UP Rare Bird Report for April 19, 2009

[Skye Haas]

*UP Rare Bird Report for April 23, 2009*


Despite a late-season storm that brought up to 3 feet of snow in the
Michigamme Highlands, spring is on it's way. Most of the classic April
spring migrants have been reported, and good numbers of waterfowl have been
noted. The next warm front should bring the first neo-tropical migrants to
the Upper Peninsula. Please note my change of email address to
theowlranch at gmail.com when reporting sightings.


*Highlights*

*ROSS'S GOOSE**
Ruddy Duck
Spruce Grouse
Red-throated Loon
American White Pelican
Golden Eagle
WHOOPING CRANE
Snowy Owl
Great Gray Owl
Long-eared Owl
Short-eared Owl
Boreal Owl
Boreal Chickadee
Northern Mockingbird
Bohemian Waxwing
Western Meadowlark
Yellow-headed Blackbird


*Gogebic County*
Jo Mayeau reported 8 TRUMPETER SWANS on the middle branch of the Ontonagon
River near Watersmeet on April 10th.

*Keweenaw County*
Bruce MacDonald reported 4 AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS at Bete Grise on April
18th. Nancy Auer reported 2 TRUMPETER SWANS near Seven Mile Point on the
14th. David Flashpoler reported a SNOWY OWL flying across Eagle Harbor on
April 23rd. Also on the 23rd, a COMMON YELLOWTHROAT was at Copper Harbor.

*Baraga County*
Max Henschell reported 5 SPRUCE GROUSE on the Baraga Plains and a TRUMPETER
SWAN at Ojibwa Beach on April 14th.

*Marquette County*
Alec Lindsay reported a SHORT-EARED OWL and a BOREAL CHICKADEE at Echo Lake
on April 18th. Beth Olson and Ann Joyal found a SHORT-EARED OWL at the
Presque Isle Bogwalk on 17th. Up to 5 ICELAND GULLS (2 1st cycles, 1 2nd
cycle, 1 3rd cycle and an adult bird) have been observed in the City of
Marquette in the last week. 2 GLAUCOUS GULLS have also been present, and a
1st year THAYER'S GULL was observed on March 31st. Morty Harwood reported a
FIELD SPARROW at the Presque Isle Bogwalk. Morty also found a flock of 6
CANVASBACKS in Marquette's upper harbor on the 20th. Also on the 20th and
lingering to at least the 23rd has been 5 male RUDDY DUCKS in the Marquette
lower harbor. Scot Stewardt reported that a flock of 70 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS
were still present in Marquette as of the 12th. David Pavlik found an early
LESSER YELLOWLEGS on the 7th. Vicki Bennon reported that the late season
snowfall brought in a HOARY REDPOLL at her feeders in Diorite on the 20th.

*Delta County*
An adult ROSS'S GOOSE was at the mouth of the Whitefish River near Rapid
River on April 17th. If accepted by the MBRC, this will be the first Delta
County record of this species. 2 RED-THROATED LOONS were observed flying
past Peninsula Point on the 17th. Dee Miller reported a YELLOW-HEADED
BLACKBIRD and a WESTERN MEADOWLARK at the MSU Tree Research Farm on the
17th. Laurie Johnson reported a RUDDY DUCK from the # 3 Dam on the Escanaba
River on the 23rd. 2 TRUMPETER SWANS were at the mouth of the Whitefish
River on the 11th, and also on the 11th, was an impressive concentration of
3000 GREATER SCAUP on Little Bay De Noc. RED-NECKED GREBES returned to their
nesting location at Kipling on the 11th.

*Alger County*
A WHOOPING CRANE from the re-interduced Wisconsin flock has been present in
Traunik from April 18-20th. Scott Hickman had a NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD at
Shelter Bay on the 19th.

*Luce County*
Rick Baetsen reported 2 BOREAL CHICKADEES at Pike Lake on April 17th. Louie
Dombroski had a female SPRUCE GROUSE near McMillan on the 17th.

*Chippewa County*
All spring programs are running at WPBO, and several notable sightings have
occurred in the last few weeks. 3 GREAT GRAY OWLS have been banded, with
also birds also observed multiple times in the last week. Other owls banded
recently include 25+ BOREAL OWLS, as well over 70 LONG-EARED OWLS, plus
GREAT HORNED, and NORTHERN SAW-WHET. A SHORT-EARED OWL was recorded on the
18th, and SNOWY OWLS have been seen, included 2 on the 20th. 270
SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS and 92 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS were recorded on the 19th, and
other recent raptor highlights from the Hawk-count include GOLDEN EAGLE,
RED-SHOULDERED HAWK, and NORTHERN GOSHAWK. The Hawk-watch has also recorded
such highlights as AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN on the 16th-17th, BOREAL CHICKADEE
on the 16th and 2 GLAUCOUS GULLS. Highlights from the Waterbird count
include an impressive 2075 SANDHILL CRANES and 4 TUNDRA SWANS on the 17th.
This is the highest single-day count for Sandhill Crane at WPBO. Other
notable waterbirds include RED-THROATED LOON, WHITE-WINGED SCOTER,
RED-NECKED GREBE, and ICELAND and GLAUCOUS GULL. The WPBO Spring Fling will
be held this coming weekend on April 24-26th. Go to www.wpbo.org for more
details.
Gerald Vork and Steve Baker reported 1 GOLDEN EAGLE at Hay Lake, 100 TUNDRA
SWANS on the Munuscong Bay and 10 SNOW GEESE in Pickford on April 21st.

*Mackinac County*
Gerald Vork and Steve Baker had 4 CANVASBACKS at Pt LaBarbe, and impressive
for the early date were 100 BONAPARTE'S GULLS both on the 21st.


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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 gmail.com<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<http://www.upbirders.org/>



Till next time,



~Skye Haas
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