We spent the weekend birding and hiking from a Friday start in Silver Bay, to Saturday in Grand Portage and back on Sunday. One of the most productive spots was the marina at Taconite Harbor: all 3 scoters, redheads, greater scaup, horned grebe, merlin and a rain-soaked Sibley's field guide found on Friday. Scoters, redheads, hooded mergs, buffleheads, greater scaup, Townsend's solitaire and the field guide still there on Sunday.
Grand Marais municipal campground and marina: horned larks, horned grebes, savannah sparrow, merlin chasing pigeons on Friday. Bohemian waxwings, Tennessee warblers, palm warblers, golden-crowned kinglet and horned grebes on Sunday. Sewage ponds at Grand Portage: redheads, common goldeneyes, blue-winged teal, lesser scaup, buffleheads, A. blackducks. Along the way: rusty blackbird, pine siskins, lots of tree sparrows, a few snow buntings, long-tailed ducks, red-necked grebe, all the resident woodpeckers, except, flicker and 2-toed, a variety of sparrows and surprisingly no loons. Driving from Grand Portage to Tettegouche on Sunday there was river of crows flying south along the shore - everywhere we were there were large flocks on crows almost continuously passing with the help of a good tailwind. Back in Ely, I had a phone message of a first reported pine grosbeak sighting for the area. Bill Tefft Parks and Recreation Instructor Vermilion Community College 1900 E. Camp Street Ely, MN 55731 Office Phone: 218-235-2197 Fax: 218-365-7218
