[Mich-listers] UP Rare Bird Report for September 11, 2010

Sat Sep 11 23:19:18 EDT 2010

*UP RARE BIRD REPORT for SEPTEMBER 11, 2010*

Migration rolls along in the North Woods, though albeit more noticeably
along the coastlines as opposed to the relatively silent interior forests.
Reports of singing Eastern Wood-Pewees, Blue-headed Vireos and
Black-throated Blue Warblers show that not all neotropical migrants have
left breeding territory, but the greatest concentrations of birds have been
found primarily along Great Lakes shorelines. Late August saw a robust
warbler migration in full swing, but numbers of warblers have quickly
diminished, with passerines like kinglets, thrushes and sparrows appearing
in good numbers. Somewhat early this year has been the arrival of Lapland
Longspurs, White-crowned Sparrow, and Rusty Blackbirds along with the more
expected timing of American Pipits. Waterfowl migration has not yet begun in
earnest, though early season dabblers like teal have been recorded in decent
numbers. Shorebirds were observed in excellent numbers up until the Labor
Day weekend, with an excellent season for Baird's Sandpipers and
Buff-breasted Sandpipers, as well as one of the best seasons ever for
Red-necked Phalaropes recorded in the UP. Finally, Whitefish Point has had a
great season for jaeger sightings with 31 birds already recorded along with
2 Sabine's Gulls.

*Highlights*
*LONG-TAILED JAEGER**
Spruce Grouse
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Willet
Whimbrel
Red Knot
Buff-breasted Sandpiper
Red-necked Phalarope
SABINE'S GULL
Forster's Tern
Parasitic Jaeger
Black-backed Woodpecker
Boreal Chickadee
YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER
Connecticut Warbler
LeConte's Sparrow

*Gogebic County*
Joe Kaplan and Chris Williams found a RED-NECKED PHALAROPE on the Big Lake
of the Cisco Chain along the Michigan/Wisconsin border on September 5th.

*Houghton County*
In one of the more stranger sightings reports recently, Susan Hooker
captured a pair of RED-NECKED PHALAROPES via a remote sensor camera at the
North Portage Entry near Hancock on September 3rd. Joe Youngman had a
BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER among numerous other species of shorebirds at the
Tamarack Sewage Ponds on August 29th. Joe also reported a notable count of
347 SANDHILL CRANES at the Arnheim Unit of the Sturgeon River Sloughs
Wildlife Area on the 11th.

*Baraga County*
A RED KNOT was observed at the Baraga Sewage Ponds on August 27th. Joe
Youngman reported 5 FORSTER'S TERNS at Ojibwa Beach on the 28th.

*Marquette County*
I was host to a ten-minute visit of a YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER in my bird
bath on August 29th (SkH). This represents the 9th UP record and 2nd county
record for this species. Comprising a rare fall record for the county, Scot
Stewart found a WILLET just south of Little Presque Isle on September 5th.
JD Phillips had a single BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER at the mouth of the Dead
River on the 28th. Scot Stewart had a flock of 4 BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS at
the NMU Athletic Fields by the Superior Dome on the 29th. A single
BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER was seen here on September 1st. Also on the 1st were
3 LECONTE'S SPARROWS at the Presque Isle Bogwalk, with near daily sightings
of single birds over the last 10 days by multiple observers. Gary Palmer
encountered several groups of BOREAL CHICKADEES in the McCormick Tract on
the September 8th. Gary has also noted BOREAL CHICKADEE sightings at the
McCormick Tract with 4 on August 25th, and a single bird along CO RD 438
south of Gwinn.

*Delta County*
Not reported in the county for several years, a BOREAL CHICKADEE was
observed near Ogantz Creek on the Stonington Peninsula on September 10th.
Also on the 10th, a WHIMBREL and AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER were seen at
Peninsula Point. Notable shorebird numbers continue at Indian Point near
Nahma with 101 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS, 3 AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVERS, 6 RED
KNOTS, 53 BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS and 11 BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS on the 29th.
Also on the 29th, a single RED KNOT was seen at Peninsula Point.

*Alger County*
A juvenile SABINE'S GULL was observed at Sand Point on September 5th (SkH,
Jeremy Halka). Also on the 5th Demetri Lafkas found 3 RED-NECKED PHALAROPES
at the Chatham Sewage Ponds. The birds were observed through the 8th. Greg
Cleary and Jude Holloway found 1 GREAT EGRET and 7 BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS
while kayaking the AuTrain Basin on August 28th. Scott Hickman reported a
YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO in Shelter bay on September 9th. Scott also had a
BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER at the mouth of the AuTrain River on the the 27th,
and also reported 2 STILT SANDPIPERS at the Slapneck Creek along M-94 on the
31st. Uncommon along Lake Superior, a TRUMPETER SWAN was reported by Mark &
Joanie Hubinger on the 10th.

*Luce County*
Louie Dombroski observed a flock of 3 unidentified JAEGER SPECIES along 435
RED-NECKED GREBES at Lake Muskellunge State Park on September 4th.

*Chippewa County*
Whitefish Point has been having an excellent season for jaeger sightings
peaking with an adult *LONG-TAILED JAEGER** observed by waterbird counter
Scott Schuette on August 27th. Other recent highlights include 2
RED-THROATED LOONS, AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER, 3 BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS, 1
unidentified JAEGER SPECIES, and 2 FIELD SPARROWS on the 10th; 5
RED-THROATED LOONS, 1 SABINE'S GULL, 2 PARASITIC JAEGERS, and 3 unidentified
JAEGERS on the 8th; 1 unidentified JAEGER SPECIES and 6 AMERICAN GOLDEN
PLOVERS on the 7th; 4 RED-THROATED LOONS and a PARASITIC JAEGER on the 6th;
1 RED-NECKED PHALAROPE (Louie Dombroski), 1 SABINE'S GULL and single JAEGER
SPECIES on the 5th; on the 4th, a record-high day count of 14 JAEGERS were
observed, with 2 PARASITIC JAEGERS being identified to species; 2 PARASITIC
JAEGERS and an unidentified JAEGER SPECIES were seen on the 3rd; 1 FORSTER'S
TERN and JAEGER SPECIES were observed on the 2nd; an impressive movement of
1696 COMMON TERNS were seen on September 1st, as was a BLACK-BACKED
WOODPECKER and a truly phenomenal fallout of warblers consisting of several
hundreds of individuals and 25 species including 4 early ORANGE-CROWNED
WARBLERS, 75 MAGNOLIA WARBLERS, 75 CAPE MAY WARBLERS, 115 BLACKPOLL WARBLERS
and 1 CONNECTICUT WARBLER; 1 PARASITIC JAEGER on August 29th; 1
YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO on the 29th; 2 PARASITIC JAEGERS on the 28th; 7
BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS on the 27th;
Near Whitefish Point, SPRUCE GROUSE have been reported along Vermilion Road
near the "cement slab"; on the Clark Lake Road on the 5th (Paul Cypher), and
along the Tower Road on the 4th. Louie Dombroski found 2 RED KNOTS at the
Tahquamenon River mouth on the 3rd.

*Mackinac County*
Louise Anderson reported a juvenile BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON at her home on
Brevort Lake on August 26-27th.

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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://michiganaudubon.org/research/records_committee.html

Participate in the Michigan Bird Seasonal Survey! This provides a valuable
forum for the publication of bird observations in Michigan. Forms for the
different seasons can be downloaded here:
http://michiganaudubon.org/research/surveys_forms_data/seasonal_surveys/index.html

To report rare birds, please email me at the TheOwlRanch at gmail.com
or toBirdnet 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

-- 
http://keweenawraptorsurvey.org/

Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/theowlranch/
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