UP Rare Bird Report for November 16, 2007

Fri Nov 16 23:29:50 EST 2007

UP Rare Bird Report for November 16, 2007

The switch has been flipped- after a long and warm autumn, winter weather has been roaring into the Upper Peninsula. Almost a foot of snow fell in the Michigamme Highlands, and many wetlands are beginning to freeze. Finches are still moving down from Canada, mainly Common Redpolls and Pine Grosbeaks, along with scattered reports of Hoary Redpolls, Evening Grosbeaks, Red Crossbills & Pine Siskins. Bohemian Waxwings have also been reported in various locations in small numbers. While large numbers of Black-backed Woodpeckers have been previously reported in the Baraga Plains burn, high totals have been recorded there in the last few weeks. While most these birds have probably been in the area for a couple of months, it is interesting to note that Duluth, Minnesota has been inundated with Black-backed Woodpeckers moving down the North Shore. At least 5 American Three-toed Woodpeckers have been recorded there as well. Are we setting up for an invasion of northern woodpeckers this winter? A more somber note is of a mass die-off of loons, grebes, ducks & gulls along the northern edge of Lake Michigan & Lake Huron, presumably from botulism. Over a 1000+ waterbirds have been found dead in the last couple of weeks. 

I have gotten a few shots of the Cave Swallow & Red Phalarope in the 2007 www.UPBirders.org photo gallery. 

Highlights

AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER*

CAVE SWALLOW*

SPOTTED TOWHEE*

Harlequin Duck

Golden Eagle

American Avocet

Purple Sandpiper

Franklin’s Gull

Thayer’s Gull

Iceland Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Sabine’s Gull

Parasitic Jaeger

Northern Hawk Owl

Great Gray Owl

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Black-backed Woodpecker

Barn Swallow

Townsend’s Solitaire

Prairie Warbler

Summer Tanager

Harris’s Sparrow

Yellow-headed Blackbird

Hoary Redpoll

Ontonagon County

Kitt Wulf & Bob Seasor had a HOARY REDPOLL at their feeders in Topaz on November 4-5th. Steve Santner reported a HARRIS’S SPARROW north of Mass City on Ridge Road just north of Trevarrow Lane on October 25th. Katie Brashear reported a RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER at her home on the 30th. 

Keweenaw County

A SPOTTED TOWHEE* has been coming to the feeders of Laurel Rooks in Copper Harbor from at least November 13-16th. It should be noted that the possibility of a hybrid has not yet been ruled out (or suggested). Joe Kaplan & Russ Hanson had a male AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER* in Copper Harbor on November 16th. Joe also reported a late SAVANNAH SPARROW & 2 probable WESTERN MEADOWLARKS at Westcoat’s Fields on the 16th. 2 LE CONTE’S SPARROWS, 4 CACKLING GEESE and 1 BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER were at Westcoat’s Fields on October 20th. A YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD was photographed in Copper Harbor on October 28-29th. Zach Gayk had a BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER on the 28th in Bete Gris. 

Houghton County

Joe Youngman found a GREAT GRAY OWL on Rice Lake Road just west of Post Road on October 21st. Joe Youngman also had 2 SHORT-EARED OWLS at the Arnheim Unit of the Sturgeon River Sloughs on the evening of the 22nd. This is on the border of both Houghton & Baraga Counties. Mike Shupe had a SHORT-EARED OWL at the North Unit of the Sturgeon River Sloughs by the Observation Tower on the 26th. A YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD was seen north of Chassel on October 27th. 2 GRAY JAYS were observed feeding on a peanut butter feeder in Traverse on the 27th. 

Baraga County

The SABINE’S GULL that has been present in the Keweenaw Bay/Baraga Sewage Ponds was seen in both locations as of October 27th. The 1st year FRANKLIN’S GULL stayed only to the 18th. A sighting of 2 BARN SWALLOWS at the Baraga Sewage Ponds on November 11th, was the latest ever by two months for the Keweenaw. An immature blue-morph SNOW GOOSE was at this location on the 11th. 3 CANVASBACKS were at the head of the bay on October 24th. 13 BLACK SCOTERS were at this location on the 28th. An excellent total of 47 BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKERS were tallied up at the Baraga Plains/Covington burn on October 20th, with 25-30 on November 11th. There have been a few unsubstantiated 2nd hand reports of Three-toed Woodpeckers in the burn area. I would like to encourage anyone who finds a Three-toed to document the bird and to contact either Joe Youngman or myself. John Kendall reported a GOLDEN EAGLE scavenging a deer carcass near the burn on the Baraga Plains on October 30th. Lynn Murphy reported a SPRUCE GROUSE on the Prison Camp Road on November 4th. A flock of 30+ BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS were observed just east of Three Lakes on US-41 on the 10th. 

Iron County

Greg Cleary recorded an impressive total of 3200 RING-NECKED DUCKS on Crystal Lake on October 28th. 

Marquette County

Dan Barrington is hosting a very tardy RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD at his feeders in Marquette. Present from November 7-12th, this record represents the latest date ever for this species in the UP. Another late bird for Marquette is a lingering BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER that feeds from the mouth of the Dead River south along the coastal fields and was most recently seen on November 12th. Providing for a 4th county record was a 2nd year LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL on the 14th. There have been at least 7 THAYER’S GULLS in the City of Marquette in the last couple of weeks, with both an adult and 1st year bird in both the Lower & Upper Harbors on November 7th and 2 1st year birds on the 14th. Other gulls of note recently include first-year ICELAND GULLS on October 23rd & November 6th-14th, and an adult Iceland Gull on the 7-11th; 1 THAYER’S/ICELAND GULL on the 30th; and 1 first-year GLAUCOUS GULL on October 18-22nd. David Pavlik had a LONG-EARED OWL fly off Lake Superior at the Black Rocks of Presque Isle Park on October 30th. A HOARY REDPOLL was observed at the Cross-roads of County Road 553 & 480 on November 7th. Scot Stewart reported 1 HARRIS’S SPARROW at his feeders on the 21st. Alec Lindsay reported a BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER along the shoreline trail between Little Presque Isle and Wetmore Landing on the 28th. Good sightings from the feeding station at MooseWood Nature Center at Presque Isle Park include 2 HOARY REDPOLLS from November 11th-16th, and “OREGON” JUNCOS on November 1st and 14th. 3 more “OREGON” race DARK-EYED JUNCOS have been near the Fit-Strip at private residences in the City of Marquette in the last week. A flock of 12 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS were in the village of North Republic on November 4th. 15 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS were at Presque Isle Park on the 12th. 

Delta County

A female SUMMER TANAGER was observed along County Road 513 a ½ mile north of Swede Road on the southwestern end of the Stonington Peninsula on November 3rd. An AMERICAN AVOCET was along the Escanaba waterfront between Ludington Park and Portage Marsh on October 21st-22nd. Also on the 21st was a BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER at Portage Marsh and 7 AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERS and an “OREGON” race DARK-EYED JUNCO at Peninsula Point. 65 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS remained in the Peninsula Point area as of November 3rd. Dee Miller reported an adult GOLDEN EAGLE at the MSU Tree Research Farm on October 23rd. Mark Hubinger reported a BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER in the Stonington burn along County Road 513 south of US-2 on November 9th. 

Alger County

A TOWNSEND’S SOLITAIRE was found at the Sand Point Boardwalk in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on October 21st. Also on the 21st was a YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO at the home of Mark & Joanie Hubinger. Scott Hickman had an unidentified PHALAROPE species in the channel between Sand Point and Grand Island on the 20th. Scott also reported a flock of 30+ BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS from the Au Train Post Office on November 15th.

Schoolcraft County

Joe Kaplan found a GOLDEN EAGLE scavenging on a loon carcass on Birch Point on November 1st. Alexis Raney saw a SHORT-EARED OWL south of Germfask on November 2nd. Ron Annelin reported hearing a LONG-EARED OWL in Manistique on November 14th. 

Luce County

Rick Baetsen reported 5 BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKERS at the Sleeper Lake burn and 3 BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKERS at the Swamp Lakes on November 5th. Rick also reported 2 SPRUCE GROUSE on County Road 414 on the 4th, and a BOREAL CHICKADEE and 5 GRAY JAYS at Pike Lake on the 5th. 

Chippewa County

Whitefish Point Bird Observatory ended the fall count season on November 15th. Certainly the most notable sighting of the season was of a CAVE SWALLOW* photographed on October 21st. Other recent highlights from the Point include 1 PURPLE SANDPIPER on the 12th; 1 adult BLACK-LEGED KITTIWAKE on the 11th;  1 TOWNSEND’S SOLITAIRE, 1 THAYER’S GULL, 1 ICELAND GULL and 1 PRAIRIE WARBLER on the 10th; 1 juvenile BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE on the 8th; 2600 LONG-TAILED DUCKS on the 6th; 1 SHORT-EARED OWL & 1 BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER on the 4th; 1 HARLEQUIN DUCK on November 1st; 1 PRAIRIE WARBLER on the 30th; 1 NORTHERN HAWK-OWL, 1 GREAT GRAY OWL, 1 SHORT-EARED OWL, 1 BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER, 39 SNOW GEESE and HOARY REDPOLL on the 29th; 1 juvenile BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE, 1 PRAIRIE WARBLER and 2 HOARY REDPOLL on the 28th; 1 HOARY REDPOLL on the 27th; 1 TOWNSEND’S SOLITAIRE, 1 “OREGON” race DARK-EYED JUNCO and 1 BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER on the 26th; 1 GREAT BLACK- BACKED GULL and an excellent flight of 8300 LONG-TAILED DUCKS on the 24th; 3 TOWNSEND’S SOLITAIRES were a nice find on the 23rd; 1 PRAIRIE WARBLER, 3 CANVASBACKS, and 27 BLACK SCOTERS on the 22nd:  FORSTER’S TERN, HARRIS’S SPARROW and a “Western” RED-TAILED HAWK on the 21st; 1 PARASITIC JAEGER on the 19th: and 1 unidentified JAEGER SPECIES on the 18th. The Owl Banders had an excellent season for NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWLS with an impressive total of 269. Good numbers of BARRED OWLS were recorded with a record high total of 60 caught, as well as 12 LONG-EARED OWLS. Other birds of note recently include RED-THROATED LOON, SHARP-TAILED GROUSE, NORTHERN SHRIKE, BOHEMIAN WAXWING, PINE GROSBEAK, both CROSSBILLS and HOARY REDPOLLS at the feeders. 

Kirk Zulfelt reported that there were at least 3 THAYER’S GULLS, along with 1 ICELAND GULL & 1 GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL at the Dafter Dump on October 25th. 2 ICELAND GULLS and 1 THAYER’S/ICELAND GULL were at this location on the 9th. Betty Maxton reported 3 HOARY REDPOLLS at her feeders at Lost Lake in Paradise as of the 7th.

Mackinac County

Keith Saylor reported a flock of up to 90 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS at the Dye Sanctuary along M-123 north of Moran on November 9th-10th.

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All birds marked with an asterisk “*” in the report are review species in the State of Michigan and should be documented with photos or a written description. Please send documentation to Adam Byrne at the Michigan Birds Records Committee at either 11771 Rachel LN, Dewitt, MI, 48820 or by email at Byrnea”AT”msu.edu

For further information about the Records Committee, please visit: http://www.michiganaudubon.org/mbrc/mbrc_home.html

To report rare birds, please email me at the 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

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