September 30, 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 a 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! And late October is an excellent 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 great variety of species.
The following information has been provided courtesy of the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union. This report is brought to you by ExploreMinnesota.com.
The following is a list of recent, significant sightings:
Several interesting birds were seen from Park Point in Duluth on September 24th. Four juvenile Sabine's Gulls were seen by Peder Svingen from the Beach House. He also found a juvenile Pacific Loon at the 12th Street Public Access. Doug Kieser reported two Parasitic Jaegers on the Minnesota side of the Superior Entry at the end of Park Point. Peder had seen four jaegers on the 22nd near the Sky Harbor Airport.
The raptor count at Hawk Ridge in Duluth now stands at 49,865 birds, including 32,865 Broad-Winged Hawks, 12,754 Sharp-Shined Hawks, and 863 Bald Eagles.
On the 25th, Bob Russell discovered several Smith's Longspurs in Sibley County on the south side of County Road 12 roughly one-half mile west of Arlington. There have also been new reports of Great Black-Backed Gull, Thayer's Gull, Franklin's Gull, Common Raven, Winter Wren, Gray-Cheeked Thrush, Bohemian Waxwing, Fox Sparrow, and Dark-Eyed Junco.
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.
