January 21, 2011 Explore Minnesota Birding Report
During the months of January and February, keep an eye out for great gray and snowy owls, as well as snow buntings, lapland longspurs, hoary redpolls, and American tree sparrows. Open water areas along rivers are great for viewing Canada geese, trumpeter swans, and mallards - if you look closely, you may also see common goldeneyes, American mergansers, and American black ducks. And the section of the Mississippi River between Red Wing and Wabasha in southeastern Minnesota offers an abundance of sites to view bald eagles. Anyone wanting more information on southeastern Minnesota phenology, should check out the Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center blog site.
The following is a list of significant sightings:
In Duluth, a Barrow's Goldeneye was found by Karl Bardon on January 16 on Lake Superior along Scenic Highway 61 near Lakewood Road. Karl also relocated the Slaty-Backed Gull on the 16th on the Minnesota side of the Superior Entry.
A Gyrfalcon was seen by Deb and Steve Falkowski on the 17th near the town of Virginia in St. Louis County. It was found on the open mine dump hills south of town, in a roadless area on the east side of Manganika Lake.
And last, there was a secondhand report of a Snowy Owl found on the 17th along Goodhue County Road 9, roughly one mile west of U.S. Highway 53.
Information in this statewide birding report is provided by and financially supported by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU), Minnesota's oldest and largest bird club. The report is composed from reports submitted by MOU members and other birders throughout the state. You can support this weekly birding update by submitting your bird reports to Anthony Hertzel at axhertzel@gmail.com or by calling the hotline directly at 763-780-8890 and leaving a detailed message. MOU members receive the organization's quarterly journal "The Loon," and the bi-monthly magazine, "Minnesota Birding." For membership information, send an e-mail message to our membership secretary at membership@moumn.org
"The information in this report is provided courtesy of the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union and Explore Minnesota Tourism."
