-RBA *Minnesota *Minnesota Statewide *August 30, 2012 *MNST1208.30 -Birds mentioned Snowy Egret Little Blue Heron Mississippi Kite Black-bellied Plover American Golden-Plover Willet Buff-breasted Sandpiper Philadelphia Vireo Carolina Wren Bay-breasted Warbler Palm Warbler Scarlet Tanager Red Crossbill -Transcript Hotline: Minnesota Statewide Date: August 30, 2012 Sponsor: Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU) http://moumn.org Reports: (763) 780-8890 Compiler: Anthony Hertzel ([log in to unmask]) This is the Minnesota Birding Report for Thursday August 30th, 2012. On August 27th, Dave Carman watched a MISSISSIPPI KITE pass near Hawk Ridge in Duluth. Closer to Lake Superior, Karl Bardon has been monitoring a substantial irruption of RED CROSSBILLS coming down the lake's North Shore. He has counted almost 4,000 since August 14th. At Mud Lake in Grant County, Kim Eckert found an immature LITTLE BLUE HERON on the 24th on the south side of state highway 55, two and a half miles west of Wendell. He also reported four SNOWY EGRETS a mile north of there at Ash Lake, along with several dozen AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERS. A CAROLINA WREN was singing in the yard of Chad Heins in Mankato, Blue Earth County on the 25th, but it was gone the following morning. And on the 30th, several BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS were along Anoka County Road 14 just east of Sunset Avenue. The few new reports of other southbound migrants include BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, WILLET, PHILADELPHIA VIREO, PALM WARBLER, BAY-BREASTED WARBLER, and SCARLET TANAGER. The next scheduled update of this tape is Thursday September 6th, 2012.