Explore Minnesota Birding Report Update December 27, 2012
Birders can enjoy spectacular views of Bald Eagles at many sites along Highway U.S. 61 from Red Wing to Winona overlooking the Mississippi River. Check out some of the best sites to view these magnificent birds.
The following information has been provided courtesy of the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union and their affiliates. This report is brought to you by ExploreMinnesota.com.
Subscribe here to receive any or all of our reports by email or RSS/news feed.
The following is a list of recent, significant sightings:
On December 25th, Karl Bardon found a Barrow's Goldeneye at the Superior Entry of Park Point in Duluth.
On December 22nd, an apparent Golden Eagle was reported from the Coon Rapids dam on the Hennepin/Anoka county line.
On the 21st, Warren Nelson found a Snowy Owl along US Highway 169, three and three-quarter miles north of Aitkin in Aitkin County. Another Snowy Owl is being seen in Marshall County, about eight miles west of the Audubon Center along County Road 64. And a Snowy Owl was in downtown Minneapolis on the 17th, across Marquette Street from the IDS Tower.
In Sherburne County, Al Schirmacher reported a Townsend's Solitaire at the Ann Lake campground parking lot on December 24th. In East Duluth, a Varied Thrush is still in the Lakeside neighborhood where it was first discovered on the 15th. This bird is being seen just west of the intersection of 47th Avenue and Oakley Street.
A few late, lingering birds have been reported in the past two weeks. An immature Black-Crowned Night-Heron was along Shive Road in Winona on the 20th. On the 24th, a Gray Catbird was in Steve Bachman's yard in Shoreview, Ramsey County. Another was just east of Willmar in Kandiyohi on the 26th. On the 21st, Joel Claus found a Brown Thrasher at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska. It was in the gardens behind the visitor center. A Field Sparrow was seen by Dan Versaw on December 22nd at the Riverwood Park in Dakota County. And a Chipping Sparrow was reported on the 19th by Kurt Schulzetenberg near 120 West Plato Boulevard in St. Paul.
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.
