November 7, 2011 Explore Minnesota Birding Report Update
Sharp-shinned and broad-winged hawks, peregrine falcons and other raptors continue to migrate to southerly locations through mid-November. One location to view the flurry of activity by a variety of species is Hawk Ridge in Duluth. On a good day, visitors may see hundreds, even thousands, of birds flying overhead! This is also a great time to travel Hwy. 61 along the Mississippi River to view amazing numbers of waterfowl, including large numbers of tundra swans. Weaver Bottoms in the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge is an excellent place to view a variety of species. And thousands of Sandhill Cranes are making their way through Minnesota. Many of these birds stage at the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge for several weeks to put on weight before the remainder of their trip south.
The following is a list of recent, significant sightings:
On October 29th, a probable Tropical Kingbird was photographed by Mike Hendrickson in west Duluth, but the bird left the area almost as soon as it was found and has not been seen since.
The following day, Bob Dunlap and Ben Fritchmen found a Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher in west Duluth, along Waseca Industrial Road about half a mile east then south of Central Avenue. This bird was still present on the 31st.
Jim Lind found a probable Scott's Oriole on the 30th in Grand Marais in Cook County. It was along 2nd Avenue between 1st and 3rd Streets. The oriole was seen only briefly later in the day and has not been reported since. Also in the Grand Marais vicinity were several reports of Surf Scoter, White-Winged Scoter, Black Scoter, and Long-Tailed Duck.
There was a belated report of a Gray-Crowned Rosy-Finch seen in Babbitt in St. Louis County on October 27th, but no further information is available.
On the 30th, Ned Winters reported as many as 200 Tundra Swans congregating on the Mississippi River at Brownsville in Houston County. And in Sherburne County, Betsy Beneke reported that on November 3rd, a survey of Sandhill Cranes on the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge produced a total of 6,190 birds, with most of them being seen on the north side of County Road 3 and along County Road 70.
Information in this statewide birding report is provided by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU), Minnesota's oldest and largest bird club. To submit a bird sighting, email the MOU birding report compiler at rba@moumn.org.
