UP Rare Bird Report for January 8, 2009

Thu Jan 8 19:29:39 EST 2009

UP Rare Bird Report for January 8, 2009

The transition from early winter to late winter has begun in the north woods. Succinctly described by Dr. Laurence Binford in his book, Birds of the Keweenaw, early winter is a period of time that spans from early November through the first week of January. During this time, late season migrants such as finches and waxwings typically peak in their movements and lingering waterbirds began to disappear as ice out happens. It is also during this early winter period that the Christmas Bird Counts are held, and as to be expected, a number of notable species were turned up this year by intrepid counters. However, the number and species component of birds present in the Upper Peninsula has probably settled into what will be present for the next couple of months as Binford describes that late winter period as lasting until mid-March. A possible exception to this may be the noticeable jump in the number of Bohemian Waxwings and Pine Grosbeaks recently. Due to the large amount of mountain ash fruit north of Lake Superior, the fruitivores may not have had a need to move south until the later winter period. As berry supply's north of the lake diminish, we could see a continual build-up of these species until spring migration. 
After an excellent early winter period for gull-watching, numbers have dramatically dropped off in the new year as the Great Lakes began to freeze up. This was a particularly good December for observing Glaucous Gulls as well as members of 
the Thayer's/Iceland complex on Lake Superior. 
As for more irruptive species Snowy Owls remain in good numbers with regular reports from eastern/central Chippewa County and the City of Marquette. Northern Hawk Owls have staged a modest movement into the eastern UP, with 3-4 individuals reported this winter. Undoubtedly there are more to out there and hopefully will be reported as the number of winter birding tours increase in the next few weeks. Great Gray Owls remain virtually unreported, though with decent numbers in northeast Minnesota this winter, certainly could be present, especially in traditional areas in eastern Chippewa County. There have been a few reports of Great Grays from the Ontario side of the St. Mary's River.
With the mass production of mountain ash (Pyrus) and Michigan holly (Ilex), this has been a good winter for Cedar Waxwings and American Robins lingering on the peninsula with decent numbers being reported even from the snow belts along Lake Superior. After a slow start during fall migration, Bohemian Waxwings numbers have been steadily increasing in the last couple of weeks. Not surprisingly, the rarer fruitivores like Varied Thrush and Townsend's Solitaire have only had singles reported of each species this winter. This has been the worst showing of Solitaires in several years in the Upper Peninsula. 
Certain species of winter finches remain plentiful, especially White-winged Crossbills, Pine Siskins, and Common Redpolls in boreal areas. Numbers of Hoary Redpolls have returned to typical numbers after last=2
0winters excellent showing, though this may be an artifact of redpoll flocks not using feeders this winter and not allowing for a careful and prolonged study of possible Hoary candidates. Due to the good cone and seed crop this winter, feeding stations tend to be reporting mostly American Goldfinches with the more northern finches staying in the woods. Both Pine and Evening Grosbeaks seem to be scarce this winter, with only a couple of substantial flocks of Evening Grosbeaks reported, mainly in the central western UP and Chippewa County. Even the word substantial must be qualified when talking about current eastern North American Evening Grosbeak numbers. While only even a decade ago, this may of meant hundreds if not even into the thousands of birds, a strong showing of this species generally means dozens of birds in the last few winters. Finally Red Crossbill numbers remain low this winter, and mostly restricted to red and jack pine barrens despite good cone crops.
I have updated the photo gallery's at www.UPBirders.org with photos of Three-toed Woodpecker, Gyrfalcon, Northern Hawk Owl and Varied Thrush. Photos have been posted in both the 2008 and the newly created 2009 albums. 

Highlights

WESTERN/CLARK'S GREBE*
AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER*
SPOTTED TOWHEE*
American White Pelican
Gyrfalcon
Franklin's Gull
Thayer's Gull
Iceland Gull
Snowy Owl
Northern Hawk Owl
Black-backed Woodpecker
Boreal Chickadee
Carolina Wren
Townsend's Solitaire
Varied Thrush
Orange-crowned Warbler
Pine Warbler
Hoary Redpoll

Keweenaw County
Nancy Au
er reports that the SPOTTED TOWHEE* coming to her feeders was last seen in mid-December. Max Henschell reported 1 HERMIT THRUSH, 20 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS and a HOARY REDPOLL in Copper Harbor on December 14th. The Eagle River CBC recorded a BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER, 1 BOREAL CHICKADEE, and BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS on the December 18th. Zach Gayk reports that there are good numbers of BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS in Eagle Harbor. 

Baraga County
Joe Youngman found a female AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER* along Lake Superior just south of the Houghton/Baraga County line on January 1st. The bird was relocated on January 6th and 8th. For exact details on the birds location, contact Joe Youngman at murphnj (at) up.net.

Dickinson County
Bruce Ottenburger reported an adult male VARIED THRUSH at his home in Iron Mountain on January 1-2. The bird has not been observed since. Brian Johnson and Alice & Roger Harbin reported a BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER at the West Branch Escanaba river State Forest Campground, as well as 2 BOREAL CHICKADEES and numerous winter finches along County Road 438. 

Marquette County
Greg Cleary found a WESTERN/CLARK'S GREBE* in the lower harbor of Marquette on November 29th. Despite efforts, the bird was not relocated. Keith and Alice Johnson have had a CAROLINA WREN coming to their feeders since November 20th and was most recently reported on December 20th, though the bird could still be present. Sandy Bellemore had a very late AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN on the Forestville Basin in Marquette from November 27-29th. Alec Lindsay rep
orts that he observed a male BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER in Trowbridge Park on January 1st. Alec reports that he has not seen the bird again, but there has been further evidence of bark-flecking. Highlights of the Marquette CBC held on December 20th include, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER (which has continued through as of January 8th at the home of Lou & Pri Chappell), HORNED LARK and 2 THAYER'S GULLS, 1 ICELAND GULL and 1 GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL. 15 GLAUCOUS GULLS were observed in Marquette on December 19th. More recent gull reports include 2 ICELAND GULLS in Marquette on January 3rd. Dipping back in the archives, a high count of 4 THAYER'S GULLS, were observed in Marquette on November 27th. 3 ICELAND GULLS were observed in the lower harbor of Marquette on December 9th. A number of SNOWY OWLS have been reported by multiple observers in the last several weeks with at least 3-4 birds over-wintering in the city limits. In the upper & lower harbors, Shiras Park, the city compost yard, the NMU athletic fields and the Park Cemetary have all had recent sightings. Marilyn Andrews reported a SNOWY OWL on the western end of the Ishpeming Cemetery on December 24th. The Gwinn CBC held on January 3rd, recorded such highlights as 37 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS, 1 GRAY JAY, 2 BOREAL CHICKADEES, 30 RED CROSSBILLS and 40 EVENING GROSBEAKS. Vicki Bennon reports that at least 2 GRAY JAYS have been coming to her feeders in Diorite as well as 52 EVENING GROSBEAKS. David Pavlik had 3 BOREAL CHICKADEES on the Peshekee Grade on January 6th. =0
A
Delta County
Providing for a rare winter record, Jim & Jody Patton found a RED-HEADED WOODPECKER in Garden on December 12th. 

Alger County
Scott Hickman found a FRANKLIN'S GULL in Munising on December 5th. This may constitute the first UP winter record of this species. Scott also had a 1st year ICELAND GULL and GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL in Munising on November 28th. David Pavlik had an ICELAND GULL on the December 13th. GLAUCOUS GULLS have been common in Munising with near daily sightings. Angie Sabados reports that a PINE WARBLER is coming to her feeders on AuTrain Lake as of the December 7th. Angie also reported a male BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER in her yard on January 6th. Also on the 6th, Mark & Joanie Hubinger reported a female BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER in Shelter Bay, just west of the Rock River south of M-28. Both Louie Dombroski and Jim & Jody Patton have reported anywhere from 400-800 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS are feeding in the prolific mountain ash in Grand Marais with recent reports coming from January 3rd & 6th. 

Schoolcraft County
Louie Dombroski picked out a HOARY REDPOLL from a flock of Common Redpolls along M-77 south of the Alger/Schoolcraft County line on January 3rd. 

Luce County
Jim & Jody reported a flock of 2-300 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS just west of the entrance for Muskellunge State Park on December 13th. 

Chippewa County
Jim Evens found and photographed a grey-morph GYRFALCON in Dafter on 10 Mile Road between South Maple and Touri on December 6th. Joe Nault found a NORTHERN HAWK OWL 
in Rudyard on the northern end of Hantz Road on November 30th and December 2nd though there have been no further reports. What may be the same bird, Kirk Zulfelt had a NORTHERN HAWK OWL just north of Rudyard on Tilson Road, just north of the Tilson/Mackinaw Trail fork down a railroad line. More dependable have been 2 NORTHERN HAWK OWLS in Pickford with one bird being seen at the corner of M-48 and McCabe Roads and the other east of Pickford on M-48 a mile east of M-129, on the south side of the road. Multiple observers have reported these bird including Bruce Ventura, Bev Kirby, Tula Stinson and Jim & Jody Patton (if I left anybody out please forgive or contact me- or both!). The most recent report came from January 2nd, fide Lathe Claflin. Thanks to Lathe for getting this up to Mich-lister, there is one minor correction with the directions he posted, that being that Pickford is east NOT west of Rudyard. Chuck McDonald reported a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE at his home in Sault Ste. Marie on Riverside Drive on December 13th with the bird also being seen seven days earlier. Up to 8 SNOWY OWLS were observed in Rudyard on the Centerline/M-48/Hantz Roads loop on November 29th, with a total of 10 different individuals recorded in this area in the last couple of weeks. Joe Nault also reported a SNOWY OWL south of the Soo on 5 1/2 Mile Road on December 18th. Good numbers of SHARP-TAILED GROUSE have been observed in the Soo, with over 50 birds observed in Dryburg on November 29th. Riverside Drive 
has also had decent numbers of Sharp-tails. NORTHERN SHRIKES seem to be widespread in the Soo/Rudyard areas. 23 TUNDRA SWANS were at the DNR launch site in the Dunbar Forest on the 29th. In addition to good numbers of WHITE-WINGED & RED CROSSBILLS, the WPBO CBC recorded a THAYER'S/ICELAND GULL on December 28th. Ed Smith reported 3 GRAY JAYS at Hulbert Bog on January 1st.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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. For more information on Birdnet, or UP birds, please visit www.UPBirders.org

Till next time,

~Skye Haas

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.envirolink.org/pipermail/mich-listers/attachments/20090108/68859c20/attachment-0001.html 