[mou] Update from Aitkin County
This past weekend Steve and Jo Blanich and I birded around Aitkin County and found a few interesting things. At the Rice Lake National Wildlife Refuge we found 12 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS, 24 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS, a GOLDEN PLOVER, 9 SNIPE, 3 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, a KILLDEER, 24 GREATER YELLOWLEGS, a MERLIN, 24 BALD EAGLES, several NORTHERN HARRIERS, 2 SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS, several flocks of RUSTY BLACKBIRDS, TRUMPETER SWANS, TUNDRA SWANS and at least 150,000 RING-NECKED DUCKS. Outside the refuge, we also found SNOW BUNTINGS, ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK and a late adult male ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK just south of Palisade. Warren Nelson
[mou] Update from Aitkin County
This evening I went out for a short drive north of Aitkin along C.R.1 and found 2 SNOWY OWLS, 2 GREAT HORNED OWLS and a BARRED OWL. Snowy owl #1: 4/10 th mile south of the diversion channel (on a telephone pole) Snowy owl #2: 1 and 4/10 miles north of the diversion channel (on a telephone pole) Great horned owl #1: 2 and 8/10 miles north of the diversion channel Great horned owl #2: 3 and 7/10 miles north of the diversion channel Barred owl : 7 and 2/10 miles north of the diversion channel Also had 14 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS in one field just to the north of the channel Warren Nelson
[mou] Update from Aitkin County
I looked around Aitkin County this past weekend and came up with a few interesting things. 2 SNOWY OWLS ( one along C.R.1 north of Aitkin and the other along 310th Ave. just south of Palisade--I received a message that a third snowy was found dead along C.R.1, apparently electrocuted) 4 BLACK-BILLED MAGPIES along C.R.1 Several COMMON REDPOLLS, EVENING GROSBEAKS, PINE GROSBEAKS,SNOW BUNTINGS and a flock of about 60 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS on the south edge of Aitkin. A few new spring migrants: flocks of RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS, GRACKLES, a dozen KESTRELS, several NORTHERN HARRIERS, RED-TAILED HAWKS, dozens of ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS ( 16 in one field along C.R.1 just north of the diversion channel), CANADA GEESE Warren Nelson
[mou] Update from Aitkin County
This past weekend I birded around the county and found a few interesting things: -- 2 Northern Hawk Owls ( at the sight on C.R.56, 2 miles east of hwy 169 and at the sight one half mile south of Palisade on C.R.5, on the top of a spruce on the west side of the road) -- 4 Snowy Owls ( first one on C.R.1, just past the junction with C.R.22, sitting on the roof of the shed at the junction:; second on C.R.1, in the field on the west side of the road just over the diversion channel; the final two birds were along 310th ave off of 450th St, south of Palisade) -- 2 Great Horned Owls ( one on C.R.1 and the other on C.R.22) -- 400 plus Snow Buntings (seem to be everywhere) -- Black-billed Magpies ( on 450th St., 3 miles west of C.R.5, south of Palisade) -- 4 Rough-legged Hawk -- 3 Bald eagles -- Dozens of Pine Grosbeaks -- a Northern Goshawk on C.R.1 -- Evening Grosbeaks, Redpolls, Horned Larks, Ravens Warren Nelson
[mou] Update from Aitkin County
Bill Stauffer and I birded around the county this weekend and found a few good birds even though birding in general was slow. We had a beautiful PEREGRINE FALCON at the Rice Lake NWR at the far west field, a GREAT GRAY OWL along C.R.18 about 3 miles east of Highway 169, a GREAT GRAY OWL and 2 TRUMPETER SWANS at the Moose-Willow WMA south of Hill City, I found a pair of nesting RAVENS along a hiking trail off of C.R.1(and they made me feel really unwanted), SHARP-TAILED GROUSE also along C.R.1, a NORTHERN GOSHAWK in my yard scaring the birds all over on Saturday and this afternoon, I had Bluejays start screaming unendingly and when I went to the back porch, I found that a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK was putting the coup de grace on one of my beloved Starlings ( I am pretty sure I can get over it in time). Warren Nelson
[mou] Update from Aitkin County
On Sunday, Bill Stauffer and I birded around the county in the morning and Steve and Jo Blanich and I birded in the afternoon and found a total of 81 species of birds. We found 11 GREAT GRAY OWLS ( 2 on C.R.1, 2 on C.R.29, 4 on C.R.68, 2 on Pietz's Road about a mile and a half north of C.R.18 and 1 along North Willow road north of C.R.18) and 1 NORTHERN HAWK OWL along C.R.1 north of the diversion ditch. Tundra Swans are in by the hundreds, lots of waterfowl, Sharp-tails are really dancing up a storm. Warren Nelson
[mou] Update from Aitkin County
On Saturday morning, Bill Stauffer and I found 2 GREAT GRAY OWLS on Pietz's Road about 3/10th mile north of C.R. 18 at 9:00. We checked back later in the day and on Sunday too but didn't see them either time. Although we didn't personally see the VARIED THRUSH , there were several who did see the bird at a feeder about a block south of the Citgo station. Also seen this past weekend: a flock of about 50 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS on third street n.w. in Aitkin, 2 flocks of SNOW BUNTINGS on C.R. 1 north of Aitkin, a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK eating a sparrow at my feeder, 3 NORTHERN SHRIKES, PINE GROSBEAKS, redpolls. Warren Nelson
[mou] Update from Aitkin County
This morning Bill Stauffer and I went out birding and found a few good birds: --2 GREAT GRAY OWLS -- on C.R.18 midway between Pietz's Road and the Hebron Cemetery --3 SHARP-TAILED GROUSE -- on C.R. 18 about 1/2 mile east of Highway 169 --85 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS--in the town of Deerwood in Crow Wing County --2 NORTHERN SHRIKES --6 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS --several PINE GROSBEAKS --several COMMON REDPOLLS Warren Nelson
[mou] Update from Aitkin County
This evening at around 6:00 I found a GREAT GRAY OWL on Aitkin County Road 18 about 200 yards to the east of the Hebron Cemetery. Spring migrants are showing up in this corner of the state too. Seen in the last 7 or 8 days: TUNDRA SWANS, COMMON MERGANSERS, HOODED MERGANSERS, CANADA GEESE, WOODDUCKS, MALLARDS, NORTHERN HARRIERS, RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS, GRACKLES, ROBINS, KESTRALS and EASTERN MEADOWLARK. Also , the BALD EAGLES all seem to be back on their nests.Warren Nelson
