North Dakota Birding Hotline Reports
November 2008
The North Dakota Birding Hotline is operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the North Dakota Birding Society. To access the telephone birding hotline, call 701-355-8554.
Welcome to the North Dakota Rare Bird Alert compiled by the North Dakota Birding Society. This report was prepared on Tuesday, November 25, 2008.
White-winged crossbills and snowy owls top our report this week, but there's much more.
Candis Sommerfeld found a SNOWY OWL perched between the ponds at the Harwood lagoons on November 18. The owl flew off when a BALD EAGLE arrived, and Candis saw two more BALD EAGLES west of North Dakota State University and south of the Fargo airport. You can reach her at cjpendergast@cableone.net.
Mark Otnes drove southwest from Fargo on November 21. He saw six WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS in a large pine grove, another at the Sheyenne State Forest, and two more at a cemetery near Fingal. The State forest also held two NORTHERN GOSHAWKS, while the Fingal area contributed a NORTHERN SHRIKE and a small flock of LAPLAND LONGSPURS. Mark also recorded a large flock of SNOW BUNTINGS in Richland County, and he heard some PINE SISKINS in Lisbon. For more information, call 701-241-4194.
Keith Corliss reports seeing "hordes of PINE SISKINS everywhere you look." November 21 also brought 10 PURPLE FINCHES to a feeder in south Fargo. Keith says that's the largest grouping he had ever seen in Cass County. Contact him at koolhand@juno.com.
Connie Norheim saw an adult BALD EAGLE over Meritcare Hospital in Fargo on November 20. She's at 701-232-4386.
From Jamestown, Larry Igl heard a male PURPLE FINCH singing for about an hour at Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center on November 23. He says it's uncommon for the species to be singing this late. Contact Larry at 701-253-5511.
Dan Buchanan's feeder in northeast Jamestown attracted an adult male WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL on November 20, and he saw an adult male HAIRY WOODPECKER nearby. For details, it's 701-252-6604.
Corey Ellingson teamed up with Linda Ellingson for a day of birding at the Mandan Experiment Station, Nelson Lake, and Center on November 22. They ended up with 41 species. The experiment station held a RED-TAILED HAWK, two GREAT HORNED OWLS, two BLACK-BILLED MAGPIES, five TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRES, 24 PURPLE FINCHES in four flocks, and a possible calling WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL, although they didn't get to see it. At Nelson Lake, they added 500 SNOW GEESE, ROSS' GOOSE, one REDHEAD, one RING-NECKED DUCK, one WESTERN GREBE, and four AMERICAN COOTS. The town of Center held eight EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES and an AMERICAN KESTREL. On the way south, they counted 57 GRAY PARTRIDGE in six flocks. Back home in Bismarck, Corey had four EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES in his yard and seven more across the street, plus a COMMON GRACKLE. For more information, he's at tcellingson@juno.com.
Sherry Leslie birded in the Badlands on November 20-21. In McKenzie County, she recorded two BALD EAGLES, GOLDEN EAGLE, two PRAIRIE FALCONS, NORTHERN SHRIKE, several flocks of SNOW GEESE, and 22 SHARP-TAILED GROUSE. Back in Ward County, they saw a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK and a SNOWY OWL about five miles northwest of Berthold. When they got home to Burlington, they had almost 100 WILD TURKEYS in their yard. Contact Sherry at 701-725-4389.
Ron Martin's November 22 destination was Garrison Dam, where he saw three GLAUCOUS GULLS, a THAYER'S GULL, and a third-winter ICELAND GULL. He added a SNOWY OWL south of Sawyer, and had two NORTHERN GOSHAWKS fly through his yard at Sawyer. For details, Ron is at jrmartin@srt.com.
A very late KILLDEER is still at Bob Anderson's parents' farm near Litchville. He says the bird has been there since October and is able to fly. He also saw a mature BALD EAGLE perched in a tree on the farm on November 24. Call Bob at 605-695-1344.
Three more Christmas Bird Counts to add to your list: the Jamestown count will be held on Wednesday, December 17. Contact Larry Igl at 701-253-5511. The Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge count is set for Thursday, December 18. Meet at refuge headquarters at 8:00 a.m. Call 701-387-4397 for more information. And Arrowwood National Wildlife Refuge's count will take place on Tuesday, December 16. Refuge biologist Paulette Scherr says they need quite a few volunteers to help with the students who will be participating. Call her at 701-285-3341.
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, November 18, 2008.
Most of the ducks may have already passed through North Dakota, but some rare ones are still being seen.
Keith Corliss discovered three LONG-TAILED DUCKS at the Fargo lagoons on November 17. He says he had never seen more than one at a time in the past. For more information, contact Keith at koolhand@juno.com.
Corey Ellingson and Clark Talkington found a female LONG-TAILED DUCK in winter plumage at New John's Lake in northeastern Burleigh County on November 11. Corey says it was only his second sighting of the species in 13 years in Burleigh County. They also saw singles of PIED-BILLED GREBE, HORNED GREBE, and EARED GREBE plus 15 species of ducks. For details, try Corey at tcellingson@juno.com.
Ron Martin and David Walsh got together to bird Devils Lake from Minnewaukan to the city of Devils Lake on November 15. Their list included COMMON LOON, about 14,600 LESSER SCAUP, 1,150 BUFFLEHEAD, 1,160 COMMON GOLDENEYE, 127 HOODED MERGANSERS, a BLACK SCOTER, 26 BALD EAGLES, 365 BONAPARTE'S GULLS, and a COMMON RAVEN. Ron joined Corey Ellingson to bird Round Lake in McHenry County and several spots in Pierce County. They recorded a very late GREAT BLUE HERON at Velva, but Round Lake proved to be the most productive. They saw four GREATER SCAUP, a LONG-TAILED DUCK, two RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS, a SURF SCOTER, and a PRAIRIE FALCON. At Antelope Lake in Pierce County, they added a BLACK SCOTER. Pierce County also presented a NORTHERN GOSHAWK, and they counted 15 WHITE-WINGED-CROSSBILLS in Rugby. For the day, they totaled 28 BALD EAGLES. Contact Ron at jrmartin@srt.com.
Ron and Sue Miller recorded a SNOWY OWL at the Harwood lagoons on November 15. They're at ff101@cableone.net.
Becky Oberlander and Connie Norheim birded the area lagoons on November 11. They saw a SNOWY OWL on a post of the Harwood lagoon, and another at the Fargo lagoon. They believe both were juveniles. Also at the Fargo lagoon, they saw a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, with 2,000 MALLARDS nearby. For more information, try Becky at raoberlander@hotmail.com.
Rick Gjervold's north Fargo yard had good birding on November 11. He counted 15 species for the day, topped by a PILEATED WOODPECKER, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, AMERICAN GOLDFINCH, NORTHERN FLICKER, and BROWN CREEPER. For details, it's g4jervold@aol.com.
Rick Holbrook is still seeing HARRIS' SPARROWS in his Fargo neighborhood. He also notes a larger-than-normal number of PINE SISKINS at his feeders. Rick is at fholbrook@cableone.net.
From Horace, Linda Gregg had a HARRIS' SPARROW and a female NORTHERN CARDINAL on November 10. She also reports an invasion of PINE SISKINS mixed in with quite a few AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES. Her yard also holds many DOWNY WOODPECKERS, HAIRY WOODPECKERS, and a few RED-BELLIED WOODPECKERS and PILEATED WOODPECKERS plus some WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCHES and BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES. On November 15, Linda saw a COMMON REDPOLL, her first of the season. She's at lgregg@far.midco.net.
Dave Lambeth saw WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL and about 30 PINE SISKINS at Bellevue Cemetery near Larimore on November 16, with another 500 CEDAR WAXWINGS nearby. His Grand Forks feeders attracted more than 100 PINE SISKINS one day last week, as well as a few AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES and up to five PURPLE FINCHES. Dave also saw MERLINS on a couple occasions last week, and he recorded single SNOWY OWLS on each of three trips out of Grand Forks. Contact him at davidlambeth58201@yahoo.com.
Imagine Ken Torkelson's surprise the foggy morning of November 12 when he noticed an unusual bird (at least unusual for his "non-birdy" residential neighborhood of Bismarck). The bird was walking up the driveway next to his, but flew when he tried to get closer. In addition to thick fog, it was also dark, but the bird was identified as a WILSON'S SNIPE. You can reach Ken at tork02@juno.com.
Some more Christmas Bird Counts have been scheduled. The Fargo-Moorhead count is set for December 20. If you can help, contact Bob O'Connor at roberg.oconnor@ndsu.edu. The Garrison Dam count will kick off at 7:45 a.m. on November 14. Ron Martin will lead that one, as well as the Upper Souris count on December 19, also starting at 7:45. Meet at Audubon National Wildlife Refuge headquarters for the Garrison Dam count, and the Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge headquarters for that one. If you want to participate, contact Ron at jrmartin@srt.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, November 11, 2008.
A gull and a tanager share the limelight this week.
Not many details, but Ron Martin discovered an adult MEW GULL at the Garrison Dam tailrace during the morning of November 9. You can contact him at jrmartin@srt.com.
Dave Lambeth's Grand Forks yard was visited briefly on Novemnber 5 by a SUMMER TANAGER. Dave says the bird was only there for about three minutes, and hasn't been seen since. On the following day, Dave birded the Devils Lake area. He saw large numbers of a variety of waterfowl. Some of the highlights included tens-of-thousands of LESSER SCAUP, 700 HOODED MERGANSERS, and 50 COMMON GOLDENEYE. Other sightings included three PIED-BILLED GREBES, a RED-NECKED GREBE, DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, NORTHERN HARRIER, ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, and three GREATER YELLOWLEGS. For more information, it's davidlambeth58201@yahoo.com.
Eve Freeberg saw a LONG-TAILED DUCK in Grand Forks County on November 8, and then was surprised to see three more two days later. She also discovered a late AMERICAN PIPIT on November 8. She counted 12 EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES on November 7. Eve recorded four SNOWY OWLS on November 5, but their number was down to two or three on November 11. You can reach Eve at 701-741-8105.
Dean Riemer birded Fargo-area lagoons on November 8, finding a SNOWY OWL at the Harwood lagoon and a COMMON LOON at the West Fargo lagoon. Keith Corliss joined Dean the next day and they toured some area lagoons and parks. They saw a LONG-TAILED DUCK and a good variety of other waterfowl plus a BALD EAGLE and a NORTHERN HARRIER at the Fargo lagoon. At the West Fargo lagoons, they added COMMON GOLDENEYE and HOODED MERGANSER. They saw a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK at Hector Airport, and Elmwood Park in West Fargo contributed GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET and GREAT HORNED OWL. For details, Dean is at driemer@kwh.com.
A NORTHERN SHRIKE landed in Rick Gjervold's yard in north Fargo on November 10. Two days earlier, Rick saw another NORTHERN SHRIKE in north Moorhead, a NORTHERN FLICKER in north Fargo, and two large flocks of TUNDRA SWANS. He notes that an AMERICAN GOLDFINCH has been coming to his feeders daily. Rick is at g4jervold@aol.com.
From Jamestown, a BROWN CREEPER stopped at Dan Buchanan's yard on November 9 and 10. For details, call 701-252-6604.
Corey Ellingson birded the Bismarck landfill on November 8, and recorded 12 RING-BILLED GULLS, eight HERRING GULLS, and a first-winter THAYER'S GULL. East of Bismarck, he added a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK and a MERLIN. At the Capitol complex in Bismarck, Corey saw a flock of 250 CEDAR WAXWINGS and about 25 AMERICAN ROBINS. At home, he added three COMMON GRACKLES and a EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE. On the following day, Corey teamed up with Clark Talkington to visit McDowell Dam near Bismarck. They saw at least 100 REDHEADS, a GADWALL, female CANVASBACK, 10 HOODED MERGANSERS, and a RUDDY DUCK. Moving on to Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge, they saw a 30-yard circle of open water that was being kept open by a few thousand waterfowl--mostly CANADA GEESE and SNOW GEESE, plus NORTHERN SHOVELERS and MALLARDS, with a few TUNDRA SWANS and eight additional species of ducks. Contact Corey at tcellingson@juno.com.
Lillian Crook watched a BALD EAGLE over Teddy Roosevelt National Park, heading for Medora on November 9. She's at lilliancrook@hotmail.com.
From New Town, Bernice Houser had a flock of 25 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS in early November. She says the large flock also included many CEDAR WAXWINGS. Her yard has been visited by scores of HOUSE FINCHES, some AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES, and several PURPLE FINCHES. Bernice says the weather of November 6 brought DARK-EYED JUNCOS and TREE SPARROWS to her yard, and she has also seen HAIRY WOODPECKER, DOWNY WOODPECKER, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES, and WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCHES, but very few PINE SISKINS. Bernice saw a flock of more than 5,000 SNOW GEESE that day, and reports it was the largest flock she had seen that far west in North Dakota. She's at sanishnd@hotmail.com.
And, a reminder that the Sax-Zim Bog Winter Bird Festival is set for February 13-15 at Meadowlands, Minnesota. Check the web site at http://moumn.org/sax-zim/.
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, November 4, 2008.
"Sea ducks" headline our report this week.
Ron Martin discovered an adult male BARROW'S GOLDENEYE at Round Lake, which is northwest of Anamoose in McHenry County, on November 2. As if that weren't enough, he also found two WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS, two BLACK SCOTERS, two COMMON LOONS, 22 GREATER SCAUP, two GREATER YELLOWLEGS, and a LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER. At the Denbigh Experimental Forest that same day, Ron added TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE, BOHEMIAN WAXWING, PINE GROSBEAK, 35 PURPLE FINCHES, four RED CROSSBILLS, a WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL, two COMMON REDPOLLS, and 30 PINE SISKINS. On Halloween Day, Ron teamed up with Corey Ellingson to bird Williams County. They saw a WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL in Ray, a PINE GROSBEAK near Lewis and Clark State Park, and a THAYER'S GULL at the Williston landfill. For details on those sightings, contact Ron at jrmartin@srt.com.
A lone SNOW BUNTING visited Jean Legge's yard north of Valley City on November 1. At Meadow Lake Waterfowl Protection Area, which is south of the Eckelson exit off I-94, she counted about 100 TUNDRA SWANS, and said they had been there several days. For more information, you can reach Jean at 701-845-4762.
Mark Otnes reported a flyover by a WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL near the Blue Cross/Blue Shield building in Fargo on October 28. Then on October 31, he saw three more of that species at Camp Grassick, in the Dawson area of Kidder County. Mark observed a good variety of finches south of Dawson, including two flocks of COMMON REDPOLLS, PURPLE FINCHES, PINE SISKINS, HOUSE FINCHES, and AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES. He also noted a good number of CEDAR WAXWINGS, AMERICAN ROBINS, and RUSTY BLACKBIRDS. On the north side of Lake Isabel, Mark recorded more than 200 HOODED MERGANSERS. He said Dewald Slough was covered with SNOW GEESE and CANADA GEESE, plus good numbers of TUNDRA SWANS. Contact Mark at 701-241-4194.
Keith Corliss and Dean Riemer birded the Fargo lagoons and the Harwood area on November 2. Keith reports the lagoons held large numbers of waterfowl, but no surprises. At Harwood, they saw three of the resident EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES, and the Sheyenne Gardens nursery hosted large numbers of AMERICAN ROBINS, CEDAR WAXWINGS, and up to eight PURPLE FINCHES. You can reach Keith at koolhand@juno.com.
Dave and Cec Lambeth toured several areas in Grand Forks County on November 1. They saw a SNOWY OWL just west of Grand Forks, a couple redpolls, about 10 TREE SPARROWS, and many PINE SISKINS in a sunflower field, plus six WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS in Bellevue Cemetery, north of Larimore. For more information, contact Dave at davidlambeth58201@yahoo.com.
That concludes this week’s report from the North Dakota Birding Society.
