-RBA *Minnesota *Minnesota Statewide *January 2, 2014 *MNST1401.02 -Birds mentioned King Eider Harlequin Duck Long-tailed Duck Snowy Owl Townsend's Solitaire -Transcript Hotline: Minnesota Statewide Date: January 2, 2014 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 January 2nd, 2013. On the 26th, an immature male KING EIDER was on Lake Superior out from Old Highway 61 in St. Louis County at Greenwood Road. This is a different individual than the female eider reported earlier in the month. Except for several new observations of SNOWY OWLS, there is very little else to report. A LONG-TAILED DUCK continues to be seen on the Mississippi River out from Point Douglas Park in Dakota County. It was last reported on December 28th. And on December 30th, a HARLEQUIN DUCK was at Brighton Beach on the east side of Duluth. On December 21st, a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE was at the Coon Rapids Dam Regional Park on the Anoka / Hennepin county line. The bird was on the western side of the Mississippi River feeding in a stand of cedars north of the dam's parking lot. More than 90 SNOWY OWLS have been reported thus far this winter, and recent observations include: December 30th, two were seen north of Howard Lake on Wright County Road 6 at 30th Street. Jay Hamernick reported one in the town of Ramsey on January 2nd along U.S. Highway 10 Anoka County. On the same date, Bob Williams found one along Goodhue County Road 18 just north of Treasure Island. Ron Sorvig found a Snowy on December 27th, along Marshall County Road 20, four miles north and a mile and a half east of Alvarado. In Meeker County there are recent reports from Litchfield, Grove City, Boon Lake, and Rosendale. As many as seven Snowys have been seen in Dakota County near Vermillion, all clustered around 180th Street and East Goodwin Avenue. There are dozens of additional reports, including from the counties of Aitkin, Benton, Big Stone, Carlton, Clay, Douglas, Fillmore, Hennepin, Kanabec, Lake, Martin, Morrison, Pine, Polk, Ramsey, Renville, Roseau, Stearns, Stevens, and Traverse. Please see Mike Hendrickson's summary at http://tinyurl.com/kcfwa6l. The next scheduled update is Thursday January 9th, 2013.