-RBA
*Minnesota
*Duluth/North Shore
*October 15, 2009
*MNDU0910.15

-Birds mentioned
White-winged Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Red-throated Loon
Gyrfalcon
Thayer's Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Parasitic Jaeger
White-winged Dove
Short-eared Owl
Black-backed Woodpecker
Tree Swallow
Bohemian Waxwing
Blackburnian Warbler
Vesper Sparrow
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Purple Finch
-Transcript

Hotline: Minnesota, Duluth/North Shore
Date: October 15, 2009
Sponsor: Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU)
Reports: (218) 834-2858
Compiler: Jim Lind ([log in to unmask])

This is the Duluth Birding Report for Thursday, October 15th, 2009
sponsored by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.

The WHITE-WINGED DOVE at the 40th Avenue West Erie Pier Area was last
reported on the 10th. Peder Svingen saw a SHORT-EARED OWL at 40th Avenue
on the 13th. He also saw a PARASITIC JAEGER and an adult RED-THROATED
LOON on the 12th at the Park Point Recreation Area. Peder saw a
first-cycle THAYER'S GULL on the 13th on the Minnesota side of the
Superior Entry, and an adult and a first-cycle on the 11th at Wisconsin
Point. He saw an adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL on the 12th and three
WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS on the 13th at Wisconsin Point, as well as a
TOWNSEND’S SOLITAIRE along Moccasin Mike Road on the 11th.

An immature GYRFALCON was caught and banded by Frank Nicoletti on the
9th near Hawk Ridge. Several observers have reported a LONG-TAILED DUCK
this week on the bay side of Park Point between 37th and 42nd Street.
Mike Hendrickson reported a WHITE-WINGED SCOTER at 42nd Street on the
15th. Kim Eckert saw a YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD on the 14th and a
BOHEMIAN WAXWING on the 11th along West Kent Road near the UMD campus.

Peder Svingen and Phil Chu found single VESPER SPARROWS on the 10th at
Castle Danger in Lake County and at Colville in Cook County. Jan Green
saw a VESPER SPARROW on the 12th along the Homestead Road (CR 42), 0.5
mile north of MN Highway 61. Jan saw a BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER on the
9th at Lighthouse Point in Two Harbors as well as late-migrating TREE
SWALLOWS along the Old North Shore Road (CR 292).

After counting over than 2,100 PURPLE FINCHES flying northeastward along
the North Shore a week ago, Cameron Rutt and others counted 2,035 headed
in the expected southwesterly direction on the 12th. Jeff Fischer saw a
late-migrating BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER on the 9th at Split Rock Lighthouse.
Two SHORT-EARED OWLS were seen north of Two Harbors on the 12th along
the Waldo Road (CR 122), 0.5 mile north of CR 12.

The next scheduled update of this report will be on Thursday, October
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 [log in to unmask], or visit the MOU web site at moumn.org.