UP Rare Bird Report for September 19, 2007

[theowlranch at aol.com]

UP Rare Bird Report for September 19, 2007

 

 

A week of mostly south winds has had somewhat of a stalling effect on migration in the UP. Hopefully the front that passed over today will stir things up. Still there have been several observers reporting pockets of migrant thrushes, warblers and sparrows in various regions of the area. We should start seeing a big increase of migrant waterfowl with the next cold front, with more dabblers, scaup & scoters arriving. Common Loon migration will start to peak soon in the next couple of weeks.

 

 

Highlights

 

FRIGATEBIRD species*

Greater White-fronted Goose

Snow Goose

Buff-breasted Sandpiper

Red-necked Phalarope

Sabine’s Gull

Parasitic Jaeger

Short-eared Owl

Black-backed Woodpecker

Harris’s Sparrow

 

 

Ontonagon County

Kitt Wolf reported a HARRIS’S SPARROW at her feeders in Topaz on September 17th.

 

Marquette County

2 BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS were at the mouth of Dead River on the 16th and 19th. They have also been sighted at the short-grass field by the Biolife Plasma Center on Lakeshore Drive. AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERS have been seen at both locations this week. A blue-phased SNOW GOOSE and a CACKLING GOOSE were at the NMU athletic fields by the Superior Dome in the City of Marquette on the 18th-19th. 7 CACKLING GEESE were at the Marquette Golf Course on the 19th. 

 

Delta County

Louie Dombroski noted a flock of 14 AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERS at Peninsula Point on September 17th. 


Alger County

Angie Sabados and Barb Mansfield had the amazing find of FRIGATEBIRD species* over Au Train Lake on September 7th. The bird was thought to be a female Magnificent Frigatebird, certainly the presumed species, but separating the various frigatebird species can be complex. The bird was seen moving south over the lake. If the documentation is accepted by the Michigan Birds Records Committee, it will be the first record of a Frigatebird for the UP. Mark & Joanie Hubinger found a juvenile PARASITIC JAEGER at Sand Point in Munising on September 15th. 

 

Chippewa County

Brian Johnson & Lena Usyk reported a GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE and 4 CACKLING GEESE in a flock of Canada Geese at Munuscong Bay WMA on September 17th. They also had a SHORT-EARED OWL at this location on the 16th. 

Recent highlights from Whitefish Point include- 1 SABINE’S GULL and a BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER on the 19th, 1 SABINE’S GULL, 2 PARASITIC JAEGERS, 1 YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO and 2 BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKERS on the 18th, 1 SABINE’S GULL and 1 PARASITIC JAEGER on the 17th; 1 SABINE’S GULL, 1 PARASITIC JAEGER and a RED-NECKED PHALAROPE on the 16th; and 1 BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER on the 13th. Regularly seen birds on the Waterbird Count include WHITE-WINGED & SURF SCOTERS, RED-THROATED LOONS and AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER. BAIRD’S SANDPIPERS are still being observed, but their numbers are quickly declining. Chris Neri reports that PINE SISKINS, PURPLE FINCHES, WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS, and SWAINSON’S & GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSHES are present in good numbers. RED CROSSBILLS are present as well. The fall owl banding program began on the 15th, with 15 NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWLS and a BARRED OWL caught. For more detailed reports of sightings (and some great photos!) from Whitefish Point Bird Observatory, visit the excellent staff blogs at www.wpbo.org 

 

 

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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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