[mou-net] Sax-Zim Bog Area Map
I created a map of Sax-Zim Bog using Google Map. I added locations on past posts on where the feeders are on Admiral Road, Owl Avenue and etc.. I also added some recent bird sightings and places worth scanning for owls. I'll update this map on a regular basis. View the map here: http://colderbythelakebirding.blogspot.com/ Mike Hendrickson Duluth, Minnesota Website: http://webpages.charter.net/mmhendrickson/ Blog: http://colderbythelakebirding.blogspot.com/ Join or Leave mou-net:http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives:http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
Re: [mou-net] Gr. Black Backed Gull: Red Wing CBC
A couple of additional notes: Wacouta is not an area with river access and for the most part the river is not viewable without going on private land. Also the gulls headed out and continued south. Steve - Original Message - From: Steve Weston To: mnbird ; Mou-net Sent: Sunday, December 28, 2008 9:06 PM Subject: Gr. Black Backed Gull: Red Wing CBC I participated in the Red Wing CBC today, birding around Wacouta south of Red Wing. Our area was reduced by the time it took to try to get a handle on the thousands of Common Mergansers both on the water and in the air. We counted and estimated over fifteen thousand, but were clearly unprepared and overwhelmed by about ten minutes of continuous and overlapping waves of Mergansers flying past. We counted thousands of birds and then compared flock sizes and multiplied, but the numbers were still staggering.Joe Conley took a great picture of one small part of the flock. Good birds we found included a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (one of two seen that day) and an immature Great Black-backed Gull that stood out easily even at a distance by its size, which appeared to closer to the many Bald Eagles than the Herring Gulls. Interesting was the find of a flock of Pine Siskins at exactly the same spot as last years CBC. Steve Weston on Quiggley Lake in Eagan, MN swest...@comcast.net Join or Leave mou-net:http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives:http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
[mou-net] Gr. Black Backed Gull: Red Wing CBC
I participated in the Red Wing CBC today, birding around Wacouta south of Red Wing. Our area was reduced by the time it took to try to get a handle on the thousands of Common Mergansers both on the water and in the air. We counted and estimated over fifteen thousand, but were clearly unprepared and overwhelmed by about ten minutes of continuous and overlapping waves of Mergansers flying past. We counted thousands of birds and then compared flock sizes and multiplied, but the numbers were still staggering.Joe Conley took a great picture of one small part of the flock. Good birds we found included a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (one of two seen that day) and an immature Great Black-backed Gull that stood out easily even at a distance by its size, which appeared to closer to the many Bald Eagles than the Herring Gulls. Interesting was the find of a flock of Pine Siskins at exactly the same spot as last years CBC. Steve Weston on Quiggley Lake in Eagan, MN swest...@comcast.net Join or Leave mou-net:http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives:http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
[mou-net] Townsend's Solitaire Lake Rebecca PR
Hi, I found a Townsend's Solitaire today while out hiking at Lake Rebecca Park Reserve near Delano. This was the same area that I found a Solitaire twice last year. The location is directly east of Rattail Lake, south of the hiking trail and west of 92. Follow the deer trail/foot path that leads south off the hiking trail. Check this link for a map: http://www.threeriversparkdistrict.org/parks/maps/Lake_Rebecca_summer.pdf There is a lot of evergreens there and a couple of crab apple trees, fairly close to the east side of the lake. Red-breasted nuthatches, pine siskins and purple finches were also seen in the area. I also saw a Northern shrike along the east side of Lake Rebecca Road. At home, we still have a fair amount of pine siskins at the feeders and a Northern Flicker visiting regularly. Robin LaFortune Join or Leave mou-net:http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives:http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
[mou-net] Varied Thrush, Wabasha Co. - Golden Eagle, Goodhue Co.
Hi everyone! Gene Bauer and I took part in the Red Wing CBC today and found a Varied Thrush this morning, around 11 o'clock along Wabasha C.R. 5. (Not to be confused with Goodhue C.R. 5, of which we'll get to in a minute...). To get there, take CR 63 south out of Lake City and look for CR 5 to the right. Take this road until the pavement turns to gravel, the bird was 1/10th of a mile past this point. (We also had Eastern Bluebirds on this road but a couple miles further east). After meeting in Frontenac at noon, several birders went looking for the thrush with no success from what I heard. I hope further attempts turn it up somewhere! In the afternoon, this time on Goodhue C.R. 5, which is also west (but further north than the other CR 5...are you confused yet?) of Lake City, Gene and I found a Golden Eagle. This was where CR 5 and 343rd Ave. intersects. We observed the bird hunting, and later being harassed by a Red-tailed Hawk around 2:30 pm. I believe this bird was between a juvenile and a second year bird. There wasn't much white coloration under the wings as a typical juvenile has, but there was more white in the tail above the terminal band than a 2nd year bird has, according to Sibley. The golden color in the nape of the neck was very striking in the sunshine! I look forward to seeing the final numbers from the count! It sounds like lots of good stuff was found today! Good birding! Dave Bartkey Faribault, MN screech...@q.com Join or Leave mou-net:http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives:http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
Re: [mou-net] Sax-Zim Bog Birds & Reports
To add to Mike's report, I saw and photographed a great gray owl along Hwy. 7 just south of Byrns Greenhouse at sunset. Steve Foss See www.stevefossimages.com for guided photo excursions and full-service photography "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." Anais Nin --- On Sun, 12/28/08, Michael Hendrickson wrote: From: Michael Hendrickson Subject: [mou-net] Sax-Zim Bog Birds & Reports To: MOU-NET@LISTS.UMN.EDU Date: Sunday, December 28, 2008, 7:31 PM Out today with Liz Stanley. Sax-Zim Bog Highlights: Northern Hawk Owl: Intersection of CR 28 & CR 7. The Hawk Owl along the Stickney Rd was not seen after 3 attempts for it. I know some other birds have looked for it as well with no luck. The Hawk Owl at the intersection of CR 28 & CR 7 was also seen on the south end of Admiral Rd by several birders. So this owl is moving around in a large area so patience is needed to view this owl. Then again there could be 2 owls in this area. Great Gray Owl: McDavitt Rd about 3.5 miles north of CR 28. This owl is being very consistent to see in the am hours and the pm hours at this location. * I have searched numerous times at dawn hours for owls on Lake Nichols Rd (CR 232) and also east of Stickney Rd on CR 28 with no luck. Hopefully these owls are still around. American Three-toed Woodpecker & Black-backed Woodpecker: 4 miles north of CR 28 on McDavitt Rd. On the far north side of the bog habitat there are woodpecker workings on both sides of the road. Today they were on the east side of McDavitt Rd. Look for the pack down foot paths going into the bog to locate these woodpeckers. Boreal Chickadee & Gray Jay: Admiral Rd feeder which is 4 miles north of CR 28. This feeder is attracting a lot of birders because this is probably the best spot in the bog to observe this chickadee. Even with 10 birders standing on the road near the feeder up to 3 Boreal Chickadees came in and out of woods to feed on the suet! Gray Jays were feeding out of the hand as well. No Hoary Redpolls were reported today from this feeder. Pine Grosbeak & White-winged Crossbills: Seen several groups of grosbeaks along CR 83 west of McDavitt Rd feeding on grit on the road. White-winged Crossbills were photographed on the Admiral Rd by Steve Roman and I seen several flocks fly over the Country Market Store in Meadowlands. There are some large spruce trees near the sewage ponds just south of the Country Market and I assume they were heading there. Snow Buntings are still being seen near the intersection of CR 28 & CR 7. They have been observed all along CR 7 up to Byrne's Greenhouse in the past week. 14 Northern Shrikes were counted in several locations in Sax-Zim Bog. - Bird Reports: * Peder Svingen reported to me in the last two days that a Snowy Owl has been roosting on the ice near the Park Point Sky Harbor Airport. Look on the bay side for this owl. Sometimes its roosting near a chunk of ice or its out in the open. This might be the best location during the day hours to look for a Snowy Owl in Duluth. * John & Chris Hockema inform me today that they saw 3 Spruce Grouse on Lake Co. Rd 2 about 1 mile north of the Sand River pull off. They also saw another Spruce Grouse on Highway 1 near mile marker 300. John & Chris also found some Red Crossbills on Lake Co. Rd 2 gritting on the road. * I searched twice for the Varied Thrush on the corner of Charlotte & Eileen Streets near the UMD campus in Duluth and saw zip. There is a feeder behind the house on the corner of Charlotte & Eileen St. * No recent reports of the Barrow's Goldeneye I relocated on Dec 26th off 21st Ave East. The ice shifted and there is a lot of open water on Lake Superior so the goldeneye could be anywhere. The best spot to search for now would be to scan thru the hundreds of Common Goldeneyes under the Ariel Lift Bridge in Canal Park. * Please remember to donate $ at the feeding stations in Sax-Zim Bog. At the Morse's Feeding Station there is a bluebird house to put money in and at the Abramson's Feeding Station there is mailbox with a slot in it. If you are going to the Admiral Rd feeding station I am sure Josh Mandich would not mind if you filled the feeder with some black oil sunflower seeds. There is also another feeder you can add seed to and that is on Owl Avenue on the north end of the bend of Owl Ave. on the west side. This feeding station was built by John Seikula. John also added some deer ribs to the station like the Admiral Rd feeders. So right now there are 5 active feeding stations in the bog!! Thanks Mike Hendrickson Duluth, Minnesota Website: http://webpages.charter.net/mmhendrickson/ Blog: http://colderbythelakebirding.blogspot.com/ Join or Leave mou-net:http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives:http://lis
[mou-net] Sax-Zim Bog Birds & Reports
Out today with Liz Stanley. Sax-Zim Bog Highlights: Northern Hawk Owl: Intersection of CR 28 & CR 7. The Hawk Owl along the Stickney Rd was not seen after 3 attempts for it. I know some other birds have looked for it as well with no luck. The Hawk Owl at the intersection of CR 28 & CR 7 was also seen on the south end of Admiral Rd by several birders. So this owl is moving around in a large area so patience is needed to view this owl. Then again there could be 2 owls in this area. Great Gray Owl: McDavitt Rd about 3.5 miles north of CR 28. This owl is being very consistent to see in the am hours and the pm hours at this location. * I have searched numerous times at dawn hours for owls on Lake Nichols Rd (CR 232) and also east of Stickney Rd on CR 28 with no luck. Hopefully these owls are still around. American Three-toed Woodpecker & Black-backed Woodpecker: 4 miles north of CR 28 on McDavitt Rd. On the far north side of the bog habitat there are woodpecker workings on both sides of the road. Today they were on the east side of McDavitt Rd. Look for the pack down foot paths going into the bog to locate these woodpeckers. Boreal Chickadee & Gray Jay: Admiral Rd feeder which is 4 miles north of CR 28. This feeder is attracting a lot of birders because this is probably the best spot in the bog to observe this chickadee. Even with 10 birders standing on the road near the feeder up to 3 Boreal Chickadees came in and out of woods to feed on the suet! Gray Jays were feeding out of the hand as well. No Hoary Redpolls were reported today from this feeder. Pine Grosbeak & White-winged Crossbills: Seen several groups of grosbeaks along CR 83 west of McDavitt Rd feeding on grit on the road. White-winged Crossbills were photographed on the Admiral Rd by Steve Roman and I seen several flocks fly over the Country Market Store in Meadowlands. There are some large spruce trees near the sewage ponds just south of the Country Market and I assume they were heading there. Snow Buntings are still being seen near the intersection of CR 28 & CR 7. They have been observed all along CR 7 up to Byrne's Greenhouse in the past week. 14 Northern Shrikes were counted in several locations in Sax-Zim Bog. - Bird Reports: * Peder Svingen reported to me in the last two days that a Snowy Owl has been roosting on the ice near the Park Point Sky Harbor Airport. Look on the bay side for this owl. Sometimes its roosting near a chunk of ice or its out in the open. This might be the best location during the day hours to look for a Snowy Owl in Duluth. * John & Chris Hockema inform me today that they saw 3 Spruce Grouse on Lake Co. Rd 2 about 1 mile north of the Sand River pull off. They also saw another Spruce Grouse on Highway 1 near mile marker 300. John & Chris also found some Red Crossbills on Lake Co. Rd 2 gritting on the road. * I searched twice for the Varied Thrush on the corner of Charlotte & Eileen Streets near the UMD campus in Duluth and saw zip. There is a feeder behind the house on the corner of Charlotte & Eileen St. * No recent reports of the Barrow's Goldeneye I relocated on Dec 26th off 21st Ave East. The ice shifted and there is a lot of open water on Lake Superior so the goldeneye could be anywhere. The best spot to search for now would be to scan thru the hundreds of Common Goldeneyes under the Ariel Lift Bridge in Canal Park. * Please remember to donate $ at the feeding stations in Sax-Zim Bog. At the Morse's Feeding Station there is a bluebird house to put money in and at the Abramson's Feeding Station there is mailbox with a slot in it. If you are going to the Admiral Rd feeding station I am sure Josh Mandich would not mind if you filled the feeder with some black oil sunflower seeds. There is also another feeder you can add seed to and that is on Owl Avenue on the north end of the bend of Owl Ave. on the west side. This feeding station was built by John Seikula. John also added some deer ribs to the station like the Admiral Rd feeders. So right now there are 5 active feeding stations in the bog!! Thanks Mike Hendrickson Duluth, Minnesota Website: http://webpages.charter.net/mmhendrickson/ Blog: http://colderbythelakebirding.blogspot.com/ Join or Leave mou-net:http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives:http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
[mou-net] charter.net is rejecting messages
I'm trying to get messages that can go to charter.net. Ignore this message. --- David Cahlander da...@cahlander.com Burnsville, MN 952-894-5910 Join or Leave mou-net:http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives:http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
Re: [mou-net] Red Headed Woodpecker
I am sorry all... I live in Jordan Mn right off 169 and 282 Shari Karen Kraco wrote: Where are you, Shari? Thanks. Karen -Original Message- From: Minnesota Birds [mailto:mou-...@lists.umn.edu] On Behalf Of Shari LaFleur Sent: Sunday, December 28, 2008 12:03 PM To: MOU-NET@LISTS.UMN.EDU Subject: [mou-net] Red Headed Woodpecker I was so excited to spot a Red Headed Woodpecker at my feeder yesterday. I haven't seen one in years, many years at that. I tried to get a picture, but i didn't turn out to well through the screen and I scared it away. I have Downy woodpeckers, Hairy woodpeckers, flickers, but no Pileated. What seed/suet may attract them ? I am using suet for woodpeckers right now and several seed mixes. Thank you, Shari La Fleur Join or Leave mou-net:http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives:http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html Join or Leave mou-net:http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives:http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
[mou-net] Red Headed Woodpecker
I was so excited to spot a Red Headed Woodpecker at my feeder yesterday. I haven't seen one in years, many years at that. I tried to get a picture, but i didn't turn out to well through the screen and I scared it away. I have Downy woodpeckers, Hairy woodpeckers, flickers, but no Pileated. What seed/suet may attract them ? I am using suet for woodpeckers right now and several seed mixes. Thank you, Shari La Fleur Join or Leave mou-net:http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives:http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
