[mou-net] Duluth Snowy Owls

[Fr. Paul Kammen]

Per the updated tape, snowy owls were reported along Garfield Avenue near Port 
Terminal. For anyone that has seen them recently, are there any spots in 
particular that I should look for in that area? I was planning on exiting on 
Garfield 
from 35. 

Thanks,
Fr. Paul


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[mou-net] [mou-rba] Duluth RBA 1/26/12

[Jim Lind]

-RBA
*Minnesota
*Duluth/North Shore
*January 26, 2012
*MNDU1201.26

-Birds mentioned
Barrow's Goldeneye
Spruce Grouse
Iceland Gull
Glaucous Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Snowy Owl
Northern Hawk Owl
Hermit Thrush
Bohemian Waxwing
Yellow-rumped Warbler
-Transcript

Hotline: Minnesota, Duluth/North Shore
Date: January 26, 2012
Sponsor: Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU)
Reports: (218) 834-2858
Compiler: Jim Lind (jsl...@frontiernet.net)

This is the Duluth Birding Report for January 26th, 2012 sponsored by
the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.

The male BARROW'S GOLDENEYE was relocated on the 22nd at Canal Park in
Duluth. ICELAND GULLS, GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULLS, GLAUCOUS GULLS, and
THAYER’S GULLS continue to be seen at Canal Park, but the
Glaucous-winged Gull has not been reported in several days. Two SNOWY
OWLS are still being seen in the Port Terminal, especially along
Garfield Avenue.

The NORTHERN HAWK OWL at Gooseberry Falls State Park was relocated on
the 22nd along MN Highway 61 at the Gooseberry River. Tanya Beyer saw a
SPRUCE GROUSE on the 21st along Lake County Road 2, just north of the
Greenwood Lake boat launch. Ron Smith reported large flocks of BOHEMIAN
WAXWINGS in Grand Marais on the 21st.

An extremely late YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER was seen and photographed on the
26th in Duluth Township along the West Knife River Road (CR 231), 0.3
mile west of the App Road (CR 271). I also have a second-hand report of
a HERMIT THRUSH seen in recent days at Leif Erikson Park on London Road
in Duluth.

The next scheduled update of this report will be on Thursday, February
2nd.

The telephone number of the Duluth Rare Bird Alert is 218-834-2858.
Information about bird sightings may be left following the recorded
message.

The Duluth Birding Report is sponsored and funded by the Minnesota
Ornithologists' Union (MOU) as a service to its members. For more
information on the MOU, either write us c/o the Bell Museum, e-mail us
at m...@moumn.org, or visit the MOU web site at moumn.org.


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[mou-net] [mou-rba] Northwest Minnesota Birding Report- Thursday, January 26, 2012

[Jeanie Joppru]

-RBA
*Minnesota
*Detroit Lakes
*January 26, 2012
*MNDL1201.26

-Birds mentioned
Canada Goose
Trumpeter Swan
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruffed Grouse
Sharp-tailed Grouse
Greater Prairie-Chicken
Northern Harrier
Rough-legged Hawk
Snowy Owl
Short-eared Owl
Northern Shrike
Black-billed Magpie
Common Raven
Snow Bunting
Eastern Towhee
White-throated Sparrow
Harris's Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
-Transcript

Hotline: Minnesota, Detroit Lakes
Date: January 26, 2012
Sponsor: Lakes Area Birding Club, Detroit Lakes Regional Chamber of Commerce
Reports: 1-800-542-3992 (weekdays during business hours)
Compiler: Jeanie Joppru (ajjop...@q.com)

This is the Northwest Minnesota Birding Report for Thursday, January 26,
2012 sponsored by the Detroit Lakes Regional Chamber of Commerce. You
may also hear this report by calling (218)847-5743 or 1-800-433-1888.

We are in the midst of another mild week in this really odd winter. Days
are getting longer and the warm temperatures are giving people and birds
spring fever.

Brad and Dee Ehlers found a RED-BREASTED MERGANSER at the outlet of
Ottertail Lake on Otter Tail County on January 25. They report that
TRUMPETER SWANS are easy to see and photograph in the Ottertail River at
the east end of downtown Fergus Falls.

In Polk County, Kelly Larson found two SNOWY OWLS ON January 21. One was
along 160th AVe SW a half mile S of CR 45, the other north of US 2 on
260th St SE west of 170th Ave SE. She also saw ten ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS,
RUFFED GROUSE, SHARP-TAILED GROUSE, 86 GREATER PRAIRIE-CHICKENS, two
BLACK-BILLED MAGPIES, two NORTHERN SHRIKES and 90 SNOW BUNTINGS in the
area. Sandy Aubol in East Grand Forks reported that the over-wintering
EASTERN TOWHEE, WHITE-THROATED SPARROW, and two HARRIS'S SPARROWS are
still coming to her feeders. A NORTHERN CARDINAL is also coming
regularly. Heidi Hughes saw a SHORT-EARED OWL and NORTHERN HARRIER on
190th St NW and CR 68, and twelve ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS along MN 1 between
Radium and Thief River Falls. On January 24 , Sandy Aubol saw a flock of
200 CANADA GEESE in East Grand Forks near the Crystal Sugar lagoons.

Shelley Steva saw COMMON RAVENS in Oklee in Red Lake County on January
25.

In Pennington County on January 20, Shelley saw a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK
along CR 3 two miles east of the Casino. Two COMMON RAVENS were seen in
the city of Thief River Falls.

Thanks to Brad and Dee Ehlers, Heidi Hughes, Kelly Larson, Sandy Aubol ,
and Shelley Steva for their reports.

Please report bird sightings to Jeanie Joppru by email, no later than
Thursday each week, at ajjop...@mncable.net OR call the Detroit Lakes
Chamber's toll free number: 1-800-542-3992. Detroit Lakes area birders
please call 847-9202. Please include the county where the sighting took
place. The next scheduled update of this report is Thursday, February 2,
2012



Jeanie Joppru
Pennington County, MN




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[mou-net] MNDNR 2013 Stand Exam (probable timber harvest) list - comment period through Feb 29

[Shawn Conrad]

I just want to share this with birders who may be interested / concerned.
Please see the DNR news release at the bottom of this email.  The DNR has
announced their stand examination list for public comment.  (The comment
period is essentially the month of February.)  Of the 49,100 acres on the
list, it is estimated that 35-40,000 acres will be found suitable for
harvest.  You can view maps of the selected stands and the State Forest
Resource Management Plans at the link provided in the article.
Unfortunately, the maps require you to zoom in significantly to see the
stands, but you can get information about each stand with the "i" button.
If you are so inclined, you can view all of the stands that will be
examined for potential harvest in a given ecological subsection on the
SFRMP link.

Each stand has been assigned a preliminary treatment, that list can be
viewed at:
http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/forestry/harvesting/fy13HarvestPlansSummary.pdf

You can submit comments on the overall plan or on specific stands.  Most
concerning to me--and I would suspect to others interested in bird
conservation--are the plans concerning lowland conifers which are *extremely
slow-growing*, ecologically fragile, and essential to species such as
Boreal Chickadee, Spruce Grouse, Three-toed Woodpecker, Gray Jay,
Connecticut Warbler, Cape May Warbler, and others.  You do not have to be
opposed to timber harvest in general (and I'm not) to see that converting
extremely important habitat to pulpwood (as long as junk mail is abundant,
there cannot be a shortage of pulpwood available to industry) is a tradeoff
where the ecological costs outweigh the industrial benefits.  At least in
my birding experience, the birds I listed above are very partial to very
old, very dense lowland conifer stands, so many of the stands harvested in
2013 may not be habitat to those species again in the lifetimes of many of
us.

The harvest plans for *2013 alone* call to clearcut nearly 4,000 acres of
old black spruce stands and to clearcut nearly 2,000 acres of old tamarack
on state lands.  I've been looking at the map a little bit and it appears
that some sizable stands of black spruce (165, 48, 17, 9, & 13 acres) are
being considered for clearcut between CR 7 and Hwy 53 in the Sax-Zim area
and those stands appear to be part of larger patches.

In the Pine Island State Forest, there are black spruce and tamarack stands
in the 149-209 year old range, some of which are between 100-200+ acres
being considered for harvest.  This is all in line with the State Forest
Resource Management Plans for the Agassiz Lowlands which calls for
accelerated harvest of old lowland conifer stands and a severe overall
reduction in the age profile of lowland conifer stands (especially black
spruce) in the subsection.  If you have ever birded the lowland conifer
stands of Pine Island State Forest, I don't have to tell you just how
amazing the bird life is there because of those large, continuous old
stands and if you have visited multiple times, I don't have to tell you
that more and more relatively birdless clearcuts are showing up where
Boreal Chickadees and Connecticut Warblers had been almost common.

The only way that we can ensure that birds and the concerns of birders are
taken into consideration in these harvest plans is to take advantage of
these opportunities to comment on forest management plans and stand exam
lists.  This happens to be a state announcement, but the same is true at
the county and federal level.  Birders who care about these issues should
consider making some thoughtful comments and so should the organizations
that count on the support of birders.  When so few people comment on these
plans, and many of them represent industry, just a handful of
voices speaking for protection gets noticed.

Keep in mind that a primary driver behind this concern at all is our
appetite for cheap paper.  Reducing paper use, recycling, and buying
recycled paper products is one key way to help reduce the demand for
cutting these important habitats at all.

Annual forest stand examination list available for review

*(Released January 23, 2012)*

The annual stand examination list (ASEL) for state-administered forest
land, prepared by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR), is
available for public review.

The ASEL is for fiscal year 2013, which begins July 1, 2012, and ends June
30, 2013. Comments will be accepted during a 30-day public comment period
that ends on Feb. 29.

The public has two options for reviewing harvest plans, according to Dave
Epperly, DNR director of Forestry.

Proposed stand examination locations, preliminary management prescriptions
and forest inventory information can be viewed on the DNR
website.

Comments regarding a proposed stand examination site can be submitted to
the DNR using this website.

People without Internet access or those who prefer to review and discuss
the annual stan

[mou-net] Harrier-LeSueur County

[Dave Bartkey]

Hi everyone,
  I spotted a male Northern Harrier hunting low over a field late this 
afternoon. It was along LeSueur CR 133 just west of the Rice County line. This 
was a first in January for me and a pleasant surprise. 
   I tried to scrounge up a Snowy Owl for LeSueur/Waseca/Steele counties in the 
short time I had but came up empty. Maybe this weekend

Good birding!

Dave Bartkey
Faribault,MN
  

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[mou-net] Winterfest at Sherburne NWR

[Betsy Beneke]

Saturday, February 4, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. join us for Sherburne NWR's 
annual Winterfest celebration.  Live owls and a kestrel from the Audubon 
Society of the Northwoods, Sandstone, will be our featured "guests" for the 
day; learn all about owls!  There will also be interpretive horse-drawn sleigh 
rides and snowshoeing - if we have enough snow by then.  Otherwise, the horses 
will pull a wagon, and any educational adventures will be accomplished on 
foot!  We'll have booths and information on how resident wildlife species 
survive Minnesota winters, nature crafts for kids, a bonfire, food, information 
on the Junior Duck Stamp Art Program, and more!
 
No reservations necessary - just stop by and enjoy the FREE family-oriented 
activities.  Hot dogs and brats will be sold by our Friends of Sherburne group 
from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  Free cake served at 12:30 p.m. to celebrate the 
upcoming National Wildlife Refuge System's birthday.  The Friends also host a 
silent auction to help raise funds to support our education and interpretive 
programs.  Learn about our Friends of Sherburne nonprofit organization and how 
they're trying to help us raise money for a BADLY NEEDED visitor center!
 
No events will be held at our headquarters/office, but you're welcome to stop 
by to see what birds might be having a snack at the feeders there.  The auto 
tour route is closed now until mid April, but you can hike, ski or snowshoe 
most all of the refuge.
 
Our web site has an event poster with more detailed information.
 
http://www.fws.gov/midwest/sherburne
 
Betsy Beneke
Visitor Services Manager
Sherburne NWR
763.389.3323 x13


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[mou-net] C. Wren: belated thanks

[linda whyte]

Thank you, to those who posted about the Carolina Wren at Wild River State
Park Visitor Center. The park is a great place for those of us needing
outdoor winter exercise and for winter birding, but the Carolina Wren was
an exceptional treat.

It may take a bit of patience, depending on when you happen to arrive in
its feeding schedule, but it spent some time on the covered green tray
feeder when it came in. It appears to do a safety check first, from the
shelter of the fallen oak trees behind the feeder area. The oak leaves make
good camouflage for its colors; it was spotted first in there, by its
motion.

The various feeders are well-stocked, so there's a nice selection of other
winter birds coming in. There are 3 different vantage points from which to
view the feeders. In the front, and off to the side, is a cleared car-width
path. Behind the building is an outdoor deck that offers a view from
another side. Inside the building is a room with the closest view, from
tall windows; though locked yesterday, it also gave a similar view through
internal windows. I think even someone with limited mobility might be able
to enjoy this bird easily.

There was also a N. Shrike on the snowshoe path coming up from the river.
Linda Whyte


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[mou-net] unsuscribe

[Dan F]

 



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