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North Dakota Birding Hotline Reports March 2007 |
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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, March 27. The downtown Fargo peregrines are back, but so are lots of other species, and still others are already gone.
Ron Martin discovered a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL during a stop at the Bismarck landfill on March 23. It’s the fourth year in a row the species has been seen at that location, although this was the earliest record for the area. Elsewhere that day, Ron saw three GREATER SCAUP in McLean County and four DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS at Coleharbor. On March 24, he counted 26 BALD EAGLES, and at least four active nests in McHenry County, including a new one very close to Velva. Among the thousands of geese and ducks Ron saw at J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge were about 7,000 NORTHERN PINTAILS. He also found an early DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, two FRANKLIN’S GULLS and an early GREATER YELLOWLEGS. New species for McHenry County on March 25 were SANDHILL CRANE, SONG SPARROW and COMMON GRACKLE. Ron also saw 200 ROSS’ GEESE in a flock of about 2,000 SNOW GEESE. On March 24, Ron heard a NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL calling in his yard near Sawyer in the morning, and a LONG-EARED OWL calling that evening. For more information, contact him at jrmartin@srt.com. Clark Talkington had good birding on March 22 at the Bismarck landfill, McKenzie Slough and Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge. He picked out three FRANKLIN’S GULLS at the landfill; about 3,500 RING-BILLED GULLS total and 75 CALIFORNIA GULLS at the landfill, McKenzie Slough and Long Lake refuge; 10 HERRING GULLS at the refuge; about 3,500 NORTHERN PINTAILS at McKenzie Slough and the refuge; and a lone GADWALL at McKenzie Slough. On March 25, Clark re-visited some of the same spots, finding a total of 7,000 NORTHERN PINTAILS, 200 CANVASBACKS, 800 REDHEADS and 12 KILLDEER. At the YMCA Waterfowl Production Area, he added 12 RING-NECKED DUCKS and two GREATER SCAUP. Clark saw a total of three RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS at the refinery and the refuge, as well as 12 WESTERN MEADOWLARKS at the refuge. He also heard SANDHILL CRANES flying over McKenzie Slough and the refuge. Birding the Mandan area on March 24, Clark saw three WOOD DUCKS about 10 miles north of town, a total of 35 HOODED MERGANSERS, most of them at the refinery, and a GREAT BLUE HERON at the refinery. For more information, contact Clark at ctalkington@bis.midco.net.
From southeast of Bismarck, Bob Scarlett reports that “his” WOOD DUCKS are back, and a pair of HOODED MERGANSERS arrived on March 23. For details, Bob is at bobkat@btinet.net. Pat Beauzay saw two adult CALIFORNIA GULLS just north of the Fargo landfill on March 21. He watched a pair of MERLINS chasing ROCK PIGEONS at the 12th Ave. North railroad overpass on March 20. He says there was a pair at the same location last year. Call Pat at 701-231-9491. Rick Holbrook reports a single MERLIN around his feeders in Fargo several times this winter and spring. Contact him at fholbrook@cableone.net.
Mark Otnes reports “full-blown spring” on March 23 at Tewaukon National Wildlife Refuge, counting 53 species including all five species of geese. Other migrants that day included DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, GREAT BLUE HERON, AMERICAN COOT, KILLDEER, RING-BILLED GULL, HERRING GULL, MOURNING DOVE, EASTERN BLUEBIRD, RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD, WESTERN MEADOWLARK, YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD and COMMON GRACKLE. In addition to common or abundant GADWALLS, AMERICAN WIGEON, MALLARDS, NORTHERN PINTAILS, RING-NECKED DUCKS and scaup species, other waterfowl included two WOOD DUCKS, nine NORTHERN SHOVELERS, 20 GREEN-WINGED TEAL, 15 CANVASBACKS, 20 REDHEADS, six BUFFLEHEADS, 80 COMMON GOLDENEYES, four HOODED MERGANSERS, 50 COMMON MERGANSERS and eight RUDDY DUCKS. Mark says the last of the winter species he saw that day were two NORTHERN SHRIKES. For more information, call Mark at 701-241-4194. Keith Corliss and Dean Riemer found a SONG SPARROW near Alice on March 24, RUSTY BLACKBIRDS in both Ransom and Cass counties, and a NORTHERN SHRIKE near Pigeon Point in Ransom County on March 25. You can reach Keith at koolhandluke@juno.com. Gary Nielsen watched several skeins of TUNDRA SWANS over the Fargo sewage lagoons on March 24. He says one flock included two black birds of the same size and shape, but he couldn’t identify them. Gary’s at 701-232-3588. On March 24, Linda Gregg saw at least 100 redpolls at her feeders in Horace, including one HOARY REDPOLL that came within about three feet of her. Earlier that day, the first AMERICAN ROBIN of the season showed up in her yard. Contact Linda at lgregg@wah.midco.net. Jean Legge says the gray-crowned ROSY FINCH was seen by a homeowner in Rogers on March 19. Jean reports a sudden invasion of her yard near Valley City by a large flock of AMERICAN ROBINS. On March 25, she had fly-overs by TUNDRA SWANS and 14 SANDHILL CRANES. Her feeders had two HOARY REDPOLLS all day. North of Valley City on the Sheyenne River Scenic Byway, Jean saw two pairs of BALD EAGLES and an immature, SHARP-TAILED GROUSE and two GREAT HORNED OWLS on a nest. You can reach her at 701-845-4762. Shiela Rabe saw tens of thousands of SNOW GEESE and CANADA GEESE in the air between Cando and Devils Lake on March 22. She also found 22 RED-TAILED HAWKS, a BALD EAGLE, two AMERICAN KESTRELS, a small group of male RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS and two unidentified gulls. From her yard near Cando, Sheila said most of the COMMON REDPOLLS have vanished, and been replaced by five AMERICAN ROBINS. She added that a pair of EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES overwintered there. Contact her at 701-869-3383. Dave Lambeth found a good vantage point on the Red River Greenway dike in Grand Forks on March 24 to watch a large raptor movement. In about 90 minutes, he counted 274 buteos– mostly RED-TAILED HAWKS, but also several ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS. Dave also saw 12 SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS, three COOPER’S HAWKS, an adult BALD EAGLE, PEREGRINE FALCON and MERLIN, plus a pair of MALLARDS. On March 23, he found a PRAIRIE FALCON north of Mekinock. Dave says it’s a species he hasn’t seen much in the Grand Forks area in the past few years. He’s at davidlambeth58201@yahoo.com.
Kay Buri recorded a BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE east of Carpio on March 20. You can reach her at kayaktheprairie@srt.com. Bernice Houser was glad to see some DARK-EYED JUNCOS on March 20. She did not have any that spent the winter in her yard near New Town. The nearby Sanish Cemetery held quite a few MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS, about a dozen AMERICAN ROBINS and a pair of HORNED LARKS. She saw her first WESTERN MEADOWLARK of the season on March 23, along with a pair of MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS north of New Town. Other sightings that day included a likely NORTHERN SHRIKE, an AMERICAN KESTREL and about two dozen SHARP-TAILED GROUSE close to a new oil well. She saw more WESTERN MEADOWLARKS along with 11 WILD TURKEYS and more DARK-EYED JUNCOS including one Oregon race on March 25, and noted that the winter appeared to have been kind to the RING-NECKED PHEASANTS, SHARP-TAILED GROUSE, and GRAY PARTRIDGE. On March 24, a trip to Minot produced the first RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS of the season. Contact Bernice at sanishnd@hotmail.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, March 20. Lots of waterfowl are showing up, but other birds are being seen, too.
David Walsh found a good variety of birds at Lake Darling on the Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge on March 18. He saw two NORTHERN HARRIERS, a GREAT HORNED OWL on a nest, WESTERN MEADOWLARK and many CANADA GEESE in the fields and on the ice. Contact David at davidw@ndak.net.
From Fargo, Wanda Peterson saw a pair of HOODED MERGANSERS on the Red River across from the El Zagel Golf Course on March 14. Contact her at wandaandjohnp83@aol.com. Also from Fargo, Connie Norheim reports seeing AMERICAN CROWS carrying large sticks for nests on both March 15 and 16. Call her at 701-232-4386. Dan Ackerman counted six pairs of WOOD DUCKS and seven pairs of MALLARDS in his flooded backyard at Wahpeton on March 18. That evening, he watched thousands of SNOW GEESE near the Wahpeton exit of Interstate 29. Contact Dan at 701-330-5781. Eve Freeberg counted a whopping 115 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS in about 180 miles of driving through the Grand Forks County grasslands on March 16. Other sightings that day included a NORTHERN GOSHAWK, and both NORTHERN HARRIERS and ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS displaying courtship behavior. On March 19, Eve saw two GRAY JAYS in southwest Grand Forks, her ninth GOLDEN EAGLE of the spring, 9th GREAT HORNED OWL nest of the season, two BALD EAGLES on a nest north of Grand Forks and the NORTHERN HARRIERS were mostly females. Eve recorded her first MALLARD and first pair of HOODED MERGANSERS of the spring on March 20. She says there are still a few SNOW BUNTINGS here and there. For details, call Eve at 701-741-8105. Dan Buchanan birded the James River Valley Scenic Backway in north-central LaMoure County on March 17. He recorded 15 BALD EAGLES including 13 just northwest of Dickey, along with an AMERICAN KESTREL and six or seven NORTHERN HARRIERS. In the Alfred and Jud area, he saw four or five more NORTHERN HARRIERS and about 60 CANADA GEESE. On March 18, Dan saw his first AMERICAN ROBIN of the season in McElroy Park in southeast Jamestown. Dan found another BALD EAGLE in trees just south of Spiritwood Lake on March 19. You can reach him at 701-252-6604. Other recent arrivals in the Jamestown area included three flocks of SNOW GEESE near Ypsilanti on March 11 and many more flocks at Jamestown on March 17 and 18, four male COMMON GOLDENEYES and a drake MALLARD on the James River southeast of Jamestown on March 17, a drake NORTHERN PINTAIL near Jud on March 14, EASTERN BLUEBIRDS at Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center on March 18, WESTERN MEADOWLARKS near Ellendale on March 16 and southeast of Jamestown on March 17, two RED-TAILED HAWKS southeast of Jamestown on March 17, and NORTHERN HARRIERS near Jamestown on March 13, in LaMoure County on March 14 and near Ellendale on March 16. Larry and Amy Igl reported a big push of ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS over the Northern Prairie center on March 18, with at least two dozen in a one-hour period, along with about a dozen adult BALD EAGLES and one juvenile on the same day. For details on those sightings, call Larry at 701-253-5511. Jean Legge’s feeders near Valley City attracted the first three TREE SPARROWS of the year on March 15. Other sightings included two GRAY PARTRIDGE and a flock of HORNED LARKS in her driveway, outnumbered by the COMMON REDPOLLS. On March 17, two RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS showed up at the feeders. Contact Jean at jlegge@daktel.com. On March 18, Bernice Houser watched a NORTHERN FLICKER, HAIRY WOODPECKER and a DOWNY WOODPECKER in her yard near New Town. On March 15, she saw several MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS including one female near her home. Bernice reported the number of COMMON REDPOLLS is decreasing, while the number of TREE SPARROWS is increasing. You can reach her at sanishnd@hotmail.com. From north of New Town, about 50 MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS were reported on March 16. For details, contact Rita Satermo at rsatermo@rtc.coop. Jesse Kolar reports seeing several small flocks of MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS west of Amidon for the past couple of weeks. On March 16, Jesse saw his first WESTERN MEADOWLARKS of the season just southeast of Amidon, and a solo AMERICAN KESTREL just north of Scranton. Jesse believes the EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE population in Dickinson is growing, but he has also seen AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES and DOWNY WOODPECKERS at mid-month. For details, he’s at jekolar@hotmail.com. Also from Dickinson, Marcia Kuma reports her first AMERICAN ROBIN of the season on March 12...the same day the temperature reached 71-degrees. Contact Marcia at lirien9@yahoo.com. Recent arrivals at Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge near Moffit include MALLARDS, NORTHERN PINTAILS, COMMON GOLDENEYES, COMMON MERGANSERS, BALD EAGLES, CANADA GEESE, and WESTERN MEADOWLARKS. Biologist Gregg Knutsen says the refuge will open two grouse observation blinds early next month. You’ll need to make reservations by calling 701-387-4397. Other refuges also offer the blinds. Follow the instructions at the end of this report for information on how to contact them. And, here’s the first notice of the annual spring field trip of the North Dakota Birding Society. It’s the weekend of May 26th and 27th in Williston, with headquarters at the El Rancho Motel. Details coming soon at www.ndbirdingsociety.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, March 13. The signs of spring outnumber the signs of winter this week. Larry Igl passes along a belated report of a GREAT GRAY OWL sighting near Wimbledon in northwestern Barnes County on February 19. Heber Golden and his wife watched the owl fly in front of their vehicle and land in a field near the road. Larry also reports three male RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS perched on cattails and singing near Pingree on March 3, a flock of CANADA GEESE on the ice of a large wetland east of Jamestown on March 8, and BALD EAGLES moving through the Jamestown area during the first week of March. For more information, call Larry at 701-253-5511. Dan Svingen heard a report of a NORTHERN HAWK-OWL seen March 9 near Baldwin in Burleigh County, but could not re-locate the bird in three tries. You can reach him at 701-250-4443, ext. 107.
Mark Gonzalez drove from Hettinger to Rapid City on February 26, and observed more than 20 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS, four GOLDEN EAGLES including one on a large ground stick-nest, and three BALD EAGLES. Retracing the same route on March 2, he saw two PRAIRIE FALCONS on the Grand River National Grassland just inside South Dakota, three male NORTHERN HARRIERS near Hettinger, and from 10-thousand to 15-thousand HORNED LARKS including numerous flocks of 50 to 250 birds. Mark notes that their numbers dropped off considerably when he got north of Hettinger. Then, on March 2, he saw a MERLIN in northwest Bismarck. Mark says the bird has been fairly regular all winter. For more information, call him at 701-250-4443, ext. 106. Linda Gregg saw a flock of 50 to 75 CEDAR WAXWINGS in her trees at Horace on March 8. She has noticed a lot of activity at her feeders, but no unusual species. Contact Linda at lgregg@wah.midco.net. Connie Norheim found three NORTHERN FLICKERS and a flock of CEDAR WAXWINGS at Orchard Glen near Fargo on March 11. Along 52nd Avenue South, she encountered lots of singing HORNED LARKS in the field, and an AMERICAN KESTREL was hunting in north West Fargo. Along old Highway 81, Connie saw SNOW BUNTINGS, 25 MALLARDS in the ditch, a flock of CANADA GEESE circling overhead, and a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK. Call her at 701-232-4386.
Dan Ackerman reported a flock of more than 50 CANADA GEESE near Exit 68 on the west side of I-29 at Fargo, plus numerous BALD EAGLES along the Red River near Wahpeton on March 9. He heard KILLDEER in the Wahpeton area on March 12. Contact him at 701-330-5781 or daniel_ackerman@und.nodak.edu. Kathy Jacobson discovered a LONG-EARED OWL in Deering on March 9. While walking, she saw it peeking out of a squirrel nest and had to come back with a scope and camera to record the lifer. For more information, contact her at wesjacob@minot.com. After a friend alerted him, Wayne Easley drove to the Fessenden area on March 10, and spotted a SNOWY OWL about six miles west and 1½ miles south of the city. He also saw three pairs of GRAY PARTRIDGE, nicely paired up. Wayne is at 701-234-2344. Rick and Bonna Whitten-Stovall found good birding in Foster and Wells counties on March 11. West of Carrington, they saw a dark-morph NORTHERN HARRIER and a PEREGRINE FALCON. They were amazed at the number of HORNED LARKS between Fessenden and Carrington, and the same area held a few flocks of SNOW BUNTINGS. Contact them at whitstov@yahoo.com. Jean Legge says the EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE was seen in Oakes on March 8. On March 12, Jean heard a NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL near her home at Valley City. For details, call her at 701-845-4762.
Ron Martin saw a male SNOWY OWL on the ice at the Minot lagoons on March 6. Four days later, he found several new arrivals on the river below Garrison Dam. They included NORTHERN PINTAIL, REDHEAD, RING-NECKED DUCK, and LESSER SCAUP. Ron adds that the LONG-TAILED DUCK was still present in the tailrace, and he saw LAPLAND LONGSPURS flying in the morning. On March 11, McHenry County held NORTHERN HARRIER and MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD. Ron also had eight species of raptors for the day, and he noted that things were starting to move in small numbers, even though snow cover was still 50 percent in some areas. For details, he’s at jrmartin@srt.com. Bernice Houser saw hundreds of CANADA GEESE in the Cartwright area on March 10. She saw five BALD EAGLES near the Confluence Interpretive Center west of Williston, and staff reported seeing 15 on March 9. Near New Town, Bernice’s yard had attracted a couple more TREE SPARROWS, in addition to the two that have been there all winter. Contact her at sanishnd@hotmail.com. From Fort Yates, Thane Popelka says a female RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER dined at his feeders last week. On March 11, he saw two HAIRY WOODPECKERS, a DOWNY WOODPECKER, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE, three AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES, three DARK-EYED JUNCOS, and what he calls the normal herd of HOUSE SPARROWS. Thane also saw a BALD EAGLE on his drive from Fort Yates to Bismarck. Contact him at lightningfog@yahoo.com. Clark Talkington found 24 RING-BILLED GULLS at the Tesoro Refinery in Mandan on March 11, plus 11 more at Nelson Lake in Oliver County. On the following day, he counted 12 CALIFORNIA GULLS and a SNOW GOOSE at Nelson Lake, a KILLDEER at Sweet Briar Dam in Morton County, and a NORTHERN GOSHAWK west of Mandan. Clark is at ctalkington@bis.midco.net. 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, March 6. Waxwings top our report this week.
Eve Freeberg counted 70 SHORT-EARED OWLS in the grasslands of Grand Forks County on March 5. Other sightings that day included two GOLDEN EAGLES, 48 GRAY PARTRIDGE, three NORTHERN HARRIERS, about 400 redpolls, 31 LAPLAND LONGSPURS, plus a red-shafted NORTHERN FLICKER northwest of Mekinock. For details on those sightings, call Eve at 701-741-8105. Jean Legge says four GRAY PARTRIDGE have been hanging around her road near Valley City. On March 1, she reported them digging for food by the side of the road. Contact her at 701-845-4762. Corey Ellingson saw a MERLIN perched on the tip of a spruce in Bismarck on March 4. He adds that it was the only bird sighting for the weekend. Corey is at tcellingson@juno.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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Wick Corwin says the first PEREGRINE FALCON sightings came on March 11. The appearance of the male was followed on March 20 by the female. Corwin and other observers believe it is the same pair that has occupied the area since 2003. For details, contact him at 
Corey Ellingson and four others took part in a field trip to McKenzie Slough and 
Connie Norheim saw her first SNOW GEESE of the spring on March 24. At the Lake Elsie Recreation Area, she and Lew Daley saw RING-BILLED GULLS, HOODED MERGANSER, COMMON MERGANSER, AMERICAN COOT, AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS and MOURNING DOVE. They added a displaying WILD TURKEY while heading west along Highway 11. At Cayuga, they saw a large flock of RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS in a tree, and saw a lone YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD. Moving on to 
Eve Freeberg also watched a large raptor migration along the Red River on March 24. After the fog finally lifted that afternoon, Eve counted a whopping 552 RED-TAILED HAWKS and 31 BALD EAGLES in well under two hours from her location about 10 miles south of Grand Forks. Eve said one kettle held 80 hawks. She also saw eight SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS, 25 TREE SPARROWS and about 30 SHORT-EARED OWLS. On March 23, Eve recorded EASTERN BLUEBIRD, KILLDEER and TUNDRA SWAN in Grand Forks County. On March 25, she observed a PIED-BILLED GREBE at Kellys Slough National Wildlife Refuge, along with 1,600 WHITE-FRONTED GEESE and 100 TUNDRA SWANS. On March 26, she added GREATER SCAUP, AMERICAN COOT and CALIFORNIA GULL. Then, on March 27, Eve found an early GREATER YELLOWLEGS at the north unit of Kellys Slough refuge. For more information, call her at 701-741-8105.
Ron Martin reported five EASTERN BLUEBIRDS in McHenry County on March 18. One day earlier, he saw all five regularly occurring species of geese in McLean County in the farmed area east of Garrison Dam. The dam held HERRING GULLS, RING-BILLED GULLS and CALIFORNIA GULLS. At Lake Sakakawea State Park, Ron discovered a flock of 400 CEDAR WAXWINGS. During his travels, he also counted five new GREAT HORNED OWL nests. Contact Ron at 
Clark Talkington saw two NORTHERN SHOVELERS at the Kist Livestock Pond in Mandan on March 15, after finding a CANVASBACK there two days earlier. Also on the 13th, he recorded a HOODED MERGANSER at the Tesoro Refinery in Mandan. At McKenzie Slough, east of Bismarck, he saw three GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE and 17 NORTHERN PINTAILS, and the Bismarck landfill hosted 110 RING-BILLED GULLS and 10 CALIFORNIA GULLS. Clark stopped at McKenzie Slough again on March 19, and visited 
Jan Sailer says her husband saw two male MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS at their ranch south of Hettinger, in Perkins County, South Dakota, on March 7, which was his birthday. Jan says they have had eastern bluebirds at the site in the past, but this species has not yet nested there. For details, contact her at 
A pair of WOOD DUCKS flushed from the Red River bank in north Fargo on March 13. Dennis Wiesenborn says the sighting represents a typical arrival date for the species. March 11 brought a wave of new birds to that area, including seven GADWALLS, four LESSER SCAUP, a COMMON GOLDENEYE, and a MOURNING DOVE. On March 10, Dennis saw a hunting SHORT-EARED OWL, which was a yard and neighborhood first. Contact him at 
From Grand Forks County, Eve Freeberg saw seven RUSTY BLACKBIRDS west of Grand Forks and six great horned owl nests on March 6; AMERICAN KESTRELS on March 8 and 10; 14 COMMON GRACKLES near the Air Base, a breeding pair of COMMON GRACKLES northwest of Merrifield on March 10; three pairs of GADWALLS and seven CANADA GEESE on March 11; and 60 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS, 15 NORTHERN HARRIERS, and a flock of 125 RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS on March 12. Eve says most of the harriers were males, but the large blackbird flock included some females. You can call her at 701-741-8105. 
Keith Corliss saw at least 13 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS in a flock of about 60 CEDAR WAXWINGS at Orchard Glen just south of Fargo on March 4. He says at least two pair were observed in the process of courtship feeding. Other birds at that location included RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS. At the NDSU campus, Keith added more than 20 AMERICAN ROBINS and about 400 CEDAR WAXWINGS. On March 1, Keith had two odd HOUSE FINCHES in his West Fargo backyard: a yellow variant and a partial albino. For details, contact him at