North Dakota Birding Hotline Reports

February 2007

Welcome to the North Dakota Rare Bird Alert compiled by the North Dakota Birding Society and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This report was prepared on Tuesday, February 27.

A winter first for Grand Forks, early arrivals in Jamestown, and much more.

The LONG-EARED OWL that Dave Lambeth saw in the Grand Forks Greenway on February 22 was the first winter sighting for the species in that location. Dave says the owl was sitting at eye level in the open, taking advantage of the exposure to the sun. On February 24, Dave birded the area from Grand Forks to Larimore. Among his findings were a GRAY JAY and at least a dozen PINE GROSBEAKS in a wildlife planting just north of Larimore Cemetery. Other species included NORTHERN SHRIKE, a flock of 10 WILD TURKEYS, a flock of at least 40 GREATER PRAIRIE-CHICKENS, two flocks of SHARP-TAILED GROUSE, three ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS, and a NORTHERN HARRIER, but only two HORNED LARKS. For more information, contact Dave at davidlambeth58201@yahoo.com.

Betsy Batstone-Cunningham also saw a LONG-EARED OWL in Grand Forks. It may or may not have been the same bird seen by Dave Lambeth, but the one Betsy saw in her yard in Grand Forks on February 26 was definitely a new yard bird. She was alerted to its location by two AMERICAN CROWS and a number of BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES and DARK-EYED JUNCOS. You can reach Betsy at batsham@gra.midco.net.

Eve Freeberg found two GOLDEN EAGLES and two SNOWY OWLS in Grand Forks County on February 21. On February 22, she saw eight AMERICAN ROBINS foraging in open areas of Lincoln Drive Park. And Eve discovered a RED-TAILED HAWK in Oakville Prairie on February 27. For more information, call her at 701-741-8105.

The three COMMON MERGANSERS that Terry and Jill Shaffer saw on the James River southeast of Jamestown on February 19 easily broke the previous early arrival record for the species of March 14. The trio was comprised of two females and one male. Other sightings from the Jamestown area: Robert Woodward reported four AMERICAN ROBINS in eastern Jamestown on February 15, and he saw a GOLDEN EAGLE north of Spiritwood Lake on February 18. Larry and Amy Igl had three RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES at their feeder on February 14, and Larry and Alex Igl found a flock of 50-60 CEDAR WAXWINGS in northeastern Jamestown on February 23. Marsha Sovada reported a RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH at her feeders on February 22 and a CANADA GOOSE north of Jamestown over Highway 281 on February 23. Tom Buhl said EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES were doing courtship flights and chases in northeastern Jamestown on February 17-18. Larry Igl noted that there have been many reports of both adult and juvenile BALD EAGLES moving through the James River Valley in mid-February. For details on those sightings, call Larry at 701-253-5511.

Jean Legge saw two separate “pairs” of HORNED LARKS near Valley City on February 23, and another just off her driveway. However, she points out that she has seen very few of the species this winter. For more information, contact her at 701-845-4762.

On a February 24 walk through the Mandan Experiment Station grounds, Corey Ellingson saw and photographed what he believes is a young COOPER’S HAWK. He says he was told 10 years ago that the species very rarely overwinters in North Dakota. Overall, Corey notes a definite increase in accipiters in urban North Dakota during the winter. He backs that up with nine observations of SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS over the past six weeks. For details, contact Corey at tcellingson@juno.com.

Ron Martin reports two adult BALD EAGLES standing on the Wintering River nest south of Denbigh in McHenry County on February 25. You can reach him at jrmartin@srt.com.

That concludes this report from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the North Dakota Birding Society. This report is normally updated each Tuesday. The Fish and Wildlife Service operates 62 National Wildlife Refuges and more than 1,100 Waterfowl Production Areas in North Dakota...offering some of the best birding opportunities in the state. Contact Refuge offices for more information about visiting. For phone numbers of individual Refuges, as well as additional information, go to the Fish and Wildlife Service web site at www.fws.gov. Click on Offices, and click on North Dakota on the map.

Welcome to the North Dakota Rare Bird Alert compiled by the North Dakota Birding Society and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This report was prepared on Tuesday, February 20.

This week....census results, reports from northeastern North Dakota, a trip to South Dakota, and more.

Forest Service staffers counted 32 species in a February 13-14 mid-winter census on the Sheyenne National Grassland in southeastern North Dakota. Mark Gonzalez says the most abundant birds were SNOW BUNTING, COMMON REDPOLL, RING-NECKED PHEASANT, SHARP-TAILED GROUSE, EUROPEAN STARLING, and HOUSE SPARROW. He notes raptor numbers were down considerably, but they did find dark-phase ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, MERLIN, three NORTHERN SHRIKES, and four NORTHERN GOSHAWKS. Other finds included an EASTERN SCREECH-OWL, six COMMON GRACKLES in McLeod, GREATER PRAIRIE-CHICKEN, and a lone HOARY REDPOLL. For details, contact Mark at 701-250-4443, ext. 106.

From Grand Forks County, Eve Freeberg says she is now seeing HORNED LARKS off and on, and BLACK-BILLED MAGPIES have been showing up for the past few days. On February 14, she saw a flock of 70 RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS south of Manvel, three AMERICAN ROBINS, flocks of up to 100 COMMON REDPOLLS, 12 to 15 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS, and up to three NORTHERN HARRIERS per day in the grasslands. On February 16, Eve found a NORTHERN GOSHAWK south of Grand Forks, GOLDEN EAGLES in the grasslands and one or two SNOWY OWLS per day. On February17, she counted 22 SHORT-EARED OWLS in 11 miles of driving–most of them near the lagoons. She added four more on February 19. For more information, call Eve at 701-741-8105.

Dave Lambeth birded north from Grand Forks on February 17. Just south of Hensel, he counted at least 200 redpolls in a feedlot, but couldn’t get close before they left. He said quite a few appeared to be extremely light with little if any streaking on the flanks, unstreaked rumps and pushed-in faces. At Icelandic State Park, he counted one GRAY JAY and two PINE GROSBEAKS. Just south of Cavalier, Dave saw a flock of more than 20 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS. He notes that CEDAR WAXWING numbers have increased in Grand Forks, but ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS and SHORT-EARED OWLS have become harder to find.. Dave is at davidlambeth58201@yahoo.com.

From Wolford, Angie Erickson says hundreds of COMMON REDPOLLS have been coming to her feeders. Contact her at baileybobby6@hotmail.com.

In the far west, Diane Bingeman is finally seeing her first COMMON REDPOLLS of the winter at Beach, while they have been common since mid-December just eight miles away. You can reach her at bingeman@midstate.net.

The loud thump behind Dan Buchanan’s office in downtown Jamestown on February 15 was apparently a NORTHERN GOSHAWK taking a ROCK PIGEON. Dan says the goshawk was a “lifer” for him. He’s at 701-252-6604.

Jan Sailer and her husband drove from Hettinger to Rapid City, South Dakota, on February 13. Taking the route which includes Prairie City, Reva, Slim Buttes, Newel, and Sturgis, they saw many raptors. Sightings included a gray-phase GYRFALCON east of Prairie City, at least 10 BALD EAGLES between Prairie City and Newell, three GOLDEN EAGLES, a FERRUGINOUS HAWK, about 15 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS, and one unidentified raptor. For more information, contact Jan at jngsailer@yahoo.com.

That concludes this report from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the North Dakota Birding Society. This report is normally updated each Tuesday. The Fish and Wildlife Service operates 62 National Wildlife Refuges and more than 1,100 Waterfowl Production Areas in North Dakota...offering some of the best birding opportunities in the state. Contact Refuge offices for more information about visiting. For phone numbers of individual Refuges, as well as additional information, go to the Fish and Wildlife Service web site at www.fws.gov. Click on Offices, and click on North Dakota on the map.

Welcome to the North Dakota Rare Bird Alert compiled by the North Dakota Birding Society and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This report was prepared on Tuesday, February 13.

This week...a late teal, updates on the rosy finch, and more.

Ron Martin found a very late GREEN-WINGED TEAL at Garrison Dam on February 9. Other sightings in that area included 7,500 CANADA GEESE, about 1,700 MALLARDS, a LONG-TAILED DUCK, 34 COMMON GOLDENEYES, a HOODED MERGANSER, and 70 COMMON MERGANSERS. Also that day, he saw a NORTHERN GOSHAWK north of Mandan on Highway 1806. Back in Sawyer that evening, he discovered a SHORT-EARED OWL sitting on a fencepost in his pasture. On February 8, he counted 30 AMERICAN ROBINS and 30 CEDAR WAXWINGS feeding on crab apples at the State Capitol. And, the Garrison Dam tailrace area had 18 BALD EAGLES on February 7. Ron moved on to McHenry County on February 11, discovering three EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES in Velva, and single EASTERN SCREECH-OWLS and SHORT-EARED OWLS northeast of Velva. At Denbigh, Ron added a hybrid NORTHERN FLICKER and a TOWNSEND’S SOLITAIRE. For more information, contact Ron at jrmartin@srt.com.

Mark Gonzalez counted 16 species in some northwest Bismarck yard birding on February 3-4. Highlights included up to 18 RED CROSSBILLS, six PINE GROSBEAKS including one male mixed with RED CROSSBILLS, up to 100 COMMON REDPOLLS, a single HOARY REDPOLL, and a single flock of 45 AMERICAN ROBINS. You can reach Mark at 701-250-4443, ext. 106.

Corey Ellingson birded the same area on February 10, finding a mixed flock of 50 birds that included his first RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH of the year and a HOARY REDPOLL. Other sightings included an adult SHARP-SHINNED HAWK and a MERLIN in the same block of northwest Bismarck. Corey’s total for the day was 21 species. Contact him at tcellingson@juno.com.

There were good sightings of the gray-crowned ROSY FINCH on February 6 and 7. Dave Lambeth says the bird was still present in Rogers on the 6th, and Wayne Easley and his wife saw it on the 7th. The Easleys also observed a female RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER. On the way home, they saw a GOLDEN EAGLE just north of McHenry in Eddy County. The Easleys are at 701-324-2344.

Although their numbers have dropped off some, there are still quite a few hawks and owls in the grasslands of Grand Forks County. Eve Freeberg counted 12 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS on February 7 and 15 more on February 12, plus 20 SHORT-EARED OWLS on February 11. Eve says most of them are being found near the Grand Forks Air Force Base. Other sightings included a GOLDEN EAGLE, three NORTHERN HARRIERS, a male SNOWY OWL, and a flock of nine HORNED LARKS northwest of Mekinock, all on February 12. For details, call Eve at 701-741-8105.

The female HAIRY WOODPECKER that has been an occasional visitor to Marcia Kuma’s yard at Dickinson made two stops on Februrary 6. On the following day, the male showed up. She says a pair of BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES stopped by on February 7. Other occasional visitors have been a COMMON GRACKLE accompanied by a RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD. For details, contact Marcia at lirien9@yahoo.com.

A HOARY REDPOLL and lots of COMMON REDPOLLS and AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES have been enjoying Rita Satermo’s feeders near New Town. She also had a brief visit by a NORTHERN FLICKER. Rita’s new e-mail address is rsatermo@rtc.coop.

That concludes this report from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the North Dakota Birding Society. This report is normally updated each Tuesday. The Fish and Wildlife Service operates 62 National Wildlife Refuges and more than 1,100 Waterfowl Production Areas in North Dakota...offering some of the best birding opportunities in the state. Contact Refuge offices for more information about visiting. For phone numbers of individual Refuges, as well as additional information, go to the Fish and Wildlife Service web site at www.fws.gov. Click on Offices, and click on North Dakota on the map.

Welcome to the North Dakota Rare Bird Alert compiled by the North Dakota Birding Society and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This report was prepared on Tuesday, February. 6.

With temperatures well below zero much of the time, it may be hard to believe that some people are out looking for birds– and finding them!

Terry O’Halloran birded the Garrison Dam tailrace area on February 4. Highlights included a male LONG-TAILED DUCK, about 50 COMMON MERGANSERS, 15 COMMON GOLDENEYES, three BALD EAGLES, and hundreds of CANADA GEESE. For details, you can reach Terry at 701-745-3300.

Ron Martin finally saw the VARIED THRUSH at the Denbigh Experimental Forest on February 3, after being unsuccessful several times in January. He also found a few BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES and a NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL, along with good numbers of CEDAR WAXWINGS, BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS, and PURPLE FINCHES. On the way home, Ron discovered a GOLDEN EAGLE in the Souris Valley, and he notes that the FOX SPARROW is still making daily visits to his feeder. For more information, contact Ron at jrmartin@srt.com.

A TOWNSEND’S SOLITAIRE visited Dave and Ellin Lindee’s yard in Minot for a couple days in late January. You can reach them at lindeeandme@srt.com.

Two RED CROSSBILLS stopped for water in Charles J. Taft’s yard in west Minot on February 3. Charles says the stop was a brief one. Contact him at cjtaft@mac.com.

The CAROLINA WREN that has been seen in Horace since late December is spending a lot of time at Joe and Linda Gregg’s feeders. They also had their first visit by a yellow variant HOUSE FINCH on February 4. Linda says the cold weather has brought a large number of birds to their feeders. For details, contact her at lgregg@wah.midco.net.

The RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER that has been visiting Bob Neigebauer’s yard just east of Bismarck was there again on February 4. Bob says the bird has been seen infrequently for the past three or four weeks. He’s at bobneugebauer@yahoo.com.

The hawk that visited Diane Bingeman’s yard near Beach for most of January has been identified as an adult SHARP-SHINNED HAWK. Contact her at bingeman@midstate.net.

Becky Oberlander and Connie Norheim missed the Moorhead varied thrush on January 30, but saw one lone BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE. On the way home, Connie saw more than 100 CEDAR WAXWINGS on Centennial Boulevard in Fargo. For details, call Connie at 701-232-4386.

And–a sad note. We report the passing of Bob Randall on January 30. Bob was known as the “father of Bismarck-Mandan birding,” and remained involved until shortly before his death at age 91. A full story appeared on the front page of the Bismarck Tribune on February 1. It may still be available at www.bismarcktribune.com.

That concludes this report from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the North Dakota Birding Society. This report is normally updated each Tuesday. The Fish and Wildlife Service operates 62 National Wildlife Refuges and more than 1,100 Waterfowl Production Areas in North Dakota...offering some of the best birding opportunities in the state. Contact Refuge offices for more information about visiting. For phone numbers of individual Refuges, as well as additional information, go to the Fish and Wildlife Service web site at www.fws.gov. Click on Offices, and click on North Dakota on the map.

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