[mou] CA Gull
This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --=_NextPart_000_0012_01C4CA1C.3F9DFCB0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Observed the California Gull on Lake Calhoun yesterday morning - which = was fortunate (blessed?), since there were only about 20 gulls present = overall. Good birding! Al Schirmacher Princeton, MN Mille Lacs & Sherburne Counties --=_NextPart_000_0012_01C4CA1C.3F9DFCB0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Observed the California Gull on Lake = Calhoun=20 yesterday morning - which was fortunate (blessed?), since there were = only about=20 20 gulls present overall. Good birding! Al Schirmacher Princeton, MN Mille Lacs & Sherburne=20 Counties --=_NextPart_000_0012_01C4CA1C.3F9DFCB0--
[mou] Comin' to SEE OWLS
--part1_6d.3841d6b2.2ec8e721_boundary Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hi, I will be heading up to Dulutrh--Sax/Zim (or wherever else I'm directed) to find owls (Boreal esp.) and other boreal birds and creatures (I assume butterflies of the northern bogs are a bit past). Any suggestions of meeting places or others out and about? Also, even though I can pretty much set my own schedule, I would like to work a bit there. I'm a travel/food writer. Is there any small cafe or local legend that I should know about? Like the Coffey Haus in Luverne? I tend to not seek out Signature restaurants in areas not known to me. Thanks to all. Doug Chapman Sioux Falls, SD --part1_6d.3841d6b2.2ec8e721_boundary Content-Type: text/html; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hi, I will be heading up to Dulutrh--Sax/Zim (or wherever else I'm directed) to=20= find owls (Boreal esp.) and other boreal birds and creatures (I assume butte= rflies of the northern bogs are a bit past). Any suggestions of meeting places or others out and about? Also, even though I can pretty much set my own schedule, I would like to wor= k a bit there. I'm a travel/food writer. Is there any small cafe or local legend that I sho= uld know about? Like the Coffey Haus in Luverne? I tend to not seek out Sign= ature restaurants in areas not known to me. Thanks to all. Doug Chapman Sioux Falls, SD --part1_6d.3841d6b2.2ec8e721_boundary--
[mou] Whole lotta Hawkowls going on (plus pale Great Gray, St Louis Co.)
--part1_fe.6835cd9.2ec8f7bb_boundary Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Karen Sussman and I went birding for a few hours this AM and counted no fewer than 14 individual Hawkowls in the Sax Zim area, including: 3 individuals along Hwy 53 between mile markers 43 and 45, just north of Cotton 4 individuals along Hwy 7, located 4.0, 5.0, 5.5, and 7.5 miles N. of 52 (Arkola Rd) 1 bird along 213 (McDavitt Rd), 5 miles N. of 28 (Sax Rd) 3 birds along 788 (Admiral Rd), located 2.6, 3.8, and 3.9 miles S. of 27 (Zim Rd) 1 bird along 28 (Sax Rd), 1 mile W of Hwy 7 1 bird along 133, 2.6 miles W. of Hwy 7 1 bird in Melrude, just S. of the Town Hall (the "election moniter" from Nov 2) Also present were 5 Great Grays, including: 1 bird along Berg Lake Rd in Melrude 1 bird along Melrude Rd (59), 1 mile E of Hwy 53 1 bird along Randall Rd, 0.5 miles N. of 52 (Arkola Rd, ~1 mile W. of Cotton) 2 birds along Admiral Rd (788), 3.6 and 4.0 miles south of Zim Rd (27). The bird 4 miles S of Zim Road was an off-white dilute-plumaged bird, possibly the same individual seen earlier this year along 28 and 207. We also saw a scattering of rough legs and bald eagles. Ben Yokel Cotton, MN --part1_fe.6835cd9.2ec8f7bb_boundary Content-Type: text/html; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Karen Sussman and I went birding fo= r a few hours this AM and counted no fewer than 14 individual Hawkowls in th= e Sax Zim area, including: 3 individuals along Hwy 53 between mile markers 43 and 45, just north of Cot= ton 4 individuals along Hwy 7, located 4.0, 5.0, 5.5, and 7.5 miles N. of 52 (Ar= kola Rd) 1 bird along 213 (McDavitt Rd), 5 miles N. of 28 (Sax Rd) 3 birds along 788 (Admiral Rd), located 2.6, 3.8, and 3.9 miles S. of 27 (Zi= m Rd) 1 bird along 28 (Sax Rd), 1 mile W of Hwy 7 1 bird along 133, 2.6 miles W. of Hwy 7 1 bird in Melrude, just S. of the Town Hall (the "election moniter" from Nov= 2) Also present were 5 Great Grays, including: 1 bird along Berg Lake Rd in Melrude 1 bird along Melrude Rd (59), 1 mile E of Hwy 53 1 bird along Randall Rd, 0.5 miles N. of 52 (Arkola Rd, ~1 mile W. of Cotton= ) 2 birds along Admiral Rd (788), 3.6 and 4.0 miles south of Zim Rd (27). The bird 4 miles S of Zim Road was an off-white dilute-plumaged bird, possib= ly the same individual seen earlier this year along 28 and 207. We also saw a scattering of rough legs and bald eagles. Ben Yokel Cotton, MN --part1_fe.6835cd9.2ec8f7bb_boundary--
[mou] CAGU - Lake Calhoun, Minneapolis
Ron Erpelding and I sorted through the gulls on Lake Calhoun from 3:30 PM until dark Saturday. We couldn't find the Lesser Black-backed nor any Thayers, but just after 5PM Ron spotted the California Gull in front of us - along the western shore near the southern end of the flock. (Sunset was 4:46 PM, so it was getting fairly dark.) Look for a dark, first winter gull with a bi-colored bill. This gull is noticeably smaller than the immature Herring Gulls. ALso, 1W HEGUs "typically" have an all dark or a bi-colored billl that blends from dark tip to pale base, rather than a sharply demarcated dark/light as on this bird. 2W HEGUs and 1W Ring-billed Gulls have a bill pattern similar to the CAGU, but RBGUs have a very different 1W plumage and 2W HEGUs (1) show a variable amount of the adult gray mantle coloration, (2) do not have as crisply patterned coverts, and (3) are larger than this bird. This has not been an easy bird to find on Calhoun, but I'm not aware of any other place it's been found in the Twin Cities. Paul Minneapolis, Minnesota pbu...@earthlink.net
[mou] Townsend's Solitaire, Sherburne County
After church this morning my family and I went to Sherburne NWR with hopes of pine siskins. The refuge drive was closed because of hunting, so we drove along some other nearby promising-looking roads instead. As we pulled into the Lake Ann Campground road, I noticed a bird sitting on a wire. At first, I assumed it was a female house finch, but something wasn't quite right about it. Then I saw the white eye ring and my heart rate starting increasing. I got my scope on it, and sure enough, it was a Townsend's solitaire (other good field marks included the intricate wing pattern, white outer tail feathers, and longer tail length - I got a photo of it.) It flew around in the same general vicinity before flying a little ways off the road into the pine forests. The time was about 12:00 noon. DIRECTIONS- >From Big Lake, go north on Sherburne County Rd 5. Follow this until you reach 253rd Avenue, also known as Lake Ann Campground Road (I believe there is a sign for this). Turn right on this road. The bird was about a block or so in sitting on the telephone wire on the north side of the road. I last saw it fly off further in that same direction. Other good birds included red-breasted nuthatch and Bonaparte's gull Keith Pulles, Wright County
[mou] Make that 16 Hawkowls...
--part1_d9.19745687.2ec917d6_boundary Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit While driving my sons to visit friends this afternoon, I located 2 additional hawkowls near the town of Cotton: 1 bird 0.5 miles N. and 0.5 miles E. of Cotton along Randall Rd. 1 bird 1 mile N. and 0.5 miles W. of Cotton along Moberg Rd. The directions for the other 14 birds are in my earlier posting. Ben Yokel Cotton, MN --part1_d9.19745687.2ec917d6_boundary Content-Type: text/html; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable While driving my sons to visit frie= nds this afternoon, I located 2 additional hawkowls near the town of Cotton:= 1 bird 0.5 miles N. and 0.5 miles E. of Cotton along Randall Rd. 1 bird 1 mile N. and 0.5 miles W. of Cotton along Moberg Rd. The directions for the other 14 birds are in my earlier posting. Ben Yokel Cotton, MN --part1_d9.19745687.2ec917d6_boundary--
[mou] another dozen owls
I spent 3 hours this morning looking for owls in Lake and St. Louis Co. and came up with 10 Great Grays and 2 N. Hawk-Owls. Five Great Grays were seen within 10 minutes along Lake Co 14/St. Louis Co 55 (east of Brimson). Great Gray Owls: LakeNorth Alger Grade (1.2mi W of CR3) LakeCR 14 (0.2mi W of Thomas Lk. Rd) LakeCR 14 (0.9mi E of Lake Co. line) LakeCR 14 (0.4mi E of Lake Co. line) St. Louis CR 55 (0.2mi W of Lake Co. line) St. Louis CR 55 (0.6mi W of Lake Co. line) St. Louis TR6025 (0.3mi N of CR122) St. Louis CR 44 (0.5mi N of Salo Lk. Rd) St. Louis CR 44 (0.3mi E of CR 813) St. Louis CR 44 (0.5mi E of CR 813) Northern Hawk-Owls: LakeHwy 2 (jct with UT46(Boomer's Rd) - ~10mi N of Two Harbors) St. Louis TR6025 (Hypo Cr. Rd) 0.3mi N of Indian Cr. Rd (TR6027) Jim Lind Two Harbors
[mou] This past weekend in Aitkin County
This last weekend, Bill Stauffer, Clara Dahle and I birded around the county and found a few interesting birds. Probably the most interesting and the most out of place was a CAPE MAY WARBLER on C.R. 18 about 3 miles east of highway 169. It was with a couple of COMMON REDPOLLS and it flew in next to the car when Bill played a Boreal Chickadee tape. Also seen were: NORTHERN HAWK OWLS in 3 different places along C.R. 18 (all between 1/2 and 2 miles east of highway 169), a GREAT GRAY OWL on C.R. 1 about a mile north of township 379, several WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS , PINE GROSBEAKS, GRAY JAYS, BOREAL CHICKADEES (at the Rabey tree farm on highway 200), GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS, lots of PINE SISKINS, several SNOW BUNTINGS , TUNDRA SWANS, 29 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS and a dead SHORT-EARED OWL along C.R. 1 north of the diversion channel. Warren Nelson
[mou] More Owls to report
This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --=_NextPart_000_001F_01C4CA7E.DE0EF9F0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable I was at Sax Zim Bog and I saw one new Hawk Owl that was different from = Ben's and Karen's day of owling. At the intersection of Aspen and Birch. To get there drive the Blue = Spruce Rd off 133 and folowit around and each time you make a turn the = road changes its name to a tree name. So you drive north on Blue Spruce = Rd, a left on Popular, a left on Aspen and a right on Birch and a left = Pine(?) and this road comes back out on 133. I saw a total of 5 other owls all on highway 7. These probably are the = same owls Karen and Ben saw today. -HAOW .9 miles south of Brynes Greenhouse -HAOW .2 miles south of Stone Lake Rd. (319) -HAOW At the intersection of 319 and Co. Rd 7 -HAOW 1.5 miles south of Co. Rd 232 (Lake Nichols Rd) on Co. Rd 7 -HAOW .1.25 miles south of Co. Rd. 232 on Co. Rd 7 Two Great Grey Owls were seen on Co. Rd 133 4.4 miles east of Co. Rd 7. Mike Hendrickson Duluth --=_NextPart_000_001F_01C4CA7E.DE0EF9F0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable I was at Sax Zim Bog and I = saw one new=20 Hawk Owl that was different from Ben's and Karen's day of = owling. At the intersection of Aspen = and Birch.=20 To get there drive the Blue Spruce Rd off 133 and folowit around and = each time=20 you make a turn the road changes its name to a tree name. So you drive = north on=20 Blue Spruce Rd, a left on Popular, a left on Aspen and a right on Birch = and a=20 left Pine(?) and this road comes back out on 133. I saw a total of 5 other owls = all on=20 highway 7. These probably are the same owls Karen and Ben saw=20 today. -HAOW .9 miles south of = Brynes=20 Greenhouse -HAOW .2 miles south of Stone = Lake Rd.=20 (319) -HAOW At the intersection of = 319 and Co.=20 Rd 7 -HAOW 1.5 miles south of Co. = Rd 232 (Lake=20 Nichols Rd) on Co. Rd 7 -HAOW .1.25 miles south of = Co. Rd. 232 on=20 Co. Rd 7 Two Great Grey Owls were seen = on Co. Rd=20 133 4.4 miles east of Co. Rd 7. Mike Hendrickson Duluth --=_NextPart_000_001F_01C4CA7E.DE0EF9F0--
[mou] Great Gray Owls
Birding in Lake and St. Louis counties this weekend, I found two Great Gray Owls along Lake County Road 4 out of Silver Bay, the first 14 miles from SB, the second 7 miles out. Between those birds, 12 miles out, was a Northern Hawk-Owl. A Great Gray Owl was seen at Tom's Logging Camp along Highway 61 this morning at about 6:30. Another Great Gray was seen two hours later near the Sucker River bridge on Highway 61. Two hours after that, two Great Grays were seen in a yard near the mile 14 marker on Highway 61, just west of the river. The owners of this property say they have had daily visits (just before sunrise and late afternoon, sometimes both in the same day) by a Great Gray Owl for the past week. The owls have been hunting rodents beneath several bird feeders on the property. Another Great Gray was found in a meadow at 1839 Lake County Road 12 (distance from Highway 61 unknown). The bird methodically hunted in the meadow for about an hour. A photographer from Iowa told me of seeing three Great Grays along St. Louis County Road 7 through the Sax-Zim area early Saturday morning. He did not have specific locations. Several hawk-owls were seen in the Sax-Zim area on Saturday. I suspect they are among those previously reported. Jim Williams Wayzata
