-RBA
*Minnesota
*Duluth/North Shore
*November 2, 2012
*MNDU1211.02

-Birds mentioned
Greater White-fronted Goose
Harlequin Duck
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Red-throated Loon
Western Grebe
Thayer's Gull
Short-eared Owl
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Gyrfalcon
Cassin's Kingbird
Mountain Bluebird
Townsend's Solitaire
Northern Mockingbird
White-winged Crossbill
-Transcript

Hotline: Minnesota, Duluth/North Shore
Date: November 2, 2012
Sponsor: Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU)
Reports: (218) 834-2858
Compiler: Jim Lind ([log in to unmask])

This is the Duluth Birding Report for November 1st, 2012 sponsored by
the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.

A first state record CASSIN'S KINGBIRD was found in Grand Marais on
October 27th by Peder Svingen and Anthony Hertzel and was relocated as
recently as the 31st. It was first found in a mountain ash tree next to
the East Bay Hotel, but has been seen recently near the court house
building and near the corner of 3rd Avenue West and 2nd Street. A
NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD and a RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER has also been seen in
this same location. Drew Smith found a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE on the 29th
next to the Trading Post in downtown Grand Marais. Dave and Pam Benson
watched an immature gray-morph GYRFALCON hunting pigeons in downtown
Grand Marais on the 31st.

Anthony Hertzel and Peder Svingen saw two HARLEQUIN DUCKS on the 27th
just southwest of Paradise Beach. Five SURF SCOTERS, four WHITE-WINGED
SCOTERS, and two LONG-TAILED DUCKS were seen by several observers at
Paradise Beach on the weekend of the 27th. Dave Bartkey and others saw a
flock of 14 LONG-TAILED DUCKS at Five-Mile Rock east of Grand Marais on
the 27th. Craig Mandel saw a flock of 45 LONG-TAILED DUCKS on the 31st
at mile marker 121 and a flock of 36 at marker 135.

Two GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE were seen flying over Grand Marais on
the 27th, and an immature THAYER'S GULL was seen in the harbor on the
27th and 28th. A SHORT-EARED OWL was found by Bill Marengo on the 28th
at Good Harbor Bay west of Grand Marais.

A MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD was found on the 31st along the walking path just
east of the Edna G. tugboat in downtown Two Harbors, and it was
relocated on the 1st. Bob Dunlap and others saw a RED-THROATED LOON on
the 28th at Iona's Beach three miles east of Gooseberry Falls at mile
maker 42. Denny and Barb Martin found a WESTERN GREBE there on the 29th.
They also found a RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER on the 27th a block north of
Emily’s Restaurant in Knife River.

Two GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE were still present at Bayfront Park in
Duluth as of the 30th. A record high count of 831 WHITE-WINGED
CROSSBILLS was tallied by Karl Bardon and others on the 28th at Hawk
Ridge.

The next scheduled update of this report will be on Thursday, November
8th.

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.