UP Rare Bird Report for March 4, 2007

[theowlranch@aol.com]

UP Rare Bird Report for March 4, 2007
 
 
Saving the best for last. After a record-mild winter, March rolled in like a lion. Up to 5 feet of snow fell in the Michigamme Highlands in the last week. However, spring is on many minds, and northbound migrants will be arriving in the next couple of weeks. The next warm front from the south will bring the first migrant Bald & Golden Eagles to the UP and the Ring-billed Gulls won’t be far behind. Other avian signs of the end of winter include singing Black-capped & Boreal Chickadees, Ravens & Crossbills are nesting and Herring Gulls are appearing at rookery sites. The Great Backyard Bird Count occurred from February 16-19, and one of the more interesting features of the count, was the widespread occurrence of Red-bellied Woodpeckers across the UP. From Gogebic County to Drummond Island and Copper Harbor south to Menominee there were reports of Red-bellied Woodpeckers in both rural and town locations. It seems they have successfully conquered the Yoop.  Whitefish Point Bird Observatory begins the Spring Hawk Count on March 15th. Visit www.WPBO.org for more information on the start of other WPBO counts and the "Spring Fling".
 
 
Highlights
 
AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER
GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE
GRAY-CROWNED ROSY-FINCH
Gyrfalcon
Snowy Owl
Short-eared Owl
Black-backed Woodpecker
Boreal Chickadee
Townsend’s Solitaire
Bohemian Waxwing
Hoary Redpoll
 
 
Baraga County
The GRAY-CROWNED ROSY-FINCH in L’anse has been sporadically seen in the last couple of weeks, most recently on February 23rd. There has been a lot of snow recently, and the alley it has been frequenting is pretty snowed under. There have been a couple of reports of the finch being seen in the near the marina parking lot, and in front of the City Hall, so some searching may be needed to find the bird.


Marquette County
Ryne Rutherford found a male AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER on the Harlow Lake Pathway 5 miles north of the City of Marquette on February 20th. The GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE continues at the home of Louie Taccolini as of March 4th. Ryne Rutherford had a TOWNSEND’S SOLITAIRE at Little Presque Isle on February 17th. This is presumably the same bird found in late December, and was most recently seen on February 27th. The juvenile dark-morph GYRFALCON continues to be a regular sight in the City of Marquette, and was most recently seen on March 4th. The bird does appear to have a large territory and has been seen along the entire length of the Marquette waterfront, including by the Welcome Center in Harvey. The bird is most frequently seen by the old ore dock in the Lower Harbor, downtown Marquette, and the mouth of the Dead River. A HOARY REDPOLL and 4 BOREAL CHICKADEES were seen along County Road 478 south of the Greenwood Reservoir on February 18th. 4 BOREAL CHICKADEES were seen on Cardinal Point Road south of Michigamme on the 18th. 12 BOREAL CHICKADEES and 1 GRAY JAY were seen in the McCormick Tract Wilderness Area on the 19th. The GREAT BLUE HERON in Gwinn apparently successfully over-wintered and was most recently reported on the 26th. A WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW was reported in Ishpeming on the 16th. A GLAUCOUS GULL was present at the mouth of the Dead River on the 17th. 
 
Alger County
Tom Noren reported very early KILLDEER along US-41 south of Trenary on March 2nd. Scott Hickman reported 2 BOREAL CHICKADEES northeast of Shingleton. 
 
Chippewa County
3-4 SNOWY OWLS are still in the Rudyard flats along Centerline and Hantz Roads, with the most recent reports received on February 23rd. Jerry Kolak reported that up to 3 SHORT-EARED OWLS were seen on February 19th & 20th, at the corner of Forrest & 11 Mile Roads west of Dafter. Good numbers of SHARP-TAILED GROUSE are regularly being seen in the Soo farm Country. Tom Barlet reported a BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER in the Hulbert Bog on Basnau Road on February 18th. Betty Maxton reported a flock of 43 BOHEMAIN WAXWINGS at the Tahquamenon River mouth on February 17th. 
 
 
To report rare birds please email me at TheOwlRanch at aol.com or to Birdnet at UPBirders.org if you are a subscriber. If you are not on the net, call the Marquette Hotline at (906) 225-3886. For more information on Birdnet, or UP birds, please visit www.UPBirders.org
 
Till next time,
 
~Skye Haas
________________________________________________________________________
AOL now offers free email to everyone.  Find out more about what's free from AOL at AOL.com.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.envirolink.org/pipermail/mich-listers/attachments/20070304/d1abadbb/attachment.html