-RBA *Minnesota *Duluth/North Shore *December 12, 2008 *MNDU0812.12 -Birds mentioned Thayer's Gull Iceland Gull Glaucous Gull Great Black-backed Gull Snowy Owl Northern Hawk Owl Great Gray Owl American Three-toed Woodpecker Black-backed Woodpecker Varied Thrush -Transcript Hotline: Minnesota, Duluth/North Shore Date: December 12, 2008 Sponsor: Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU) Reports: (218) 834-2858 Compiler: Jim Lind ([log in to unmask]) This is the Duluth Birding Report for Friday, December 12th, 2008 sponsored by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union. A GREAT GRAY OWL was found by Joshua Yokel on the 10th on the east end of Young Lake about six miles northeast of Cotton. Mike Hendrickson relocated a GREAT GRAY OWL along the Nichols Lake Road (CR 232) 2.5 miles east of CR 7. The NORTHERN HAWK OWL along US Highway 53 near a transfer station two miles south of Cotton was still present on the 9th. A NORTHERN HAWK OWL was reported on the 5th by Tom Jones in southern Aitkin County along CR 47, one mile north of Malmo. A SNOWY OWL was seen on the evening of the 4th along the breakwall at Canal Park in Duluth. Several gull species continue to be reported from the Superior landfill and the Superior Entry, including ICELAND GULL, GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULLS, GLAUCOUS GULLS, and THAYER'S GULLS. Erik Bruhnke saw three GLAUCOUS GULLS at Canal Park on the 11th, and Mike Hendrickson saw a third-cycle GREAT-BLACKED GULL here on the 5th. Shawn Zierman found an AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER on the 9th in the Sax-Zim Bog along the McDavitt Road (CR 213) about 2.2 miles north of the Sax Road (CR 28). Don Kienholz found a female BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER on the 11th in Chester Park in east Duluth at the intersection of 4th Street and 14th Avenue East. Shawn Conrad found two BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKERS in Itasca County on the 6th along Old Horseshoe Drive in Grand Rapids. In Carlton County, Eileen Schantz-Hansen saw two BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKERS about seven miles southeast of Carlton. A VARIED THRUSH at 1220 East Main Street in Ely has been seen by several observers and was still present as of the 7th. Probably the same bird has also been a block away at a feeder at 1252 East Washington Street. The VARIED THRUSH at 3254 Phillips Road along the Cook end of Lake Vermilion was still present on the 10th. The Duluth Christmas Bird Count will be held on Saturday, December 20, 2008. The Two Harbors Christmas Bird Count will be held on Sunday, December 14. Anyone interested in participating in either count should contact compiler Jim Lind at (218) 834-3199 or by e-mail at [log in to unmask] The next scheduled update of this report will be on Thursday, December 18th. 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.