolina Wren made about a minute-long appearance at the visitor center feeders at Wild River State Park around 1:15 this afternoon. Bob Dunlap ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 20 Dec 2011 12:28:25 -0700 Reply-To: Richard Smaby Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Richard Smaby Subject: [mou-net] Spotted Towhee in Austin Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable A Spotted Towhee was reported on our Christmas Bird Count on Sunday at a feeder in Austin. It has been seen both yesterday and today. I posted a picture on the MOU web site. It is at the home of John and Sally Garry, 306 20th St SW, Austin. 507-434-4809. It was first found by John Garry. Richard Smaby rnsmaby@charter.net 507-433-1925 ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2011 07:30:19 -0700 Reply-To: dan&erika Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: dan&erika Subject: [mou-net] Townsend's Solitaire photos/Washington Co. Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hi All-- On my blog, I posted two photos of the Carpenter Nature Center's Townsend's Solitaire. Erika and I saw it yesterday (20 December). The Center folks gave us precise directions to find the solitaire, and we found it with no trouble at all. http://dantallmansbirdblog.blogspot.com dan --=20 Dan or Erika Tallman Northfield, Minnesota http://sites.google.com/site/tallmanorum http://dantallmansbirdblog.blogspot.com http://picasaweb.google.com/danerika danerika@gmail.com ".... the best shod travel with wet feet" "Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes ...."--Thoreau ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2011 11:28:20 -0700 Reply-To: Betsy Beneke Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Betsy Beneke Subject: [mou-net] Barrow's Goldeneye & Great Blue Heron Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable I was birding along the Mississippi River yesterday afternoon=A0- stopping = at various places to look at waterfowl.=A0 A male Barrow's Goldeneye was am= ong a large raft of Common Goldeneyes, easily viewed from the boat ramp at = the Municipal Park in Sauk Rapids (Benton County).=A0 There were two other = rafts of goldeneyes up river from this point as well, one with 60+ birds.= =0A=A0=0AThe park, and this particular spot, is at 10th St. North and River= Ave. North - River Ave runs parallel to Benton Drive between the railroad = tracks and the river.=A0 Easiest place to access this site is by Vos's Moto= rs on Benton Dr.=A0 Access at the east end would be by the Burger King on 1= st St.=A0 I don't think there is any other access road between 1st and 10th= .=0A=A0=0AIn Sartell (Stearns County), there was a Great Blue Heron standin= g on some rocks along the S. bank of the Miss. River=A0-along CR 1 (Riversi= de Ave or Dr - can't remember which it is), about a block north of Edgewate= r Lane.=A0 There are always lots of C. geese in this area.=0A=A0=0ABetsy Be= neke ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2011 13:30:09 -0700 Reply-To: Betsy Beneke Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Betsy Beneke Subject: [mou-net] Snowy owls near Mora and Ogilvie? Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable I've gotten a couple of second and third-hand reports of Snowy Owls near Mo= ra and Ogilvie...does anyone have locations?=A0 I'll be heading toward Hinc= kley over the Christmas weekend, and I'd be happy to take the 'scenic route= ' to look for owls.=A0 If anyone can provide info, I'd be thankful for it!= =0A=A0=0ABetsy Beneke ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 22 Dec 2011 13:59:52 -0700 Reply-To: Karl Bardon Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Karl Bardon Subject: [mou-net] Glaucous-winged Gull, Duluth Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Beginning at 9:43 this morning, I have been studying an apparent adult Glau= cous-winged Gull at Canal Park, Duluth, St. Louis County. I say apparent be= cause of the many complications inherent in identifying large gulls, especi= ally this species. Since Glaucous-winged Gull forms hybrid swarms with mult= iple other species of gulls (including Glaucous, Western and Herring), wher= e the majority of some local populations are actually hybrids, great must b= e taken when identifying this species out of range. For now I have posted a= single photo on MOU recently seen, but will include a more in depth analys= is on my pbase gull pages (www.pbase.com/karlbardon).=0A=A0=0AKarl Bardon= =0ADuluth, MN ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 22 Dec 2011 16:33:46 -0700 Reply-To: Scott Mehus Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Scott Mehus Subject: [mou-net] 9 Golden Eagles seen in Winona and Houston counties Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Yesterday I met with Scott Leddy of Meadowlark Restorations who is actively= and passionately involved in restoring bluff prairie habitat. He wanted t= o show me some of the work that they have done as he knows how I talk about= how golden eagles utilize this type of habitat. We concentrated our lookin= g in an area basically from Rushford to Houston to Wilson to Wyatviille. Wh= ile looking at the habitat work he has done and other bluff prairies, I was= able to show Scott some golden eagles as well. I had done some looking for= golden eagles before and after meeting Scott, so for the day I was able to= see 9 golden eagles. Eight were adults and were "paired up" and perching = near each other or just a couple of trees away. Only one of the adults and= the sub adult were the only ones observed in flight, making it difficult t= o find these birds unless you know where to look, and what I find so intere= sting is that it is the same bluffs or even the same trees that I have seen= birds using for the past seventeen years that I have visiting these areas. If anybody is interested in helping with the 8th Annual Wintering Golden Ea= gle Survey which takes place on January 21st 2012, we still have some route= s open in Houston and Fillmore counties. There are just as many golden eag= les to be found in those areas, so if you would like to help with the surve= y and advance our knowledge on this wintering population, just let me know.= Last year we had over 100 surveyors count over 80 golden eagles in south e= ast Minnesota, north east Iowa and western Wisconsin. THANK YOU, Scott A. Mehus Education and Eagle Research Director NATIONAL EAGLE CENTER 50 Pembroke Avenue Wabasha Minnesota 55981 651-565-4989 ext. 101 ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 22 Dec 2011 18:45:39 -0700 Reply-To: Kelly Larson Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Kelly Larson Subject: [mou-net] Bemidji CBC -Varied Thrush! Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit The Bemidji CBC was held last Saturday, Dec 17th. Weather conditions were favorable for the 12 participants and we tallied 34 species with three additional species for count week. Judging from the numbers it would appear that the mild temperatures and lack of snow cover is having an impact on the "normal" movement of winter birds and late migrants. Highlights included a Varied Thrush, Evening Grosbeaks, N. Shrike, Magpie and Brown Creeper. High numbers of Junco and Canada Goose and the lack of Waxwings and Pine Siskins were noted. Three additional species were recorded for count week, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Northern Cardinal, and Hoary Redpoll. A big thanks to our faithful and trusty team of veteran counters and a warm welcome to our newest participants, Chuck and Danielle, and Valkyrie. Canada Goose (85) Mallard (2) Common Goldeneye (1) Hooded Merganser (2) Ruffed Grouse (2) Bald Eagle (10) Rough-legged Hawk (4) Rock Pigeon (99) Mourning Dove (8) Barred Owl (1) Red bellied Woodpecker (3) Downey Woodpecker (12) Hairy Woodpecker (10 Pileated Woodpecker (8) Northern Shrike (2) Blue Jay (60) Black-billed Magpie (1) American Crow (52) Common Raven (32) Black-capped Chickadee (293) Red-breasted Nuthatch (18) White-breasted Nuthatch (32) Brown Creeper (2) American Robin (1) Varied Thrush (1) -has been at a private residence on the east side of Lake Plantagenette European Starling (97 Dark-eyed Junco (21 Pine Grosbeak (15) House Finch (6) Common Redpoll (151) Pine Siskin (2) American Goldfinch (92) Evening Grosbeak (13) English House Sparrow (23) Kelly Larson The Bagley Farm -Clearwater The Bemidji Loft -Beltrami Minnesota Eschew Obfuscation! The middle of Nowhere is Somewhere! ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 22 Dec 2011 19:55:14 -0700 Reply-To: Jeanie Joppru Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Jeanie Joppru Subject: Northwest Minnesota Birding Report- Thursday, December 22, 2011 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="====1324608914====" --====1324608914==== Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" -RBA *Minnesota *Detroit Lakes *December 22, 2011 *MNDL1112.22 -Birds mentioned Canada Goose Ruffed Grouse Sharp-tailed Grouse Greater Prairie-Chicken Sharp-shinned Hawk Rough-legged Hawk Snowy Owl Northern Shrike Black-billed Magpie Common Raven Brown Creeper Varied Thrush Eastern Towhee Harris's Sparrow Northern Cardinal Common Redpoll Hoary Redpoll Evening Grosbeak -Transcript Hotline: Minnesota, Detroit Lakes Date: December 22, 2011 Sponsor: Lakes Area Birding Club, Detroit Lakes Regional Chamber of Commerce Reports: 1-800-542-3992 (weekdays during business hours) Compiler: Jeanie Joppru (ajjoppru@q.com) This is the Northwest Minnesota Birding Report for Thursday,December 22, 2011 sponsored by the Detroit Lakes Regional Chamber of Commerce. You may also hear this report by calling (218)847-5743 or 1-800-433-1888. Still there is no snow in the northwest, and we are seeing evidence that it will change the species lists for the Christmas Bird Counts in the area. Some commonly seen species are fewer and there will be some surprise laggards from the summer populations. It should be an exciting year for the CBC. The Bemidji CBC in Beltrami County was held on December 17 and 34 species were seen. Highlights included a VARIED THRUSH at a private residence on the east side of Lake Plantagenet. Other species seen included SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, NORTHERN SHRIKE, BROWN CREEPER, NORTHERN CARDINAL , HOARY REDPOLL, and EVENING GROSBEAK. Shelley Steva reported that as of December 19 two ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS continued to be seen near Plummer in Red Lake County. In Polk County, Sandy Aubol reported on December 21 that the EASTERN TOWHEE and two HARRIS'S SPARROWS continue to come daily to her feeders in East Grand Forks. Emily Hutchins was in Polk County from December 9- December 12 where she found a SNOWY OWL on December 12 along MN 9 south of US 2. Other species she mentioned were SHARP-TAILED GROUSE, GREATER PRAIRIE-CHICKENS, RUFFED GROUSE , BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE, and more than 12 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS in and around the Chicog WMA. Mel Bennefeld found a COMMON RAVEN on the Pondorosa Golf Course in Clay County on December 20. From Hubbard County, Marshall Howe observed a NORTHERN SHRIKE east of Lake George along MN 71 on December 21. On the 20th, he saw ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE, COMMON REDPOLL, and one HOARY REDPOLL in Hubbard County. Brad and Dee Ehlers reported on December 17 that 8000 CANADA GEESE are using the Orwell Reservoir in Otter Tail County southwest of Fergus Falls. Thanks to Brad and Dee Ehlers, Emily Hutchins, Kelly Larson, Marshall Howe, Mel Bennefeld, Sandy Aubol, and Shelley Steva for their reports. Please report bird sightings to Jeanie Joppru by email, no later than Thursday each week, at ajjoppru@mncable.net OR call the Detroit Lakes Chamber's toll free number: 1-800-542-3992. Detroit Lakes area birders please call 847-9202. Please include the county where the sighting took place. The next scheduled update of this report is Wednesday December 28, 2011. Jeanie Joppru Pennington County, MN --====1324608914==== Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1"

-RBA
*Minnesota
*Detroit Lakes
*December 22, 2011
*MNDL1112.22

-Birds mentioned -Transcript

Hotline: Minnesota, Detroit Lakes
Date: December 22, 2011
Sponsor: Lakes Area Birding Club, Detroit Lakes Regional Chamber of Commerce
Reports: 1-800-542-3992 (weekdays during business hours)
Compiler: Jeanie Joppru (ajjoppru@q.com)

This is the Northwest Minnesota Birding Report for Thursday,December 22, 2011 sponsored by the Detroit Lakes Regional Chamber of Commerce. You may also hear this report by calling (218)847-5743 or 1-800-433-1888.

Still there is no snow in the northwest, and we are seeing evidence that it will change the species lists for the Christmas Bird Counts in the area. Some commonly seen species are fewer and there will be some surprise laggards from the summer populations. It should be an exciting year for the CBC.

The Bemidji CBC in Beltrami County was held on December 17 and 34 species were seen. Highlights included a VARIED THRUSH at a private residence on the east side of Lake Plantagenet. Other species seen included SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, NORTHERN SHRIKE, BROWN CREEPER, NORTHERN CARDINAL , HOARY REDPOLL, and EVENING GROSBEAK.

Shelley Steva reported that as of December 19 two ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS continued to be seen near Plummer in Red Lake County.

In Polk County, Sandy Aubol reported on December 21 that the EASTERN TOWHEE and two HARRIS'S SPARROWS continue to come daily to her feeders in East Grand Forks. Emily Hutchins was in Polk County from December 9- December 12 where she found a SNOWY OWL on December 12 along MN 9 south of US 2. Other species she mentioned were SHARP-TAILED GROUSE, GREATER PRAIRIE-CHICKENS, RUFFED GROUSE , BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE, and more than 12 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS in and around the Chicog WMA.

Mel Bennefeld found a COMMON RAVEN on the Pondorosa Golf Course in Clay County on December 20.

From Hubbard County, Marshall Howe observed a NORTHERN SHRIKE east of Lake George along MN 71 on December 21. On the 20th, he saw ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE, COMMON REDPOLL, and one HOARY REDPOLL in Hubbard County.

Brad and Dee Ehlers reported on December 17 that 8000 CANADA GEESE are using the Orwell Reservoir in Otter Tail County southwest of Fergus Falls.

Thanks to Brad and Dee Ehlers, Emily Hutchins, Kelly Larson, Marshall Howe, Mel Bennefeld, Sandy Aubol, and Shelley Steva for their reports.

Please report bird sightings to Jeanie Joppru by email, no later than Thursday each week, at ajjoppru@mncable.net OR call the Detroit Lakes Chamber's toll free number: 1-800-542-3992. Detroit Lakes area birders please call 847-9202. Please include the county where the sighting took place. The next scheduled update of this report is Wednesday December 28, 2011.

Jeanie Joppru Pennington County, MN

--====1324608914====-- ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 23 Dec 2011 11:07:13 -0700 Reply-To: Bob Dunlap Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Bob Dunlap Subject: [mou-net] Glaucous-winged Gull rebound at Canal Park noon 12/23 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Mike Hendrickson just refound the bird sitting on the water out from the breakwall at Canal Park with Herring Gulls. Bob Dunlap ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 23 Dec 2011 12:07:29 -0600 Reply-To: Peder Svingen Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Peder Svingen Subject: Re: [mou-net] Glaucous-winged Gull, Duluth X-To: Karl Bardon In-Reply-To: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary=20cf300514b445d7da04b4c64ad0 --20cf300514b445d7da04b4c64ad0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Lars Benson just called to report that the adult Glaucous-winged Gull has been refound at Canal Park. Peder Svingen Duluth On Dec 22, 2011 3:02 PM, "Karl Bardon" wrote: > Beginning at 9:43 this morning, I have been studying an apparent adult > Glaucous-winged Gull at Canal Park, Duluth, St. Louis County. I say > apparent because of the many complications inherent in identifying large > gulls, especially this species. Since Glaucous-winged Gull forms hybrid > swarms with multiple other species of gulls (including Glaucous, Western > and Herring), where the majority of some local populations are actually > hybrids, great must be taken when identifying this species out of range. > For now I have posted a single photo on MOU recently seen, but will include > a more in depth analysis on my pbase gull pages (www.pbase.com/karlbardon > ). > > Karl Bardon > Duluth, MN > > ---- > Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > --20cf300514b445d7da04b4c64ad0 Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

Lars Benson just called to report that the adult Glaucous-winged Gull ha= s been refound at Canal Park.
Peder Svingen
Duluth

On Dec 22, 2011 3:02 PM, "Karl Bardon"= <rba@moumn.org> wrote:
Beginning at 9:43 this morning, I have been studying an apparent adult Glau= cous-winged Gull at Canal Park, Duluth, St. Louis County. I say apparent be= cause of the many complications inherent in identifying large gulls, especi= ally this species. Since Glaucous-winged Gull forms hybrid swarms with mult= iple other species of gulls (including Glaucous, Western and Herring), wher= e the majority of some local populations are actually hybrids, great must b= e taken when identifying this species out of range. For now I have posted a= single photo on MOU recently seen, but will include a more in depth analys= is on my pbase gull pages (www.pbase.com/karlbardon).
=A0
Karl Bardon
Duluth, MN

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--20cf300514b445d7da04b4c64ad0-- ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 23 Dec 2011 17:11:08 -0700 Reply-To: Alex Cruz Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Alex Cruz Subject: [mou-net] Snowy owl, downtown Minneapolis, Hennepin Co Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Just had a Snowy Owl fly over when Glenwood Ave crosses 394 in DT Minneapoli= s at 1750! Been driving in area near here and Twins stadium, have not reloca= ted--was on 394 when this huge white owl flew right over my car! Looking up (luckily), Alex Cruz Hennepin Co Sent from Alex's iPhone.= ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 23 Dec 2011 19:53:20 -0700 Reply-To: Jesse Ellis Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Jesse Ellis Subject: Re: [mou-net] Glaucous-winged Gull, Duluth Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hey all- I'm not out to rain on anyone's parade, but I might. I'd be really interested to hear the opinions of some West-coast gull-meisters on this individual. From all of the photos I've seen, the color patterns are (obviously) good for Glaucous-winged Gull, but a lot of the structure is iffy. My chops in terms of gull ID aren't great, but I birded for a year or two in the Seattle area, and spent many winters in Ithaca NY gulling. However it's been a few years since I have put a lot of time into gulls (Madison doesn't get many unless you go to the dump.) All that said, here's my take on these photos. Every time I look at them, I feel weird about the head shape. This includes two aspects. One is the bill and the other is the crown. The bill just doesn't seem heavy enough for a Glaucous-winged. While it's rather stout, there are a number of photos where it seems too short and too even. Glaucous-winged Gulls generally have honkin' huge bills that are long and have a very heavy tip. This bird's bill seems short and fairly even. There are a few pictures that seem closer in line to expected for Glaucous-winged Gull, but the best photos (like this one: http://www.pbase.com/karlbardon/image/140493686) show a short, even bill. The other issue well-illustrated in this photo is the steep forehead. In my experience, and perusing lots of photos around, Glaucous-winged Gulls have a flat head and flat forehead sloping slowly down to the bill, even moreso than the similar feature on a Herring Gull. This bird looks more Thayer's-like in that aspect. Another issue is the wing pattern, but this isn't quite as annoying to me. Most of the photos and guides I've looked at say that p10 should have a large white mirror, while p9 will lack a mirror or show a small mirror. This bird has a big mirror. Additionally, most guides and photos show Glaucous-winged Gulls with very little white tongues/moons on p8 and not a ton on p7 (see this photo: http://columbiariverimages.com/Birds/Images09Feb/portland_glaucous-winged_g= ull_flying_02-16-09.jpg ). I want to be clear, here. These are things about the photos that bother me, given my personal experience with Glaucous Gulls. I'm not calling an ID one way or another on this bird from 9 photos. I hope I'm wrong! I just have a few doubts. I'll probably be up to Duluth to check it out on Monday, if it stays. I'm throwing this out there to get some discussion going, which, I think, is traditional for gulls... Karl, and anyone else who's seen the bird, what do you think about this? Have any western gull folks looked at the photos accumulating? Anyone else who's seen Glaucous-winged Gulls have opinions? Jesse Ellis Madison WI (and currently Saint Paul, MN) On Thu, Dec 22, 2011 at 2:59 PM, Karl Bardon wrote: > Beginning at 9:43 this morning, I have been studying an apparent adult > Glaucous-winged Gull at Canal Park, Duluth, St. Louis County. I say > apparent because of the many complications inherent in identifying large > gulls, especially this species. Since Glaucous-winged Gull forms hybrid > swarms with multiple other species of gulls (including Glaucous, Western > and Herring), where the majority of some local populations are actually > hybrids, great must be taken when identifying this species out of range. > For now I have posted a single photo on MOU recently seen, but will inclu= de > a more in depth analysis on my pbase gull pages (www.pbase.com/karlbardon > ). > > Karl Bardon > Duluth, MN > > ---- > Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > --=20 Jesse Ellis Post-doctoral Researcher Dept. of Zoology University of Wisconsin - Madison Madison, Dane Co, WI ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 23 Dec 2011 19:56:49 -0700 Reply-To: Jim Lind Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Jim Lind Subject: Duluth RBA 12/23/11 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="====1324695409====" --====1324695409==== Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" -RBA *Minnesota *Duluth/North Shore *December 23, 2011 *MNDU1112.23 -Birds mentioned Lesser Scaup Common Goldeneye Hooded Merganser Spruce Grouse Horned Grebe Black-legged Kittiwake Thayer's Gull Iceland Gull Glaucous-winged Gull Glaucous Gull Great Black-backed Gull Snowy Owl Red-bellied Woodpecker American Three-toed Woodpecker Northern Flicker Black-billed Magpie Townsend's Solitaire Varied Thrush Yellow-rumped Warbler Chipping Sparrow Hoary Redpoll -Transcript Hotline: Minnesota, Duluth/North Shore Date: December 23, 2011 Sponsor: Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU) Reports: (218) 834-2858 Compiler: Jim Lind (jslind@frontiernet.net) This is the Duluth Birding Report for December 23rd, 2011 sponsored by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union. A GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL was found by Karl Bardon on the 22nd at Canal Park and was relocated on the 23rd. The BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE was relocated briefly by Karl during the Duluth Christmas Bird Count on the 17th at Canal Park. ICELAND GULLS, GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULLS, GLAUCOUS GULLS, and THAYER'S GULLS continue to be seen in relatively high numbers at Canal Park. The male BARROW’S GOLDENEYE, two COMMON GOLDENEYE X HOODED MERGANSER hybrids, and a late LESSER SCAUP were still present at Canal Park on the 21st. SNOWY OWLS continue to be reported from Duluth’s Port Terminal area. A total of 63 species were seen on the Duluth Christmas Bird Count on the 17th. In addition to the previously mentioned birds, a VARIED THRUSH was found by Pat Thomas at her feeders at 6219 East Superior Street, and the bird has been seen daily though at least the 22nd. Birders are welcome to look for the bird, but are asked to stay between the driveway and the back door and not venture beyond the back of the house while looking for the bird. A TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE was also found on the 17th at the 2300 block of 5th Street East. Another TOWNSEND’S SOLITAIRE was found on the 18th on the 4200 block of McCulloch Street in the Lakeside neighborhood. A BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE was seen along the Riley Road (CR 280) off Jean-Duluth Road (CR 37) on count day, and a NORTHERN FLICKER was seen along West Skyline Drive at 6th Avenue West. In the Woodland neighborhood, RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS were seen along Wabasha Street and along Mygatt Street, and two HOARY REDPOLLS were seen along Allendale Avenue near Fryberger Arena. Highlights from the Two Harbors Christmas Bird Count on the 18th included an AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER at the Flood Bay wayside rest, a late YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER and a HORNED GREBE at the mouth of the Stewart River, and a late CHIPPING SPARROW along 16th Street on the west side of Two Harbors. Mike Hendrickson and Andrew Nyhus saw a SPRUCE GROUSE on the 21st along Lake County Road 2, 1.5 miles south of MN Highway 1. A SNOWY OWL was seen on the 19th during the Sax-Zim Christmas Bird Count along CR 19, about a mile north of CR 133. The next scheduled update of this report will be on Thursday, December 29th. The telephone number of the Duluth Rare Bird Alert is 218-834-2858. 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, e-mail us at mou@moumn.org, or visit the MOU web site at moumn.org. --====1324695409==== Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1"
-RBA
*Minnesota
*Duluth/North Shore
*December 23, 2011
*MNDU1112.23

-Birds mentioned
  • Lesser Scaup
  • Common Goldeneye
  • Hooded Merganser
  • Spruce Grouse
  • Horned Grebe
  • Black-legged Kittiwake
  • Thayer's Gull
  • Iceland Gull
  • Glaucous-winged Gull
  • Glaucous Gull
  • Great Black-backed Gull
  • Snowy Owl
  • Red-bellied Woodpecker
  • American Three-toed Woodpecker
  • Northern Flicker
  • Black-billed Magpie
  • Townsend's Solitaire
  • Varied Thrush
  • Yellow-rumped Warbler
  • Chipping Sparrow
  • Hoary Redpoll
-Transcript

Hotline: Minnesota, Duluth/North Shore
Date: December 23, 2011
Sponsor: Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU)
Reports: (218) 834-2858
Compiler: Jim Lind (jslind@frontiernet.net)

This is the Duluth Birding Report for December 23rd, 2011 sponsored by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.

A GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL was found by Karl Bardon on the 22nd at Canal Park and was relocated on the 23rd. The BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE was relocated briefly by Karl during the Duluth Christmas Bird Count on the 17th at Canal Park. ICELAND GULLS, GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULLS, GLAUCOUS GULLS, and THAYER'S GULLS continue to be seen in relatively high numbers at Canal Park. The male BARROW’S GOLDENEYE, two COMMON GOLDENEYE X HOODED MERGANSER hybrids, and a late LESSER SCAUP were still present at Canal Park on the 21st. SNOWY OWLS continue to be reported from Duluth’s Port Terminal area.

A total of 63 species were seen on the Duluth Christmas Bird Count on the 17th. In addition to the previously mentioned birds, a VARIED THRUSH was found by Pat Thomas at her feeders at 6219 East Superior Street, and the bird has been seen daily though at least the 22nd. Birders are welcome to look for the bird, but are asked to stay between the driveway and the back door and not venture beyond the back of the house while looking for the bird. A TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE was also found on the 17th at the 2300 block of 5th Street East. Another TOWNSEND’S SOLITAIRE was found on the 18th on the 4200 block of McCulloch Street in the Lakeside neighborhood. A BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE was seen along the Riley Road (CR 280) off Jean-Duluth Road (CR 37) on count day, and a NORTHERN FLICKER was seen along West Skyline Drive at 6th Avenue West. In the Woodland neighborhood, RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS were seen along Wabasha Street and along Mygatt Street, and two HOARY REDPOLLS were seen along Allendale Avenue near Fryberger Arena.

Highlights from the Two Harbors Christmas Bird Count on the 18th included an AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER at the Flood Bay wayside rest, a late YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER and a HORNED GREBE at the mouth of the Stewart River, and a late CHIPPING SPARROW along 16th Street on the west side of Two Harbors.

Mike Hendrickson and Andrew Nyhus saw a SPRUCE GROUSE on the 21st along Lake County Road 2, 1.5 miles south of MN Highway 1. A SNOWY OWL was seen on the 19th during the Sax-Zim Christmas Bird Count along CR 19, about a mile north of CR 133.

The next scheduled update of this report will be on Thursday, December 29th.

The telephone number of the Duluth Rare Bird Alert is 218-834-2858. 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, e-mail us at mou@moumn.org, or visit the MOU web site at moumn.org. --====1324695409====-- ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 24 Dec 2011 07:19:47 -0700 Reply-To: Anthony Hertzel Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Anthony Hertzel Subject: MOU RBA 24 December 2011 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="====1324736387====" --====1324736387==== Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" -RBA *Minnesota *Minnesota Statewide *December 24, 2011 *MNST1112.24 -Birds mentioned Barrow's Goldeneye Thayer's Gull Iceland Gull Glaucous-winged Gull Glaucous Gull Great Black-backed Gull Snowy Owl Carolina Wren Townsend's Solitaire Yellow-rumped Warbler -Transcript Hotline: Minnesota Statewide Date: December 24, 2011 Sponsor: Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU) http://moumn.org Reports: (763) 780-8890 Compiler: Anthony Hertzel (rba@moumn.org) This is the Minnesota Birding Report for December 22nd, 2011. In Duluth, Karl Bardon reports that a probable GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL is being seen at Canal Park, along with at least four GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULLS, five ICELAND GULLS, eighteen THAYER'S GULLS, and fourteen GLAUCOUS GULLS. A male BARROW'S GOLDENEYE, was still present here on the 21st. Betsy Beneke reported a BARROW'S GOLDENEYE on the 21st, from the boat ramp at the Municipal Park in Sauk Rapids, Benton County. On December 23rd, a SNOWY OWL was reported by Alex Cruz in Minneapolis near the junction of Glenwood Avenue and I-394. A CAROLINA WREN was still at the feeders at the Visitor Center at Wild River State Park in Chisago County on the 20th. A TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE was found on the 17th along the 2300 block of East 5th Street in Duluth and another was along the 4200 block of McCulloch Street in the Lakeside neighborhood of Duluth on the 18th. A Townsend's Solitaire was in Sherburne County on the 17th, along Sherburne County Road 5, about four-and-a-half miles south of the Prairie's Edge Wildlife Drive. And in Minneapolis, a YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER was seen on the 19th feeding on cedar berries on the south side of Lake Nokomis. The next scheduled update of this tape is December 29th, 2011. --====1324736387==== Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1"

-RBA
*Minnesota
*Minnesota Statewide
*December 24, 2011
*MNST1112.24

-Birds mentioned
  • Barrow's Goldeneye
  • Thayer's Gull
  • Iceland Gull
  • Glaucous-winged Gull
  • Glaucous Gull
  • Great Black-backed Gull
  • Snowy Owl
  • Carolina Wren
  • Townsend's Solitaire
  • Yellow-rumped Warbler
-Transcript

Hotline: Minnesota Statewide
Date: December 24, 2011
Sponsor: Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU) http://moumn.org
Reports: (763) 780-8890
Compiler: Anthony Hertzel (rba@moumn.org)

This is the Minnesota Birding Report for December 22nd, 2011.

In Duluth, Karl Bardon reports that a probable GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL is being seen at Canal Park, along with at least four GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULLS, five ICELAND GULLS, eighteen THAYER'S GULLS, and fourteen GLAUCOUS GULLS. A male BARROW'S GOLDENEYE, was still present here on the 21st. Betsy Beneke reported a BARROW'S GOLDENEYE on the 21st, from the boat ramp at the Municipal Park in Sauk Rapids, Benton County.

On December 23rd, a SNOWY OWL was reported by Alex Cruz in Minneapolis near the junction of Glenwood Avenue and I-394.

A CAROLINA WREN was still at the feeders at the Visitor Center at Wild River State Park in Chisago County on the 20th.

A TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE was found on the 17th along the 2300 block of East 5th Street in Duluth and another was along the 4200 block of McCulloch Street in the Lakeside neighborhood of Duluth on the 18th. A Townsend's Solitaire was in Sherburne County on the 17th, along Sherburne County Road 5, about four-and-a-half miles south of the Prairie's Edge Wildlife Drive.

And in Minneapolis, a YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER was seen on the 19th feeding on cedar berries on the south side of Lake Nokomis.

The next scheduled update of this tape is December 29th, 2011. --====1324736387====-- ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 24 Dec 2011 08:49:46 -0700 Reply-To: douglas chapman Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: douglas chapman Subject: Re: [mou-net] Glaucous-winged Gull, Duluth Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable I have sent the photos to my friends Alan in Seattle. He is probably = busy doing family Christmassy things (family in Florida no doubt), but = will get back to me soon I'm sure. Doug Chapman Sioux Falls, SD On Dec 23, 2011, at 8:53 PM, Jesse Ellis wrote: > Hey all- >=20 > I'm not out to rain on anyone's parade, but I might. I'd be really > interested to hear the opinions of some West-coast gull-meisters on = this > individual. =46rom all of the photos I've seen, the color patterns are > (obviously) good for Glaucous-winged Gull, but a lot of the structure = is > iffy. My chops in terms of gull ID aren't great, but I birded for a = year or > two in the Seattle area, and spent many winters in Ithaca NY gulling. > However it's been a few years since I have put a lot of time into = gulls > (Madison doesn't get many unless you go to the dump.) >=20 > All that said, here's my take on these photos. Every time I look at = them, I > feel weird about the head shape. This includes two aspects. One is the = bill > and the other is the crown. The bill just doesn't seem heavy enough = for a > Glaucous-winged. While it's rather stout, there are a number of photos > where it seems too short and too even. Glaucous-winged Gulls generally = have > honkin' huge bills that are long and have a very heavy tip. This = bird's > bill seems short and fairly even. There are a few pictures that seem = closer > in line to expected for Glaucous-winged Gull, but the best photos = (like > this one: http://www.pbase.com/karlbardon/image/140493686) show a = short, > even bill. The other issue well-illustrated in this photo is the steep > forehead. In my experience, and perusing lots of photos around, > Glaucous-winged Gulls have a flat head and flat forehead sloping = slowly > down to the bill, even moreso than the similar feature on a Herring = Gull. > This bird looks more Thayer's-like in that aspect. >=20 > Another issue is the wing pattern, but this isn't quite as annoying to = me. > Most of the photos and guides I've looked at say that p10 should have = a > large white mirror, while p9 will lack a mirror or show a small = mirror. > This bird has a big mirror. Additionally, most guides and photos show > Glaucous-winged Gulls with very little white tongues/moons on p8 and = not a > ton on p7 (see this photo: > = http://columbiariverimages.com/Birds/Images09Feb/portland_glaucous-winged_= gull_flying_02-16-09.jpg > ). >=20 > I want to be clear, here. These are things about the photos that = bother me, > given my personal experience with Glaucous Gulls. I'm not calling an = ID one > way or another on this bird from 9 photos. I hope I'm wrong! I just = have a > few doubts. I'll probably be up to Duluth to check it out on Monday, = if it > stays. I'm throwing this out there to get some discussion going, = which, I > think, is traditional for gulls... >=20 > Karl, and anyone else who's seen the bird, what do you think about = this? > Have any western gull folks looked at the photos accumulating? Anyone = else > who's seen Glaucous-winged Gulls have opinions? >=20 > Jesse Ellis > Madison WI (and currently Saint Paul, MN) >=20 > On Thu, Dec 22, 2011 at 2:59 PM, Karl Bardon = wrote: >=20 >> Beginning at 9:43 this morning, I have been studying an apparent = adult >> Glaucous-winged Gull at Canal Park, Duluth, St. Louis County. I say >> apparent because of the many complications inherent in identifying = large >> gulls, especially this species. Since Glaucous-winged Gull forms = hybrid >> swarms with multiple other species of gulls (including Glaucous, = Western >> and Herring), where the majority of some local populations are = actually >> hybrids, great must be taken when identifying this species out of = range. >> For now I have posted a single photo on MOU recently seen, but will = include >> a more in depth analysis on my pbase gull pages = (www.pbase.com/karlbardon >> ). >>=20 >> Karl Bardon >> Duluth, MN >>=20 >> ---- >> Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net= >> Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html >>=20 >=20 >=20 >=20 > --=20 > Jesse Ellis > Post-doctoral Researcher > Dept. of Zoology > University of Wisconsin - Madison > Madison, Dane Co, WI >=20 > ---- > Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html >=20 ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 24 Dec 2011 09:54:31 -0700 Reply-To: Terence Brashear Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Terence Brashear Subject: Re: [mou-net] Glaucous-winged Gull, Duluth Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable I forwarded the link to Karl's photos to my friend Stan Walens in San D= iego. He is also taking a look at them. ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 24 Dec 2011 13:17:34 -0700 Reply-To: douglas chapman Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: douglas chapman Subject: Re: [mou-net] Glaucous-winged Gull, Duluth Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Here is Alan Knue's assessment. > From: AJ Knue > Subject: Re: GWGU ID needed > Date: December 24, 2011 12:19:23 PM CST > To: douglas chapman >=20 > I'm in Florida so I haven't had a chance to really study the pics, but = first look it structurally looks wrong. The bill and head shape look = very atypical for Glaucous-winged. It also looks smaller than the = Herring in some of the pics. I bet this is a bird with Kumlien's = genes...maybe Herring x Kumlien's? Maybe I'll have time to look closer = later this evening. AJ >=20 >=20 > ----- > Sent from mBox Mail > Hotmail for iPhone and iPod Touch > http://www.fluentfactory.com/mboxmail >=20 > ________________________ On Dec 24, 2011, at 10:54 AM, Terence Brashear wrote: > I forwarded the link to Karl's photos to my friend Stan Walens in San = Diego. He is also taking a look at them. >=20 > From: douglas chapman ;=20 > To: ;=20 > Subject: Re: [mou-net] Glaucous-winged Gull, Duluth=20 > Sent: Sat, Dec 24, 2011 3:49:40 PM=20 >=20 > I have sent the photos to my friends Alan in Seattle. He is probably = busy doing family Christmassy things (family in Florida no doubt), but = will get back to me soon I'm sure. >=20 > Doug Chapman > Sioux Falls, SD >=20 > On Dec 23, 2011, at 8:53 PM, Jesse Ellis wrote: >=20 > > Hey all- > >=20 > > I'm not out to rain on anyone's parade, but I might. I'd be really > > interested to hear the opinions of some West-coast gull-meisters on = this > > individual. =46rom all of the photos I've seen, the color patterns = are > > (obviously) good for Glaucous-winged Gull, but a lot of the = structure is > > iffy. My chops in terms of gull ID aren't great, but I birded for a = year or > > two in the Seattle area, and spent many winters in Ithaca NY = gulling. > > However it's been a few years since I have put a lot of time into = gulls > > (Madison doesn't get many unless you go to the dump.) > >=20 > > All that said, here's my take on these photos. Every time I look at = them, I > > feel weird about the head shape. This includes two aspects. One is = the bill > > and the other is the crown. The bill just doesn't seem heavy enough = for a > > Glaucous-winged. While it's rather stout, there are a number of = photos > > where it seems too short and too even. Glaucous-winged Gulls = generally have > > honkin' huge bills that are long and have a very heavy tip. This = bird's > > bill seems short and fairly even. There are a few pictures that seem = closer > > in line to expected for Glaucous-winged Gull, but the best photos = (like > > this one: http://www.pbase.com/karlbardon/image/140493686) show a = short, > > even bill. The other issue well-illustrated in this photo is the = steep > > forehead. In my experience, and perusing lots of photos around, > > Glaucous-winged Gulls have a flat head and flat forehead sloping = slowly > > down to the bill, even moreso than the similar feature on a Herring = Gull. > > This bird looks more Thayer's-like in that aspect. > >=20 > > Another issue is the wing pattern, but this isn't quite as annoying = to me. > > Most of the photos and guides I've looked at say that p10 should = have a > > large white mirror, while p9 will lack a mirror or show a small = mirror. > > This bird has a big mirror. Additionally, most guides and photos = show > > Glaucous-winged Gulls with very little white tongues/moons on p8 and = not a > > ton on p7 (see this photo: > > = http://columbiariverimages.com/Birds/Images09Feb/portland_glaucous-winged_= gull_flying_02-16-09.jpg > > ). > >=20 > > I want to be clear, here. These are things about the photos that = bother me, > > given my personal experience with Glaucous Gulls. I'm not calling an = ID one > > way or another on this bird from 9 photos. I hope I'm wrong! I just = have a > > few doubts. I'll probably be up to Duluth to check it out on Monday, = if it > > stays. I'm throwing this out there to get some discussion going, = which, I > > think, is traditional for gulls... > >=20 > > Karl, and anyone else who's seen the bird, what do you think about = this? > > Have any western gull folks looked at the photos accumulating? = Anyone else > > who's seen Glaucous-winged Gulls have opinions? > >=20 > > Jesse Ellis > > Madison WI (and currently Saint Paul, MN) > >=20 > > On Thu, Dec 22, 2011 at 2:59 PM, Karl Bardon = wrote: > >=20 > >> Beginning at 9:43 this morning, I have been studying an apparent = adult > >> Glaucous-winged Gull at Canal Park, Duluth, St. Louis County. I say > >> apparent because of the many complications inherent in identifying = large > >> gulls, especially this species. Since Glaucous-winged Gull forms = hybrid > >> swarms with multiple other species of gulls (including Glaucous, = Western > >> and Herring), where the majority of some local populations are = actually > >> hybrids, great must be taken when identifying this species out of = range. > >> For now I have posted a single photo on MOU recently seen, but will = include > >> a more in depth analysis on my pbase gull pages = (www.pbase.com/karlbardon > >> ). > >>=20 > >> Karl Bardon > >> Duluth, MN > >>=20 > >> ---- > >> Join or Leave mou-net: = http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net > >> Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > >>=20 > >=20 > >=20 > >=20 > > --=20 > > Jesse Ellis > > Post-doctoral Researcher > > Dept. of Zoology > > University of Wisconsin - Madison > > Madison, Dane Co, WI > >=20 > > ---- > > Join or Leave mou-net: = http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net > > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > >=20 >=20 > ---- > Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 24 Dec 2011 13:36:02 -0700 Reply-To: Sandy Aubol Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Sandy Aubol Subject: [mou-net] Polk County Snowy Owl Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Early this afternoon, my husband and I observed a juvenile Snowy Owl just o= n the eastern edge of East Grand Forks (Polk County), kitty-corner across H= wy 2 from American Crystal Sugar. It was perched on a small lift station.= =0A=A0=0AJust north of the Crystal Sugar lagoons, a Bald=A0Eagle was perche= d in a tree overlooking 25-30 jackrabbits. It then flew over the lagoons an= d stirred up several thousand Canada geese with what looked like a few Cack= ling geese mixed in. =0A=A0=0AWe saw a Rough-legged Hawk about 14-15 miles = east of East Grand Forks late this morning, at the intersection of 300th Av= e SW and 150th St. SW.=A0 =0A=A0=0AAn Eastern Towhee and 2 Harris's Sparrow= s continue to feed in my yard in East Grand Forks.=0A=A0=0ASandy Aubol=0AEa= st Grand Forks, MN=0APolk County ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 24 Dec 2011 14:19:08 -0700 Reply-To: Brian Wisconsin Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Brian Wisconsin Subject: [mou-net] Townsend's Solitaire at CNC 12/24 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Saw the Solitaire on 12/24 at Carpenter Nature Center around 2:00. It was = above the first bench past the observation point on the Savanna Trail. =20 It was the most helpful bird. I heard its call as it perched in the same s= pot roughly 15 feet off the ground for maybe one minute=2C giving me a grea= t view. It did not seem the least concerned about me. Brian = ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 24 Dec 2011 16:07:23 -0700 Reply-To: Jenn Gillen Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Jenn Gillen Subject: [mou-net] Dakota County Snowy Owl (Black Dog Lake) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Saw a Snowy Owl sitting on the easternmost shoreline (near 77) of Black Dog= =20 Lake around 3:30 this afternoon. If you drive toward the power plant on=20 Black Dog road the owl was visible along the shore from the bridge at the=20 outlet. We got a clear view without crossing the No Tresspassing signs. Also seen on the lake: lots of Common Mergansers, one Red-breasted=20 Merganser, and one Ruddy Duck. On the other side of black dog lake accessed off of the 35W and Black Dog=20 Road exit, the previously reported Glaucous Gull was sitting on the ice on= =20 the Minnesota River, at lake outlet. ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 25 Dec 2011 09:22:20 -0700 Reply-To: Jesse Ellis Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Jesse Ellis Subject: [mou-net] Old Cedar Avenue - Glaucous Gull Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hey MN - Yesterday some of my family and I took a short walk at Old Cedar Avenue in the MN Valley Natl Wildlife Refuge at around 1:30 yesterday. It was very quiet in terms of passerines, but there's a lead of open water which was productive, visible from the boardwalk platform. There were about 75 Herring Gulls and a handful of Ring-billed Gulls, and a single 1st-cycle Glaucous Gull on the ice. There were about 10 Trumpeter Swans, some Canada Geese, and a few Common Mergansers, Goldeneye and Mallards. Further west in the glare of the sun were many more waterfowl, probably also geese and swans. --=20 Jesse Ellis Post-doctoral Researcher Dept. of Zoology University of Wisconsin - Madison Madison, Dane Co, WI ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Sun, 25 Dec 2011 21:29:04 -0700 Reply-To: Jesse Ellis Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Jesse Ellis Subject: Re: [mou-net] Glaucous-winged Gull, Duluth Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hey all- For the record, while a few folks have suggested other possibilities, quite a few experienced gull folk out there have said that the individual in Karl's photos is consistent with a small female Glaucous-winged Gull. I therefore have to second Miek Hendrickson and say this one's for the records committee. Here's hoping! If anyone else has seen it this weekend I'd love to hear about it. My dad and I will be looking tomorrow. Happy Holidays to all, Jesse Ellis On Sat, Dec 24, 2011 at 10:54 AM, Terence Brashear wrot= e: > I forwarded the link to Karl's photos to my friend Stan Walens in San > Diego. He is also taking a look at them. > > ---- > Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > --=20 Jesse Ellis Post-doctoral Researcher Dept. of Zoology University of Wisconsin - Madison Madison, Dane Co, WI ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 26 Dec 2011 07:53:19 -0700 Reply-To: Joel Claus Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Joel Claus Subject: [mou-net] MSP Airport Snowy Owl Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Decided to check the airport on the way home from Christmas festivities yes= terday. We found a young Snowy Owl perched on a red runway/taxiway light a= long Cargo Road at 4:40 PM. The bird was on the south side of the road and= just past the first tunnel. It was on the closest set of lights to the ro= ad. While we were watching it flew over by the Humphrey Terminal and ended= up on some very tall light poles. =20 Joel Claus Eden Prairie = ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 26 Dec 2011 14:44:49 -0600 Reply-To: "John P. Ellis" Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: "John P. Ellis" Subject: GWGU@ 27th Ave 12:30 Mime-Version: 1.0 (1.0) Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Briefly on ice, flew west. Also 12 GLGU, 1 ICGU, 2 GBBG , 2 THGU, goshawk. Sent from my iPhone ========================================================================= Date: Mon, 26 Dec 2011 16:00:25 -0700 Reply-To: Scott Mehus Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Scott Mehus Subject: [mou-net] Freeborn county snowy owl Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable On Christmas day I thought it would be nice to show my mother a snowy owl, = and thought we would head up to Albert Lea to try and relocate the snowy ow= l by Love's Truck Stop that Al Batt had reported earlier in the week. We h= ad just gotten out of my hometown of Glenville along HWY 65 when we are abl= e to spot a juvenile male snowy on a power line pole. My mother and boys w= ere able to get great looks at this snowy which was about 2 miles north of = the town of Glenville. We were unable to relocate the Truck Stop owl thoug= h. Of the ten snowy owls that I have seen this winter, this was one of the dar= kest yet. THANK YOU, Scott A. Mehus Education and Eagle Research Director NATIONAL EAGLE CENTER 50 Pembroke Avenue Wabasha Minnesota 55981 651-565-5357 - Fax 651-565-4989 ext. 101 Email scott@nationaleaglecenter.org ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 27 Dec 2011 07:32:58 -0700 Reply-To: MARK OTNES Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: MARK OTNES Subject: [mou-net] MOU Records Committee - Ferruginous Hawk Accepted 6-1 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable I appreciated seeing the proceedings of the MOU records committee in the latest issue of the Loon. I find the reasons for records turned down and dissents (2 or greater, I guess) to be very informative. I would also like to see the reasons for dissent on those records that are accepted on a 6 to 1 vote. In particular, I would love to read the one dissent on the Ferruginous Hawk seen and photographed (shown in the Loon) in Lac Qui Parle County on 10-25-2010. I'm not an ace birder, particularly when it comes to raptors, so I would like to see that reasons that that raptor pictured in the Loon might not have been a Ferruginous Hawk. Mark Otnes Fargo ND 701-241-4194 markotnes@cableone.net ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 27 Dec 2011 08:32:41 -0700 Reply-To: Steve Weston Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Steve Weston Subject: Re: [mou-net] MOU Records Committee - Ferruginous Hawk Accepted 6-1 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable I agree. I fear that the vote against the Ferruginous Hawk has nothing to do with data (in this case a clear photo), but has to do with either of two factors: - a prejudice against the data gather. I do not believe that such prejudices should not be part of the process and that if the data can not be impartially analyzed then the committee's processes are tainted and should be modified. I, for one, would prefer that the records be submitted to the committee without identifying the observer. By the way, I do not feel that I am personally affected by this prejudice. - a predisposition against what birds are expected to be observed. An example was the dismissal of an observation of several cowbirds overwintering in Dakota County years ago by a well respected, birder/ornithologist, and committee member, as not being likely. We now know that cowbirds regularly overwinter at large feed lots in Dakota County. So, why isn't this a Ferruginous Hawk? --=20 Steve Weston sweston2@comcast.net On Tue, Dec 27, 2011 at 8:32 AM, MARK OTNES wrote: > I appreciated seeing the proceedings of the MOU records committee in the > latest issue of the Loon. I find the reasons for records turned down and > dissents (2 or greater, I guess) to be very informative. I would also > like to see the reasons for dissent on those records that are accepted on= a > 6 to 1 vote. In particular, I would love to read the one dissent on the > Ferruginous Hawk seen and photographed (shown in the Loon) in Lac Qui Par= le > County on 10-25-2010. I'm not an ace birder, particularly when it comes = to > raptors, so I would like to see that reasons that that raptor pictured in > the Loon might not have been a Ferruginous Hawk. > > Mark Otnes > Fargo ND > 701-241-4194 > markotnes@cableone.net > > ---- > Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 27 Dec 2011 09:15:42 -0700 Reply-To: Robin LaFortune Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Robin LaFortune Subject: [mou-net] Townsend's Solitaire Western Henn Co Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hi, I found a Townsend's Solitaire on Sun and Mon at Lake Rebecca Park = Reserve near Delano. This was the same area that I found a Solitaire = twice on 2 separate years(but not last year). The location is directly = east of Rattail Lake, south of the hiking trail and west of Co Rd 92. I = can't give very good directions as I was walking off trail thru the = pines close to 92 and south of the hiking trail Also in the area, I flushed a GHO and saw a couple of Brown Creepers and = Red-breasted Nuthatches. No winter finches, and otherwise pretty quiet. Robin LaFortune Delano, MN ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 27 Dec 2011 18:38:38 -0700 Reply-To: Refsnider Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Refsnider Subject: [mou-net] Aitkin County Great Gray Owl Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Thanks to previous posts, at noon today we were able to refind the great gray owl on Hwy. 18 in Aitkin County. It was perched in a tree right along the roadside ditch 2.8 miles east of Hwy. 169. Previous posts had noted it at 2.9 and 4.6 miles east of 169. Our thanks to the folks who continue to post the locations of wintering owls. The great gray owl was a lifer for two members of our group, so the previous posts were greatly appreciated. Near that location on 18 we also observed 12-15 white-winged crossbills (a lifer for one of us) and several common redpolls. On the way back to the Cities we make a quick stop at Cedar Creek to check on the red-headed woodpeckers reported by Steve Weston. We easily spotted 6-8 individuals from the public hiking trail from the parking lot at the north end of Durant. This, too, was a lifer for one of our group. A very good day of birding, due to the kindness of previous posters. Thanks again. Ron Refsnider Coon Rapids ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 28 Dec 2011 10:20:45 -0700 Reply-To: Carl Greiner Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Carl Greiner Subject: Re: [mou-net] MOU Records Committee - Ferruginous Hawk Accepted 6-1 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Thanks for your input. I appreciate any suggestions and opportunities = for improvement to make the MOU better. The Minnesota Ornithologists Union Records Committee (MOURC) provides a very valuable function to the MOU. = By peer-reviewing official state records, they confirm and validate those records so that everyone may have a high degree of confidence that our records are accurate. The MOURC members are all accomplished in bird identification and graciously volunteer a considerable amount of time serving on this Committee. It is a thankless job. If they are too = stringent, they are criticized for not accepting someone's record; whereas, if they = are too lenient, they would be criticized because your records would be meaningless. The MOURC operates under defined rules (http://moumn.org/mourc/bylaws.php ); however, bird identification is = too complex to be completely objective (refer to the recent discussions on = the presumed Glaucous-winged Gull). Because of the subjectivity and the requirement that the records that are approved are as accurate as = possible, there occasionally will be situations where the submitter or some of the = MOU membership does not agree with the way a MOURC member votes. This is ok, that is why the MOURC is a committee and does not require a unanimous = vote to approve a record, even a first state record. Much like a jury, the = MOURC weighs the available evidence and makes an informed decision based on = such evidence. This process helps to insure that the MOU records and archive = are as accurate as possible. In addition, if new evidence comes to light = after a record has been voted that might change the outcome of the original = vote, a new vote will take place if a majority of the Committee approves. This provides an additional safeguard for records that may have been = incomplete or inaccurate when initially submitted or when new knowledge about a particular species is subsequently discovered. In this case, the Ferruginous Hawk was approved. In my opinion, it would be extremely unproductive to micromanage individual votes or to = make suppositions concerning an individual's motive for voting one way or the other, especially without the evidence that was made available to the = MOURC. While I welcome public review of the MOU's policies and procedures, if = you have questions or concerns about a particular individual or vote, please contact Tom Tustison (the MOURC Chairman) or myself rather than in a = public forum.=20 I think this case illustrates that the system works. I want to = thank the MOURC for performing this very challenging and unrewarding job and including a description of the Committee's decision of records that were = not accepted in the Loon. We can all learn from the descriptions of why the MOURC did not accept a record. I don't agree that we should have each = member of the Committee write an explanation of every vote or even every = negative vote. That is just too burdensome for people who are already = volunteering a large amount of time.=20 Thanks, Carl Carl Greiner=20 President,=20 Minnesota Ornithologists=92 Union =A0 1616 Hill St. S.W. Chatfield, MN. 55923 507-271-8286 cgreiner@mchsi.com -----Original Message----- From: Minnesota Birds [mailto:MOU-NET@LISTS.UMN.EDU] On Behalf Of Steve Weston Sent: Tuesday, December 27, 2011 9:33 AM To: MOU-NET@LISTS.UMN.EDU Subject: Re: [mou-net] MOU Records Committee - Ferruginous Hawk Accepted = 6-1 I agree. I fear that the vote against the Ferruginous Hawk has nothing = to do with data (in this case a clear photo), but has to do with either of = two factors: - a prejudice against the data gather. I do not believe that such prejudices should not be part of the process and that if the data can = not be impartially analyzed then the committee's processes are tainted and should be modified. I, for one, would prefer that the records be submitted to the committee without identifying the observer. By the = way, I do not feel that I am personally affected by this prejudice. - a predisposition against what birds are expected to be observed. An example was the dismissal of an observation of several cowbirds overwintering in Dakota County years ago by a well respected, birder/ornithologist, and committee member, as not being likely. We now know that cowbirds regularly overwinter at large feed lots in Dakota = County. So, why isn't this a Ferruginous Hawk? --=20 Steve Weston sweston2@comcast.net On Tue, Dec 27, 2011 at 8:32 AM, MARK OTNES = wrote: > I appreciated seeing the proceedings of the MOU records committee in = the > latest issue of the Loon. I find the reasons for records turned down = and > dissents (2 or greater, I guess) to be very informative. I would = also > like to see the reasons for dissent on those records that are accepted = on a > 6 to 1 vote. In particular, I would love to read the one dissent on = the > Ferruginous Hawk seen and photographed (shown in the Loon) in Lac Qui Parle > County on 10-25-2010. I'm not an ace birder, particularly when it = comes to > raptors, so I would like to see that reasons that that raptor pictured = in > the Loon might not have been a Ferruginous Hawk. > > Mark Otnes > Fargo ND > 701-241-4194 > markotnes@cableone.net > > ---- > Join or Leave mou-net: = http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 28 Dec 2011 11:09:23 -0700 Reply-To: Laura Erickson Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Laura Erickson Subject: Re: [mou-net] MOU Records Committee - Ferruginous Hawk Accepted 6-1 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable I am not and have never served on any state records committee, but for a few years I was the spring seasonal reports editor for the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology, and as such had to make decisions about sightings that weren't significant enough to warrant review by the state records committee. Over the years, especially when I was out birding all the time before getting too darned busy writing about birds to have time to watch them, I've had a handful of rare bird sightings accepted in Wisconsin and Minnesota, and I've had a handful of rare bird sightings rejected in both states. I'm also sort of a photographer, and have spent thousands of hours scrutinizing my own photos and helping people to identify birds in their photos in my capacity answering some email inquiries to for a national ornithological institution. I can think of a few reasonable explanations for why a knowledgeable committee member might reject a sighting, even one supported by a photo. (As Carl noted, consider the debate with regard to the Glaucous-winged Gull.) In the case of an exceptional hawk, even when identification is unquestionable, there is always the possibility that a bird escaped from a falconer rather than being a true vagrant. Birders naturally want all our reports to be accepted, both for our sense of validation as competent birders and because our lists depend on it., and MOURC serves as our referee or umpire. But MOURC's more important role is scientific. As the Glaucous-winged Gull discussion shows, there can be differences of opinion even among experts regarding the identification of a bird shown clearly in photos, and there can also be differences of opinion as to the likelihood of the origin of vagrants/escapees. In the case Steve mentioned of the cowbirds, I think the committee acted in a perfectly reasonable way, rejecting a sighting that seemed fundamentally improbable until further information came to light. I can remember when a MOURC member recommended taking Anhingas off the state list, including his own record of one, after discovering some interesting soaring behaviors in cormorants that hadn't been taken into account in the reports. Theoretically, in a perfect world, open discussion of a single dissenting committee member's vote could be enlightening, but seems far more likely to open up these hard working individuals to personal attack. I know that there are always suspicions that this or that committee member is making a decision based on personalities rather than evidence, but despite my own history of involvement in various controversies in Minnesota birding, I've never ever felt that any committee member was likely to decide on a vote for any except legitimate reasons involving accurate identification and reasonable expectation that a bird was a true vagrant rather than an escapee. Allowing one dissenting vote on a committee of seven recognizes both the difficulties involved in making determinations of significant records and the importance of a scientific committee being conservative. At any given moment, the Minnesota Checklist is our best understanding of the status of birds in our state, and thanks to this conscientious committee, our list is ever evolving. I am very proud to live in a state with such a fine records committee. --=20 Laura Erickson Duluth, MN For the love, understanding, and protection of birds There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =97Rachel Carson Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 28 Dec 2011 13:17:47 -0700 Reply-To: Jesse Ellis Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Jesse Ellis Subject: Re: [mou-net] MOU Records Committee - Ferruginous Hawk Accepted 6-1 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hey all- As I understand it, another serious issue can be the quality of the report (as opposed to the photo). I have no idea if this is true with the Ferruginous Hawk record or not. But I've heard of issues where only a photograph is submitted, with no other information or documentation. While the photo may indeed be of the species in question, without other corroborating information, the record is incomplete in in some cases useless. I think in many cases if we give the records committees the respect of time put into completely documenting our sightings, we will often be rewarded with acceptance; they're already doing a lot of work for us, and the least we can do is make accepting the record easy for them. As noted, too, one can always resubmit with better explanations of how (for instance) a hybrid was or could be ruled out, even if that information was not in the original report. Jesse Ellis Madison WI ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 28 Dec 2011 14:53:10 -0700 Reply-To: Laura Erickson Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Laura Erickson Subject: Re: [mou-net] MOU Records Committee - Ferruginous Hawk Accepted 6-1 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable One thing that several states do, which seems like a good idea, is to keep all the documentation and the Records Committee comments and votes in a file that is archived and open for public inspection in a secure location. For example, New York archives their committee records at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. If MOU were to do this, I'd presume the Bell Museum would be the right place for maintaining the archives. Of course, for all I know, this may already be the protocol. But again, as someone who is utterly burned out after serving on various boards and committees, I do not see any value in adding to the workload of people on MOURC. And I think it's both unkind and destructive of a cohesive birding community to engage a whole listserv in criticizing an important committee, and specifically questioning one person's vote on that committee, when we never seem to engage the listserv in pointing out the huge contribution that this committee makes in maintaining our state, national, and international ornithological standing. I would much rather see the committee members feeling free to vote their concerns on a record than be pressured into making votes unanimous when legitimate questions may exist about a particular record. Laura Erickson Duluth, MN For the love, understanding, and protection of birds There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =97Rachel Carson Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 28 Dec 2011 16:45:42 -0700 Reply-To: Paul Budde Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Paul Budde Subject: [mou-net] Snowy Owl and gulls in Hennepin/Dakota Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable A heavily marked immature Snowy Owl was visible far to the south from the p= arking lot on the south side of Cargo Rd just west of the first tunnel. A s= cope was essential as the bird was near the warehouse-like structure with m= any "garage doors". Seen today at 4:30 PM.=20 At Black Dog there was a large collection of gulls at the east end of the e= ast pond (nearest Hwy 77). The Franklin's Gull was still present, along wit= h 4 Glaucous Gulls, a few Ring-billeds and hundreds of Herrings.=20 Paul Paul Budde | Aon Benfield Aon Benfield Analytics t: +1 952.886.8119 m: +1 612.810.3172 e: paul.budde@aonbenfield.com (Sent from BlackBerry)= ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Wed, 28 Dec 2011 18:45:06 -0700 Reply-To: Jeanie Joppru Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Jeanie Joppru Subject: Northwest Minnesota Birding Report- Wednesday, December 28, 2011 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="====1325123106====" --====1325123106==== Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" -RBA *Minnesota *Detroit Lakes *December 28, 2011 *MNDL1112.28 -Birds mentioned Canada Goose Bald Eagle Rough-legged Hawk Merlin Snowy Owl Northern Flicker Brown Creeper Golden-crowned Kinglet American Robin Cedar Waxwing Eastern Towhee White-throated Sparrow Harris's Sparrow -Transcript Hotline: Minnesota, Detroit Lakes Date: December 28, 2011 Sponsor: Lakes Area Birding Club, Detroit Lakes Regional Chamber of Commerce Reports: 1-800-542-3992 (weekdays during business hours) Compiler: Jeanie Joppru (ajjoppru@q.com) This is the Northwest Minnesota Birding Report for Wednesday, December 28, 2011 sponsored by the Detroit Lakes Regional Chamber of Commerce. You may also hear this report by calling (218)847-5743 or 1-800-433-1888. This report will be a day early so that this reporter can participate in the Christmas Bird County in the Beltrami Island State Forest. It appears to be a rather quiet week both with the weather and the birds. From Polk County, Sandy Aubol reported a large flock of over 2000 CANADA GEESE that flew over the city of East Grand Forks on December 23. An EASTERN TOWHEE, WHITE-THROATED SPARROW, and two HARRIS'S SPARROWS were still coming to her feeder that day. A juvenile SNOWY OWL was found on the east edge of East Grand Forks across from the American Crystal Sugar plant, and a BALD EAGLE could be seen just north of the Crystal Sugar lagoons. A ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was seen about 15 miles east of the city of East Grand Forks. The Grand Forks-East Grand Forks CBC found a MERLIN, 2 GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS, 10 AMERICAN ROBINS, and several CEDAR WAXWINGS on the Minnesota side of the Red River. Here is Pennington County, a NORTHERN FLICKER visited our feeder east of Thief River Falls early on Christmas morning. Linda Johnson reported a BROWN CREEPER in her yard in Thief River Falls on December 26. Thanks to Dave Lambeth, Linda Johnson, and Sandy Aubol for their reports. Please report bird sightings to Jeanie Joppru by email, no later than Thursday each week, at ajjoppru@mncable.net OR call the Detroit Lakes Chamber's toll free number: 1-800-542-3992. Detroit Lakes area birders please call 847-9202. Please include the county where the sighting took place. The next scheduled update of this report is Thursday, January 4, 2012. Jeanie Joppru Pennington County, MN --====1325123106==== Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1"

-RBA
*Minnesota
*Detroit Lakes
*December 28, 2011
*MNDL1112.28

-Birds mentioned
  • Canada Goose
  • Bald Eagle
  • Rough-legged Hawk
  • Merlin
  • Snowy Owl
  • Northern Flicker
  • Brown Creeper
  • Golden-crowned Kinglet
  • American Robin
  • Cedar Waxwing
  • Eastern Towhee
  • White-throated Sparrow
  • Harris's Sparrow
-Transcript

Hotline: Minnesota, Detroit Lakes
Date: December 28, 2011
Sponsor: Lakes Area Birding Club, Detroit Lakes Regional Chamber of Commerce
Reports: 1-800-542-3992 (weekdays during business hours)
Compiler: Jeanie Joppru (ajjoppru@q.com)

This is the Northwest Minnesota Birding Report for Wednesday, December 28, 2011 sponsored by the Detroit Lakes Regional Chamber of Commerce. You may also hear this report by calling (218)847-5743 or 1-800-433-1888.

This report will be a day early so that this reporter can participate in the Christmas Bird County in the Beltrami Island State Forest. It appears to be a rather quiet week both with the weather and the birds.

From Polk County, Sandy Aubol reported a large flock of over 2000 CANADA GEESE that flew over the city of East Grand Forks on December 23. An EASTERN TOWHEE, WHITE-THROATED SPARROW, and two HARRIS'S SPARROWS were still coming to her feeder that day. A juvenile SNOWY OWL was found on the east edge of East Grand Forks across from the American Crystal Sugar plant, and a BALD EAGLE could be seen just north of the Crystal Sugar lagoons. A ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was seen about 15 miles east of the city of East Grand Forks. The Grand Forks-East Grand Forks CBC found a MERLIN, 2 GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS, 10 AMERICAN ROBINS, and several CEDAR WAXWINGS on the Minnesota side of the Red River.

Here is Pennington County, a NORTHERN FLICKER visited our feeder east of Thief River Falls early on Christmas morning. Linda Johnson reported a BROWN CREEPER in her yard in Thief River Falls on December 26.

Thanks to Dave Lambeth, Linda Johnson, and Sandy Aubol for their reports.

Please report bird sightings to Jeanie Joppru by email, no later than Thursday each week, at ajjoppru@mncable.net OR call the Detroit Lakes Chamber's toll free number: 1-800-542-3992. Detroit Lakes area birders please call 847-9202. Please include the county where the sighting took place. The next scheduled update of this report is Thursday, January 4, 2012.

Jeanie Joppru Pennington County, MN

--====1325123106====-- ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 29 Dec 2011 05:58:28 -0700 Reply-To: MARK OTNES Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: MARK OTNES Subject: Re: [mou-net] MOU Records Committee - Ferruginous Hawk Accepted 6-1 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable I appreciate all of the feedback on this post. My intention in posting was not to attack the committee or anyone on it, but was due to genuine curiosity on why one member thought that the bird should not be accepted. = A contrarian view sometimes becomes the dominant view and I just wanted to know what that view was in this case. It=92s kind of like the Supreme Cour= t where there=92s always a dissenting opinion that spells out why certain members didn=92t sign on to the majority opinion. It can be useful and mak= e you think and make you reexamine what you believe, all of which can be healthy. Anyway, that=92s why I posted what I did. Mark Otnes On Wed, Dec 28, 2011 at 3:53 PM, Laura Erickson < chickadee.erickson@gmail.com> wrote: > One thing that several states do, which seems like a good idea, is to > keep all the documentation and the Records Committee comments and > votes in a file that is archived and open for public inspection in a > secure location. For example, New York archives their committee > records at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. If MOU were to do this, I'd > presume the Bell Museum would be the right place for maintaining the > archives. Of course, for all I know, this may already be the protocol. > > But again, as someone who is utterly burned out after serving on > various boards and committees, I do not see any value in adding to the > workload of people on MOURC. And I think it's both unkind and > destructive of a cohesive birding community to engage a whole listserv > in criticizing an important committee, and specifically questioning > one person's vote on that committee, when we never seem to engage the > listserv in pointing out the huge contribution that this committee > makes in maintaining our state, national, and international > ornithological standing. I would much rather see the committee members > feeling free to vote their concerns on a record than be pressured into > making votes unanimous when legitimate questions may exist about a > particular record. > > Laura Erickson > Duluth, MN > > For the love, understanding, and protection of birds > > There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds. > There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of > nature--the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after > the winter. > > =97Rachel Carson > > Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. > > ---- > Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 29 Dec 2011 12:25:42 -0700 Reply-To: james otto Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: james otto Subject: [mou-net] dakota county townsend's solitaire Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Today at 12:15 Mark Junghans and I saw a Townsend's Solitaire at the Castle= Rock Cementry in Dakota County.This is located on Dakota County 53N (Alver= no ave) north of Dakota County 80S about quarter of a mile. This is betwee= n Mn State 3 and County 79. Jim Otto = ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 29 Dec 2011 17:01:56 -0700 Reply-To: Heidi Hughes Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Heidi Hughes Subject: [mou-net] A Harrier, Snowy Owl and Brown Creeper Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable I spotted a male Northern Harrier feeding on a rodent late this afternoon on the berm of the Agassiz Valley flood control impoundment on 190th St. at 270th Ave NW in Warren. We've had a Brown Creeper on the black willows near feeders at the Audubon Center all week and we are still seeing lots of Rough-legged Hawks in local CRP lands. Only one Snowy Owl report - east of Crookston on Hwy 2 near Sherack. --=20 Heidi Hughes Agassiz Audubon Society 27391 190th Street NW Warren MN 56762 218.745.5663 http://AgassizAudubon.blogspot.com http://OnLakeAgassiz.blogspot.com Visit the Audubon Center of the Red River Valley & Omdahl Arboretum! ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 29 Dec 2011 21:24:19 -0700 Reply-To: Malcolm Gold Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Malcolm Gold Subject: [mou-net] Wadena Golden Eagle Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable While visiting my in-laws this week my wife and I have taken the opportunity to get out and explore with kids enjoying their time with grandparents. Our winter highlights include the following along with expected birds. 6 Rough-legged Hawks & 3 Male Northern Harriers (along HWY 71 and County 66 north of Wadena) 1 Golden Eagle (Flying north along 71 north of Wadena) 12 Common Redpolls (Kent Sheer's private park behind Kals Kars) - Malcolm Gold (Winona MN) http://mcmdgold.blogspot.com/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/malcolmgold/ ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 30 Dec 2011 10:09:27 -0700 Reply-To: Paul Budde Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Paul Budde Subject: [mou-net] dakota county townsend's solitaire Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Jim and Mark's solitaire was still present this morning, calling and feedin= g up the hill in the southwest corner of the cemetery. Also present was a P= urple Finch.=20 Paul Paul Budde | Aon Benfield Aon Benfield Analytics t: +1 952.886.8119 m: +1 612.810.3172 e: paul.budde@aonbenfield.com (Sent from BlackBerry) ----- Original Message ----- From: james otto [mailto:jlotto1@MSN.COM] Sent: Thursday, December 29, 2011 01:25 PM=0A= To: MOU-NET@LISTS.UMN.EDU Subject: [mou-net] dakota county townsend's solitaire Today at 12:15 Mark Junghans and I saw a Townsend's Solitaire at the Castle= Rock Cementry in Dakota County.This is located on Dakota County 53N (Alver= no ave) north of Dakota County 80S about quarter of a mile. This is betwee= n Mn State 3 and County 79. Jim Otto =20 ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 30 Dec 2011 12:18:21 -0700 Reply-To: Jim Lind Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Jim Lind Subject: Duluth RBA 12/30/11 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="====1325272701====" --====1325272701==== Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" -RBA *Minnesota *Duluth/North Shore *December 30, 2011 *MNDU1112.30 -Birds mentioned Thayer's Gull Iceland Gull Glaucous-winged Gull Glaucous Gull Great Black-backed Gull Varied Thrush Yellow-rumped Warbler -Transcript Hotline: Minnesota, Duluth/North Shore Date: December 30, 2011 Sponsor: Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU) Reports: (218) 834-2858 Compiler: Jim Lind (jslind@frontiernet.net) This is the Duluth Birding Report for December 30th, 2011 sponsored by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union. The apparent GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL was still present in the Duluth harbor as of the 29th. It has been seen by several observers at Canal Park and at WLSSD near the mouth of Miller Creek at 27th Avenue West. ICELAND GULLS, GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULLS, GLAUCOUS GULLS, and THAYER'S GULLS continue to be seen at both locations. The VARIED THRUSH at Pat Thomas's feeders at 6219 East Superior Street was seen as recently as the 25th. Birders are welcome to look for the bird, but are asked to stay between the driveway and the back door and not venture beyond the back of the house while looking for the bird. Dudley Edmundson saw a late-lingering YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER in Duluth on the 29th below London Road between 15th and 16th Avenue East. The next scheduled update of this report will be on Thursday, January 5th. The telephone number of the Duluth Rare Bird Alert is 218-834-2858. 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, e-mail us at mou@moumn.org, or visit the MOU web site at moumn.org. --====1325272701==== Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1"

-RBA
*Minnesota
*Duluth/North Shore
*December 30, 2011
*MNDU1112.30

-Birds mentioned
  • Thayer's Gull
  • Iceland Gull
  • Glaucous-winged Gull
  • Glaucous Gull
  • Great Black-backed Gull
  • Varied Thrush
  • Yellow-rumped Warbler
-Transcript

Hotline: Minnesota, Duluth/North Shore
Date: December 30, 2011
Sponsor: Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU)
Reports: (218) 834-2858
Compiler: Jim Lind (jslind@frontiernet.net)

This is the Duluth Birding Report for December 30th, 2011 sponsored by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.

The apparent GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL was still present in the Duluth harbor as of the 29th. It has been seen by several observers at Canal Park and at WLSSD near the mouth of Miller Creek at 27th Avenue West. ICELAND GULLS, GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULLS, GLAUCOUS GULLS, and THAYER'S GULLS continue to be seen at both locations.

The VARIED THRUSH at Pat Thomas's feeders at 6219 East Superior Street was seen as recently as the 25th. Birders are welcome to look for the bird, but are asked to stay between the driveway and the back door and not venture beyond the back of the house while looking for the bird. Dudley Edmundson saw a late-lingering YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER in Duluth on the 29th below London Road between 15th and 16th Avenue East.

The next scheduled update of this report will be on Thursday, January 5th.

The telephone number of the Duluth Rare Bird Alert is 218-834-2858. 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, e-mail us at mou@moumn.org, or visit the MOU web site at moumn.org. --====1325272701====-- ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 30 Dec 2011 14:00:41 -0700 Reply-To: Robert Burmaster Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Robert Burmaster Subject: [mou-net] Hennepin County - MSP Airport - Cargo Road - Snowy Owl - 12/30/2011 - with Photos Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hi - I live 5 minutes from MSP and have regularly been touring Cargo Road in hop= es of spotting a Snowy Owl. My persistence (obsession) finally paid off tod= ay.=20 Snowy Owl spotted just south of the second tunnel entrance and just west of= Cargo Road. First sitting on the taxiway adjacent to the North/South runwa= y. He then jumped up to a taxiway sign. I watched it for about 20 minutes b= efore a plane came through the taxiway and flushed it to another taxiway si= gn the west side of the runway. He probably would have sat where he was muc= h longer if not for the plane that went by on the taxiway. Here are a bunch of the best photos I caught.http://www.flickr.com/photos/r= burmaster/sets/72157628640126835/ Kindest regards=2CBob Burmasterrburmaster@hotmail.comMinneapolis = ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 30 Dec 2011 15:28:04 -0700 Reply-To: Howard Towle Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Howard Towle Subject: [mou-net] Townsend's Solitaire - Sherburne Co Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable I found a single Townsend's Solitaire this afternoon at the Ann Lake = location in Sherburne Co described by Pastor Al in an earlier post = (11/29). The bird was approximately 1/4 mile south of the parking lot, = alternating between feeding in the cedars and perching atop the = deciduous trees. Howard Towle Golden Valley, MN= ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 30 Dec 2011 17:40:33 -0700 Reply-To: Dave Bartkey Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Dave Bartkey Subject: [mou-net] Wabasha Co. Snowy Owl Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hi everyone=2C After participating in the Red Wing CBC today=2C we left Lake City and de= cided to head west through our section on a road we weren't able to cover e= arlier and we were rewarded with what is probably a juvenile male Snowy Owl= . It was located along the south side of Wabasha CR 15 about a quarter mile= east of where it intersects with CR 82. The bird was perched atop a teleph= one pole and seemed to be in good health. Interesting too was the Great-hor= ned Owl atop another pole about 5-7 miles west of here in Goodhue County. Good birding! Dave Bartkey Faribault=2CMN = ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 30 Dec 2011 22:19:36 -0600 Reply-To: Peder Svingen Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Peder Svingen Subject: Glaucous-winged Gull images and videos from Duluth MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary=001636ed688f4292a104b55ba884 --001636ed688f4292a104b55ba884 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 The adult Glaucous-winged Gull was seen at Canal Park, Duluth, in the late afternoon yesterday (12/29) between 2:40 and 2:57 PM and all afternoon today (12/30) until 3:00 PM when all of the gulls departed Canal Park. Other observers have reported finding the gull on ice floes in the Duluth harbor or at WLDDS (27th Ave West), but Canal Park has been the most consistent location since its discovery by Karl Bardon on the 22nd. I uploaded four short HD video clips taken yesterday under overcast skies which gives an accurate rendering of mantle shade. One of the clips shows the bird surrounded by American Herring Gulls for direct comparison of size, bill characteristics, and mantle shade. Other clips show the bird bathing and flapping its wings. http://youtu.be/hhpbPSDVT-I http://youtu.be/hZG1z8fY5mM http://youtu.be/b3QGNrHL68E http://youtu.be/-1zeZL8OEBs A series of images taken 25 December 2011 can be found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cochon/sets/72157628573959635/ Informed comments on this bird are most welcome. Thanks for your interest and best wishes for good birding in 2012! -- Peder H. Svingen Duluth, MN psvingen@gmail.com --001636ed688f4292a104b55ba884 Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

The adult Glaucous-winged Gull was seen at Canal Park, Dulu= th, in the late afternoon yesterday (12/29) between 2:40 and 2:57 PM and al= l afternoon today (12/30) until 3:00 PM when all of the gulls departed Cana= l Park. Other observers have reported finding the gull on ice floes in the = Duluth harbor or at WLDDS (27th Ave West), but Canal Park has been the most= consistent location since its discovery by Karl Bardon on the 22nd.=A0


I uploaded four short HD video clips taken yesterday under = overcast skies which gives an accurate rendering of mantle shade. One of th= e clips shows the bird surrounded by American Herring Gulls for direct comp= arison of size, bill characteristics, and mantle shade. Other clips show th= e bird bathing and flapping its wings.=A0


http://youtu.be/hhp= bPSDVT-I

http://youtu.be/hZG= 1z8fY5mM

http://youtu.be/b3Q= GNrHL68E

http://youtu.be/-1z= eZL8OEBs


A series of images taken 25 December 2011 can be found at:<= /p>

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cochon/sets/72157628573959635/


Informed comments on this bird are most welcome.=A0Thanks f= or your interest and best wishes for good birding in 2012!


--
Peder H. Svingen
Duluth, MN

--001636ed688f4292a104b55ba884-- ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 31 Dec 2011 08:22:54 -0700 Reply-To: Anthony Hertzel Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Anthony Hertzel Subject: MOU RBA 31 December 2011 Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="====1325344974====" --====1325344974==== Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" -RBA *Minnesota *Minnesota Statewide *December 31, 2011 *MNST1112.31 -Birds mentioned Barrow's Goldeneye Thayer's Gull Iceland Gull Glaucous-winged Gull Glaucous Gull Great Black-backed Gull Townsend's Solitaire Varied Thrush -Transcript Hotline: Minnesota Statewide Date: December 31, 2011 Sponsor: Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU) http://moumn.org Reports: (763) 780-8890 Compiler: Anthony Hertzel (rba@moumn.org) This is the Minnesota Birding Report for December 30th, 2011. In Duluth, that GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL is still being seen daily at Canal Park but also occasionally at 27th Avenue West, Other gulls in the area include GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL, ICELAND GULL, THAYER'S GULL, and GLAUCOUS GULL. I have a secondhand report of a BARROW'S GOLDENEYE, seen on the 26th on the Mississippi River at the state highway 61 pull-out north of Reads Landing in Wabasha County. Howard Towle reported a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE on the 30th at the Ann Lake campground in Sherburne County, about a quarter of a mile south of the parking lot. Another was reported on the 29th by Jim Otto at the Castle Rock cemetery, which is along Alverno Avenue about a quarter of a mile north of Dakota County Road 80. And on the 25th, Robin LaFortune found one at Lake Rebecca Park Reserve near Delano in Hennepin County. The location is east of Rattail Lake, south of the hiking trail and west of County Road 92. That TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE which has been at Carpenter Nature Center in Washington County since November 27th was seen again on December 24th. Steve Millard reports that both TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE and VARIED THRUSH were seen on the Fergus Falls CBC in Otter Tail County on the 17th. In Duluth, a VARIED THRUSH is visiting the feeders 6219 East Superior Street, and it was last reported on the 25th. The next scheduled update of this tape is January 5th 2012. --====1325344974==== Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1"
-RBA
*Minnesota
*Minnesota Statewide
*December 31, 2011
*MNST1112.31

-Birds mentioned
  • Barrow's Goldeneye
  • Thayer's Gull
  • Iceland Gull
  • Glaucous-winged Gull
  • Glaucous Gull
  • Great Black-backed Gull
  • Townsend's Solitaire
  • Varied Thrush
-Transcript

Hotline: Minnesota Statewide
Date: December 31, 2011
Sponsor: Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU) http://moumn.org
Reports: (763) 780-8890
Compiler: Anthony Hertzel (rba@moumn.org)

This is the Minnesota Birding Report for December 30th, 2011.

In Duluth, that GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL is still being seen daily at Canal Park but also occasionally at 27th Avenue West, Other gulls in the area include GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL, ICELAND GULL, THAYER'S GULL, and GLAUCOUS GULL.

I have a secondhand report of a BARROW'S GOLDENEYE, seen on the 26th on the Mississippi River at the state highway 61 pull-out north of Reads Landing in Wabasha County.

Howard Towle reported a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE on the 30th at the Ann Lake campground in Sherburne County, about a quarter of a mile south of the parking lot. Another was reported on the 29th by Jim Otto at the Castle Rock cemetery, which is along Alverno Avenue about a quarter of a mile north of Dakota County Road 80. And on the 25th, Robin LaFortune found one at Lake Rebecca Park Reserve near Delano in Hennepin County. The location is east of Rattail Lake, south of the hiking trail and west of County Road 92. That TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE which has been at Carpenter Nature Center in Washington County since November 27th was seen again on December 24th.

Steve Millard reports that both TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE and VARIED THRUSH were seen on the Fergus Falls CBC in Otter Tail County on the 17th. In Duluth, a VARIED THRUSH is visiting the feeders 6219 East Superior Street, and it was last reported on the 25th.

The next scheduled update of this tape is January 5th 2012. --====1325344974====-- ========================================================================= Date: Sat, 31 Dec 2011 10:10:05 -0700 Reply-To: Sid Stivland Sender: Rare Bird Alert From: Sid Stivland Subject: [mou-net] Fw: [NEBirds] Snowy Owl Summary - Update Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Maybe not new news but the Nebraska folks are up to 83 Snowies so far. Sid Stivland Plymouth, MN From: Jorgensen, Joel=20 Sent: Saturday, December 31, 2011 10:56 AM To: mailto:NEBirds@yahoogroups.com=20 Subject: [NEBirds] Snowy Owl Summary - Update =20 Good morning: With the media coverage, additional reports of Snowy Owls have come in. = The statewide total for Nebraska as of end of business yesterday was = EIGHTY-THREE (83). Reports that come in are vetted and I am doing my = best not to duplicate birds. Nebraska does have a higher total than Iowa = (76) at this time. Not that it is a competition, but Iowa reports are = lacking from the northeast part of the state just as reports are lacking = for Nebraska in the west. It appears the invasion is centered roughly on = the Missouri River valley. Some information about the most recent reports in case anyone wants to = go chasing in the wind (and possibly confirming some of these reports). * Gage (?) County: E. Pickrell Rd. and had just crossed 608 Ave., = between Pickrell and Tecumseh on 27 December. Observer was taking a walk = and reported it on the ground and thought it was merely a plastic bag = until she got closer and then realized it was a creature. I am unable to = find where 608 Ave is? * Hall County: 5 miles east of Shelton, NE along Burmood Rd, 29 = December. Minimal description, requested additional details. * Hitchcock County: County road southeast of Trenton. Photographed. * Holt County: 1 miles south of the Niobrara River, found dead. Carcass = photographed. * Dodge County: Platte River sandbar 1 mile west of North Bend. Folks = out on ATVs. Decent description of bird and behavior. * Nuckolls County: An injured bird was picked up, but subsequently died. Ross Silcock reported seeing the bird near Overton yesterday, but it if = remember correctly the bird was a half mile south of Highway 30. Finally, the bird reported previously from Valparaiso was actually found = INSIDE a grain bin full of corn (I received some pictures to back this = up). Perhaps it dropped down in it chasing a mouse? Anyways, the farmer = left the top open and the Snowy Owl did get out, which I thought was a = little surprising given the size of the openings at the top of a grain = bin. Happy New Year! - Joel Joel Jorgensen | Nongame Bird Program Manager Nebraska Game and Parks Commission 2200 N. 33rd St. | Lincoln, NE 68503 mailto:joel.jorgensen%40nebraska.gov | 402.471.5440 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] __._,_.___ Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a New = Topic=20 Messages in this topic (2)=20 Recent Activity: a.. New Members 22 a.. New Photos 50=20 Visit Your Group=20 MARKETPLACE Stay on top of your group activity without leaving the page you're on - = Get the Yahoo! Toolbar now. Switch to: Text-Only, Daily Digest =E2=80=A2 Unsubscribe =E2=80=A2 = Terms of Use. =20 __,_._,___ ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=3Dmou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html