North Dakota Birding Hotline Reports

February 2008

Welcome to the North Dakota Rare Bird Alert compiled by the North Dakota Birding Society. This report was prepared on Tuesday, February 26, 2008.

The big excitement was in South Dakota, but some good birds were found in North Dakota, too.

Several North Dakota birders drove to the Pierre, South Dakota, area last week to see the IVORY GULL. Dave Lambeth and Tim Driscoll saw the gull, and also discovered a gray-phase GYRFALCON on the way home. You can contact Dave at davidlambeth58201@yahoo.com.

Dan and Emily Svingen didn't get to see the gull, but had other good finds in South Dakota. They saw two adult gray GYRFALCONS and a young brown GYRFALCON at mileposts 145 and 187 along US Highway 83 on February 23-24. You can reach Dan at 701-250-4443, extension 107.

On his way back from Pierre on February 22, Mark Otnes discovered a SNOWY OWL on a powerline tower at mile marker 21 along I-29 in Richland County. Mark is at markotnes@cableone.net.

Corey Ellingson was birding at the Mandan experiment station on February 16 when he got the call about the South Dakota gull. Before leaving the station grounds, he recorded four TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRES and a flock of 20 RED CROSSBILLS. On the way to Pierre, Corey and Jack Lefor recorded a NORTHERN HARRIER just northwest of Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge, NORTHERN SHRIKE, and PRAIRIE FALCON near Hiway 83 in Emmons County and a possible EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE on the south edge of Linton. Corey's big surprise came on February 25 when he looked out his window and saw a very early MOURNING DOVE under his feeder. Before that, Corey birded northwestern North Dakota on February 23-24. He covered the Stanley, Columbus, and Mohall areas on February 23, finding five coveys of GRAY PARTRIDGE totalling 52 birds, a GOLDEN EAGLE south of Powers Lake and two more later, four EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES in Stanley, a COMMON RAVEN in the hills south of Columbus, 75 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS in Stanley and 50 more in Powers Lake. On February 24, Ron Martin joined Corey to bird the New Town, Williston, Fairview, and Watford City areas. They saw a lone CANADA GOOSE over Watford City, one pair and two coveys of 25 GRAY PARTRIDGE, more than 100 SHARP-TAILED GROUSE in Mountrail County plus a flock of 65 in McKenzie County, a PRAIRIE FALCON and a SNOWY OWL in McKenzie County, an adult gray GYRFALCON and a HARRIS' SPARROW in Williams County, and a roadkill NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL in Mountrail County. For details on those sightings, contact Corey at tcellingson@juno.com.

The TRUMPETER SWANS that had been hanging around Yankton, South Dakota, for about a month have attracted another of their species. Roger Dietrich says a tagged swan has joined the three adults and one juvenile. The tag shows the newcomer was born at Bramble Park in Watertown, South Dakota. For more information, contact Roger at rogerd@iw.net.

Mark Gonzalez did some of his birding in South Dakota on February 21-22. He spent some time in Adams County, North Dakota, and in Perkins County, South Dakota. He observed at least four NORTHERN SHRIKES, five GOLDEN EAGLES, more than 20 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS, a male NORTHERN HARRIER, and a juvenile GYRFALCON along US Highway 12 about seven or eight miles west of Lemmon, South Dakota. Contact Mark at markgonzalez@fs.fed.us.

Floramay Miller watched a PILEATED WOODPECKER fly across I-29 between Fargo and Hillsboro during high winds on February 19. She's at fsmiller@btinet.

From Horace, Linda Gregg reports both male and female NORTHERN CARDINALS at her platform feeders on February 24. For details, it's lgregg@wah.midco.net.

After a one-month absence, Wayne Easley went back to the Fessenden area on Februry 24. He reports all six SHORT-EARED OWLS have survived the winter so far, and have paired up. He also saw a GREAT HORNED OWL that he describes as very pale with rusty brown on the horns. Wayne also recorded a covey of 10 GRAY PARTRIDGE, and reports he has never seen so many RING-NECKED PHEASANTS in the Harvey area. He's at easley57@yahoo.com.

Keith Corliss found a single SHORT-EARED OWL at the Red River Valley Fairgrounds in West Fargo on February 24. Contact him at kcorliss@forumcomm.com.

Jean Legge and Bob Anderson birded Barnes County north of Valley City on February 24. They reported an AMERICAN KESTREL and both adult and immature BALD EAGLES along the Sheyenne River, coveys of GRAY PARTRIDGE and SHARP-TAILED GROUSE, and noted that lots of HORNED LARKS had moved in and were singing in the fields. Contact Jean at 701-845-4762.

Larry Igl relays a report from Loren Kittelson, who found a NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL on his haystack southeast of Jamestown on February 20. For more information, call Larry at 701-253-5511.

From northeast Jamestown, a neighbor of Dan Buchanan's reported a flock of at least 150 CEDAR WAXWINGS near his yard on February 24. The birds vanished after a short time. For more information, contact Dan at 701-252-6604.

Eve Freeberg birded the Grand Forks County grasslands on February 20. Of the six SNOWY OWLS she found, five were males. She also saw a GOLDEN EAGLE. On February 25, Eve counted nine HORNED LARKS. Contact her at 701-741-8105.

Betsy Batstone-Cunningham saw a NORTHERN SHRIKE in a tree along the Grand Forks "greenway" in the morning of February 20, and again in the same tree that afternoon. You can reach her at batsham@gra.midco.net.

Sherry Leslie recorded an adult NORTHERN GOSHAWK in her trees near Burlington on February 22, and another two days later at the Des Lacs Nursery. Contact her at sherryleslie@excite.com.

That concludes this week’s report from the North Dakota Birding Society.

Welcome to the North Dakota Rare Bird Alert compiled by the North Dakota Birding Society. This report was prepared on Tuesday, February 19, 2008.

Maybe the announcement of the first birding festival of 2008 will help bring warm thoughts.

The Turtle Mountain Birding Festival is scheduled for May 16-18 at Bottineau, with field trips to nearby locations. For more information, you can call 888-918-5623, or log on to www.misu-b.nodak.edu/birding.

While working in a West Fargo yard on February 13, Dean Riemer saw an AMERICAN TREE SPARROW with a small flock of DARK-EYED JUNCOS near one of the feeders. For details, contact Dean at driemer@kwh.com.

While driving southeast of Carrington on February 17, Ann Hoffert saw an odd-looking object in the ditch. After she turned around for a closer look, she learned it was a GREAT HORNED OWL, sitting erect, but half-buried in the snow. You can reach Ann at pipestem@daktel.com or 701-652-2623.

Dennis Wiesenborn has discovered an apparent GREAT HORNED OWL nest in the northwest corner of Trefoil Park in Fargo. On February 16, he saw the nest between the bike path and the river. Although it's the first time the nest has been spotted, an immature owl was heard in the area last summer. For more information, contact Dennis at d.wiesenborn@ndsu.edu.

That concludes this week’s report from the North Dakota Birding Society.

Welcome to the North Dakota Rare Bird Alert compiled by the North Dakota Birding Society. This report was prepared on Tuesday, February 12, 2008.

Recording 31 species during a mid-winter day in North Dakota should be a pretty good accomplishment. Not one, but two birders had that success in separate outings on February 8.

Mark Otnes recorded his 31 in Ransom and Barnes counties. He noticed large numbers of PINE SISKINS and AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES at feeders in Lisbon and Fort Ransom. Mark reported his best birding in a two-mile stretch near Fort Ransom State Park, where he recorded more than 80 CEDAR WAXWINGS, at least 35 PURPLE FINCHES, six AMERICAN ROBINS, NORTHERN FLICKER, NORTHERN SHRIKE, two TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRES, and a BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE. Mark added an adult male NORTHERN GOSHAWK near Kathryn, a flock of 30 COMMON REDPOLLS--his only one of the day--north of Claussen Springs, and a PRAIRIE FALCON perched in a tree north of Faust Park in Barnes County. Between Valley City and Oriska, Mark saw three adult BALD EAGLES and a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK. He also observed a SHORT-EARED OWL flying over a field north of Tower City. For details, contact Mark at 701-241-4194.

Corey Ellingson covered some different ground to reach his 31 species on February 8. He saw a NORTHERN HARRIER in Logan County, SHARP-SHINNED HAWK in Oakes, adult COOPER'S HAWK along Highway 11, two ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS in Sargent County and three in Ransom County, GOLDEN EAGLE in Stutsman County, MERLIN in McLeod, PRAIRIE FALCON along Highway 27 in Ransom County, EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE in Forman, GREAT HORNED OWLS in Oakes and Lidgerwood as well as four more in open country, SHORT-EARED OWLS in four counties, RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS in Oakes, Lidgerwood, and McLeod, 11 RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES in four towns, WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, NORTHERN SHRIKE in Sargent County, 10 RED CROSSBILLS at the Lincoln-Oakes Nursery, and PINE SISKINS. For more information, contact Corey at tcellingson@juno.com.

Kristine Askerooth and her family saw a GYRFALCON near Cayuga in Sargent County on February 3. She says the falcon was flying and circling some RING-NECKED PHEASANTS near Highway 13 and County Road 12. You can reach Kristine at 701-724-3598.

It's been an active winter with lots of birds using Linda Gregg's feeders at Horace. Daily visitors have included RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES, WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCHES, both Oregon and slate-colored DARK-EYED JUNCOS, HAIRY WOODPECKERS, DOWNY WOODPECKERS, RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS, and PILEATED WOODPECKERS--including one female without a tail, BLUE JAYS, two pairs of yellow-shafted NORTHERN FLICKERS, EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES, HOUSE FINCHES, and PURPLE FINCHES, plus a few AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES and PINE SISKINS. Contact Linda at lgregg@wah.midco.net.

Mike Rabenberg took a quick drive around part of Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge on February 5. Among his finds: AMERICAN ROBIN, several CEDAR WAXWINGS, about 25 AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES, DOWNY WOODPECKER, GREAT HORNED OWL, dark-phase ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, male NORTHERN HARRIER, and many HORNED LARKS and RING-NECKED PHEASANTS. Refuge employee Todd King recorded a SNOWY OWL earlier in the week near refuge headquarters. For details, contact Mike at 701-387-4397.

Larry Igl passes along reports of a RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER at a feeder in northeast Jamestown on February 5, and a white-morph GYRFALCON west of Kensal on January 26. You can reach Larry at 701-253-5511.

Dan Buchanan saw an adult male RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER at his feeders in northeast Jamestown on February 11. Contact him at 701-252-6604.

Kim Breuer says PINE SISKINS have been showing up at her feeders in Minot this winter for the first time. She also reports a pair of likely PURPLE FINCHES. Contact Kim at breuer@srt.com.

Charles Taft reports the most PINE SISKINS ever at his feeders in west Minot. He estimated 150 to 200 on February 11 at two feeding stations, water, a lilac bush and on the ground under his feeders. Charles is at cjtaft@mac.com.

That concludes this week’s report from the North Dakota Birding Society.

Welcome to the North Dakota Rare Bird Alert compiled by the North Dakota Birding Society. This report was prepared on Tuesday, February 5, 2008.

This week we have sick birds, dead birds, early birds, and more.

Cathy Clayton got concerned when she found sick and dead PINE SISKINS at and near her Bismarck feeders in late January. The advice from a wildlife biologist: get rid of her current feed, and clean her feeders and water sources with a 1:10 bleach solution. If she still sees sick birds after that, she should stop feeding for several weeks. The advice goes on: use the bleach solution every week or two even if there are no sick or dead birds around.

Ryan Shively and the West Dakota Avian Virus Strike Team want to sample any bird mortality events. You can reach him at 701-442-5474, extension 23 or at ryan_shively@fws.gov.

The "early birds" are at Beach. Diane Bingeman saw more than 100 male AMERICAN ROBINS in her pasture on the east side of town on February 3. She says the pasture is a common gathering place for robins in spring and fall. They obviously hadn't heard the prediction one day earlier of six more weeks of winter. For more information, Diane is at 701-872-3256 or bingeman@midstate.net.

Dan Buchanan saw a juvenile SHARP-SHINNED HAWK land at one of his feeders in northeast Jamestown on January 29. He says it's probably the same bird that had been seen previously in the neighborhood. Contact Dan at 701-252-6604 or bulaw@daktel.com.

Dan Svingen observed flying SHORT-EARED OWLS in two locations on February 1. They were along ND 200, about nine miles east of the Sheridan/Wells County line, and along ND 14, about one mile north of Wing. Dan is at 701-250-4443, extension 107.

Dean Riemer and Keith Corliss recorded 19 species while birding western Cass County on February 2. The highlights included a BALD EAGLE, two GOLDEN EAGLES, 15 SHARP-TAILED GROUSE, NORTHERN SHRIKE, RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD, and two PURPLE FINCHES. For more information, contact Dean at driemer@kwh.com.

Eve Freeberg had a rewarding day of birding in Grand Forks County on February 4. She counted five NORTHERN SHRIKES, male AMERICAN KESTREL, immature SNOWY OWL, 17 SNOW BUNTINGS, two COMMON GRACKLES, and six RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS. For details, contact Eve at 701-741-8105.

Ron Martin didn't see a great variety of birds during a February 1 drive from Grand Forks to Sawyer. He recorded a GOLDEN EAGLE in Nelson County and a total of about 1,600 SNOW BUNTINGS in various locations. Ron is at jrmartin@srt.com.

That concludes this week’s report from the North Dakota Birding Society.

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