[TN-Bird] Minnesota Trip (Long)

    Below is a somewhat lengthy out of state report - hopefully everyone
will enjoy it.  The owls should still be around for at least another
week or two - get up there if you can!!
 

    Not wanting to miss out on the Great Owl Invasion of 2004-05, Jan
Shaw, Mary Zimmerman, Frank Fekel, Rob Lane and I decided to venture
north to the Duluth area to look for owls and other boreal species last
Friday the 18th thru Monday the 21st.  Our trip ended up far more
successful than we imagined it could - lots of owls, and many lifers (52
for all five combined).

 

     We arrived in Duluth around noon, and made our way to pickup our
vehicle (4wd Expedition) and then to our hotel, where we met our guide,
Frank Nicoletti.  Not wanting to waste any daylight, we quickly headed
northeast of Duluth to Two Harbors.  We stopped to look at some feeders,
and the first lifer for a group member was found - COMMON REDPOLL - a
lifer for Mary.  Also present were Black-capped Chickadees and a single
Pine Siskin.  The Redpoll and the Siskin were only the second sightings
for Rob and I.  We then headed to the harbor, and quickly found the two
HARLEQUIN DUCKS that have wintered there (Lifer for Rob and I).  Also
present was a single Common Goldeneye.  We then headed back to Duluth.
Rob spotted a GREAT GRAY OWL on the side of the road, and another lifer
for all except Jan.  Back in Duluth, we had decent looks at a flock of
50 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS, a lifer for all.  On our way to the next stop, the
airport area, our guide spotted a female Ruffed Grouse in a cherry tree
in a yard eating buds.  We were able to get scope looks at it eating
away.  Approaching the airport area, we were on lookout for one of the
pair of SNOWY OWLS that have wintered there.  Rob spotted the female
perched atop a building.  The area was marked and patrolled as no
parking, so after all had looks from the car, Rob, Jan and I got out
with the scope to take longer looks while the others drove around.
Another Lifer for the three of us.

 

     Our guide had us up and out of the hotel by 5:00 AM the next
morning, to try to beat the birding crowd.  We headed to Two Harbors,
then north into the boreal forest, with the temperature dropping
steadily as we left the Lake Superior area, bottoming out at
twenty-three below zero!  At a small logging camp, we found Black-capped
Chickadees, Hairy Woodpeckers, Gray Jays and PINE GROSBEAKS.  The
Grosbeak was a lifer for Rob, Frank and myself. Proceeding on, Frank N
told us to be on the lookout for birds on the road, eating grit.  We
were rewarded with a male SPRUCE GROUSE on the road.  The grouse stayed
on the road for a bit, then flew into a nearby tree, then off into the
forest.  At that point another birding group of 22 pulled up,
disappointed that they missed the Grouse.  Our early start had paid off
nicely.  We then went looking for Woodpeckers and Boreal Chickadees.  No
luck there, but were entertained by a pair of Gray Jays that our guide
had trained to eat raisins from our hands.  We all took turns having the
Jays land on our hands and pick up a few raisins.

 

We stopped in the small town of Isabella for lunch, and enjoyed the
flocks of Common Redpolls, Pine Grosbeaks, Black-capped Chickadees and a
pair of Red-breasted Nuthatches that swarmed a group of feeders there.
Heading back towards Two Harbors, we stopped near Greatwood Lake, and
were fortunate enough to find three BOREAL CHICKADEES feeding in some
spruce trees, another lifer for Rob and I.  Getting closer to Two
Harbors, our guide's cell phone came back into service, with a message
that a Boreal Owl was being seen on the highway between Two Harbors and
Duluth.  Making all possible haste, we saw a group of cars pulled to the
side, a line of scopes on the highway shoulder.  There, roosting in a
tree, was a sleeping BOREAL OWL, a lifer for all!  Great looks from
various angles were had.  Continuing on to Duluth, we searched again for
Waxwings, and wow did we find them!  A flock estimated to be around
1,250 Bohemian Waxwings descended around us - with waves flying in.  A
Mountain-ash tree was stripped of fruit in less than a minute by a small
group, while others perched on the tops of nearby trees.  An amazing
sight, and one of the most memorable of the trip.  We ended the day at
the Duluth Harbor, were Jan was delighted to find several hundred Common
Goldeneyes, and a lone Mallard.

 

     Sunday, we left the hotel at 6:00am, and headed through a light
snowfall for the famed Sax-Zim bog area.  The temperatures were warming
than the day before, ending up in the low 20's.  Not long after entering
the bog area, Rob spotted a NORTHERN HAWK-OWL perched roadside,  a lifer
for all but myself.  Our guide is also a bander (as well as the main
hawk counter at Hawk Ridge in Duluth) and has banded most of the
Hawk-Owls in the area.  With his help, we were able to spot 18 Northern
Hawk-owls that day.  We tried unsuccessfully again for Am Three-toed and
Black-backed Woodpeckers, tromping through a path cut in deep snow.  On
our way to the next area, a NORTHERN SHRIKE perched briefly, then flew
across the highway, where it was visible for a short while, then
disappeared.  We had decent, but not satisfactory looks at the shrike,
which would be a lifer for all except Jan.  Several Great Gray Owls were
also spotted perched roadside, and good looks at these were gotten.

 

We then went to an area of cottages along a small lake, looking at
feeders.  Our first feeder held only Common Redpolls and Black-capped
Chickadees.  We met another group coming down the road, who thought they
had seen our target bird (Hoary Redpoll) at a nearby feeder.  We
followed them to the feeder, and were delighted to find a single male
HOARY REDPOLL in the bushes away from the other Redpolls.  We examined
the bird for 15-20 minutes, watching it as it flew to various perches,
and fed on the ground. Our guide talked us through the various field
marks that separate the Hoary's from the Common Redpolls. Another Lifer
for all but Jan!  

 

After lunch, we continued our search for the woodpeckers, as well as
Snow Buntings, Black-billed Magpies and more owls.  No luck on any of
the first group, but found a total of 25 Great Gray Owls, perched in
trees, telephone poles and wires, signs, etc.  Magnificent looks!!

 

     We had most of Monday to bird, as our flight left Duluth at 4:50
pm.  Again getting up early, we heading to a forestry center where Red
Crossbills had been reported.  No luck there, but we did have a Barred
Owl fly over, then perched in the woods visible to us - our fifth owl
species of the trip!  We stopped in Cromwell for gas and snacks.
Outside, Rob spotted a small flock of finches flying to the top of a
group of spruce trees.  Our guide identified them as crossbills, and a
closer examination proved them to be WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS, another
lifer for Rob and I.  We drove closer to the flock, and were able to get
scope looks at multiple males and female crossbill feeding on spruce
cones.

 

Throughout the day, we spotted more Northern Hawk-Owls and Great Gray
Owls, as well as another Barred Owl, this one perched roadside on a
small sign.  A Northern Shrike was spotted, this one cooperating by
perching first on one side of the road, then flying across the road and
perching on the other side.  We were able to get great looks at the
shrike, to the satisfaction of all.  We also continued our search for
the species missed the day before.  We stopped at one stand of trees
that had been successful for another guide recently, but no luck.  The
other guide (Kim Risen) gave us directions to places on the road
(Kestrel Ave) for a few of our other target birds.  At a nearby farm, we
found a male SHARP-TAILED GROUSE (lifer for Frank, Rob and I) perched
atop a spruce tree.  The grouse then flew to the ground, and began a
short-display dance, then flew into a nearby bush.  While we were
watching the Grouse, another Northern Shrike flew across the
snow-covered field with a vole in it's beak.  It perched on a bush, and
proceeded to tear apart and eat the vole, all with great scope looks!
Kim Risen then met back up with us, and took us to another nearby house,
where behind the house in trees were EVENING GROSBEAKS.(Lifer for Rob
and I).  We watched the male and female Grosbeaks in the trees, and
later at the feeders for twenty minutes.  Also at the feeders were Pine
Grosbeaks, Common Redpolls, Black-capped Chickadees, and our only
White-breasted Nuthatches of the trip.

 

After lunch in Floodwood, we made one last attempt for the woodpeckers,
magpie and snow buntings.  There were a few cars parked at the
traditional woodpecker site, so our guide went in to see what was
happening.  He quickly summoned us after running into a group of birders
on their way out.  We hurried into the woods until we found another
group of birders, who quickly pointed out a male AMERICAN THREE-TOED
WOODPECKER (Lifer for Frank, Rob and I), and in another nearby tree, a
female BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER (Lifer for all but Jan), both busily
flaking away bark and feeding on grubs.  Both birds worked their way up
the tree, the Black-backed then flew low to another nearby tree,
affording even better looks, while the Three-toed flew to a more distant
tree.  We all hiked through the snow for more (and better) looks at the
Three-toed.  

 

We then made a final search for Snow Buntings and magpies, but with no
luck.  We then returned tired but happy to Duluth, and home to
Nashville.

 

Trip List:

 

Harlequin Duck (2)  

Common Goldeneye  (Hundreds)

Mallard (1)

Herring Gull (many)

Great Gray Owl (48)

Northern Hawk-Owl (28).

Snowy Owl (1)

Boreal Owl (1)

Barred Owl (2)

Ruffed Grouse (1) 

Spruce Grouse (1) 

Sharp-tailed Grouse (1)

Rock Pigeon (many)

Northern Shrike (3)

Gray Jay (many))

Blue Jay (many)

American Crow (many)

Common Raven (many)

European Starling (many)

Downy Woodpecker (many)

Hairy Woodpecker (many)

Piliated Woodpecker (3)

Three-toed Woodpecker (1) 

Black-backed Woodpecker (1) 

Bohemian Waxwing (1300+)  

Black-capped Chickadee (many)

Boreal Chickadee (3) 

Red-breasted Nuthatch (10)

White-breasted Nuthatch (2)

Pine Grosbeak (35+) 

Pine Siskin (3)

Common Redpoll (Hundreds)

Hoary Redpoll (1) 

White-winged Crossbill (10) 

Evening Grosbeak (20+) 

 

Jon Mann

Nashville, TN

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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