UP Rare Bird Report for November 20, 2008

Thu Nov 27 23:34:18 EST 2008

UP Rare Bird Report for November 27, 2008

Winter has arrived in full force to the Upper Peninsula. Most of the region is covered in snow, up to a couple of feet in the western highlands and Pictured Rocks area. Temperatures have been colder than average as well, with many inland bodies of water now frozen. With the early winter this year, it is somewhat surprising that there have been seven species of warblers recorded in the month of November. Even more surprising, a few of the more traditional hardy species (like Pine Warbler) have not been reported, while there have been a few southern rarities. 
The Snowy Owl flight continues with well over 30 birds now reported across the UP. Perhaps the most entertaining report of a Snowy Owl comes from a bird that was observed hitch-hiking on top of a truck across Alger and Marquette Counties! A family noticed a Snowy Owl on the back of a truck carrying wood pallets in Wetmore Corners in Alger County and stayed sitting on the vehicle as it drove along US-41 into to Harvey, Marquette County, a distance of 50-60 miles! 
Finches continue to be common in boreal habitats, with very impressive numbers of White-winged Crossbills, Common Redpolls and Pine Siskins being the most common species. Natural food sources are keeping most of the finches forest-bound, with feeding stations not reporting any epic numbers yet. Lake-watchers have reported lower then normal numbers of lingering loons, grebes, scoters and other diving ducks in the bays and harbors of the Great Lakes this month. Normally an uncommon migrant in the UP, good numbers of migrant Tundra Swans have been reported this month. A significant movement of swans were recorded on November 13-14th in a narrow band from the Keweenaw Bay to Green Bay.
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Highlights

BLACK VULTURE*
SPOTTED TOWHEE*
Greater White-fronted Goose
Cattle Egret
Black-legged Kittiwake
Thayer's Gull
Iceland Gull
Snowy Owl
Northern Hawk Owl
Black-backed Woodpecker
Boreal Chickadee
Bohemian Waxwing
Chestnut-sided Warbler
WORM-EATING WARBLER

Ontonagon County
Betty Carmichael photographed a WORM-EATING WARBLER at her home south of Ontonagon on the 20th of November. The bird was apparently present for two weeks, but not seen after the 20th. This amazing record is only the 6th record for the UP, and one of the latest. 

Keweenaw County
Nancy Auer reported a SPOTTED TOWHEE* at her home on Seven Mile Point on November 18th. The bird remains present at least through the 23rd. 

Houghton County 
Joe Kaplan and George Desort refound the BLACK VULTURE* in the Pike River valley on November 17th. The bird was feeding on a deer carcass, but was not seen the next day. With deer rifle season going on, and a fresh supply of gut piles in the woods, this bird could be moving around a bit. Nancy & Martin Auer had a NORTHERN HAWK OWL by the Houghton Airport along US-41 on the 25th. 

Baraga County
Beth Olsen and Deb Hecox recorded several flocks of TUNDRA SWANS on November 13th, with the largest flock of 62 at Parent Lake. Elaine Dougovito counted 56 TUNDRA SWANS on the Keweenaw Bay on the 14th. Joe Youngman and Lynn Murphy had 4 SPRUCE GROUSE on the Baraga Plains on the 27th. 

Marquette County
Mark & Joanie Hubinger had a CATTLE EGRET in the lower harbor of Marquette on November 8th. A SNOWY OWL was present at the mouth of the Dead River on 18th. Shelly Bailey reported a MUTE SWAN on the Dead River Basin from the 5th-10th. 4 BOREAL CHICKADEES, 3 GRAY JAYS and an out of place NORTHERN CARDINAL were the highlights of a Laughing Whitefish Audubon trip to the Peshekee on the 8th. David Pavlik and Cory Gregory had a 1st year THAYER'S GULL in Marquette on the 23rd. David also reported a BOREAL CHICKADEE in the Peshekee on the 23rd. 3 THAYER'S GULLS, 1 THAYER'S/ICELAND GULL, 4 GLAUCOUS GULLS and a GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL were in the lower harbor of Marquette on the 27th. Vicki Bennon reports that up to 7 GRAY JAYS have been coming to her feeders in Diorite. Zach Gayk reported a couple of BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS at Harlow Lake on the 23rd. An excellent count for the county, 100 TUNDRA SWANS were reported in South Republic on the 14th. 

Delta County
Probably representing a record-late date for the UP, a CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER was photographed at Peninsula Point on November 16th. A female BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER was at Peninsula Point on November 7th. A SNOWY OWL was present near the Gladstone Campground on the 7th. Also on the 7th, a SNOWY OWL was seen at Portage Marsh. 

Alger County
Scott Hickman, Greg Cleary & Bill Flack reported 2 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE along with 21 TRUMPETER SWANS at the Cleveland Cliffs Basin on the November 15th. They also reported a late NASHVILLE WARBLER in Munising on the same date. Carrie Elzinga reported a flock of 50+ BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS west of Grand Marais on November 21st. Large numbers of gulls have been present in Munising Bay over the last few weeks with highlights including 2 THAYER'S GULLS, and 2 GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULLS on the 25th; 1 1st cycle ICELAND GULL and 2 GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULLS on the 22nd; 1 THAYER'S GULL, 1 2nd cycle ICELAND GULL and a "NELSON'S" GULL (HERRINGxGLAUCOUS GULL hybrid) on the 14th. GLAUCOUS GULLS have been regularly observed.

Chippewa County
Whitefish Point wrapped up its fall season on November 15th. Some of the highlights from the final week of the count included a COMMON YELLOWTHROAT on the 7th; SNOWY OWL on the 9th; 1 SNOWY OWL on the 12th; 1 SNOWY OWL on the 14th, and 1 BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE, 1 THAYER'S GULL, 2 GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULLS and a SNOWY OWL on the 15th. WPBO's first BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS of the season were reported on November 7th, with scattered sightings through the end of the count. Chris Neri reported a BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER west of Wildcat Beach Park on the 7th. Steve Baker had a good count of 6 SNOWY OWLS on the Centerline/Hantz roads loop east of Rudyard on the 23rd. Steve also reported 200+ TUNDRA SWANS from the St. Mary's River in the Dunbar Forest. Cory Gregory reported 2 SNOWY OWLS were present on the 24th along Centerline Road. Cory also reported a flock of BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS a couple of miles north of the Tahquamenon rivermouth. Kirk Zulfet reported that 4 SNOWY OWLS were present in Rudyard on the 27th. SNOWY OWLS have also been observed in the Dafter/Brimley area, and south of the Soo. 

Mackinac County
Mike Berger reported a SNOWY OWL along US-2 on November 16th. Steve Baker reported a flock of 1000+ REDHEAD were at their traditional staging location in the Mackinaw Straits on November 23rd. 

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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 at TheOwlRanch at aol.com or to Birdnet at UPBirders.org if you are a subscriber. For more information on Birdnet, or UP birds, please visit www.UPBirders.org

Till next time, 

~Skye Haas 

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