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Recent Postings from
North Dakota

Updated on Friday, October 19 at 08:06 PM ET
The most recently received Mail is at the top.

Hi 
 
 This evening Keith Corliss and I birded the Fargo Lagoons and found the 
following birds. 

 
 
  1 - Long-tailed Duck (West Central Cell)
  2 - Black Scoter (West Central Cell)
  7 - White-winged Scoter (Southwest Cell)
10 - Surf Scoter (West Central Cell)
 
 
Good Birding 
Dean Riemer
West Fargo ND


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Hello fellow birders, 
 
I have not written for quite some time.  However, things around our feeder 
have started up a bit. We have a mourning dove that drops in every day for some 

sunflower, and red breasted nuthatches also make daily appearances (I finally 
managed to get some decent pictures of these).  The past three days we have 
had a purple finch in the feeder--a female.  Yesterday we had several Harris' 
sparrows mingled with the numerous white throated.  A female pileated still 
pops in daily for a snack of shelled peanuts.
The highlight, though, is a male pheasant in our back yard (got some pictures 
of him).  I saw this guy two times this past week (Thursday and Saturday).
 
Saturday I did try for the scoters at the Fargo ponds, but some guys were 
shooting at geese, so the ducks were sort of "spooked" and I realized that 
situation was not working for me. I did find a male harrier just north of 
Hector 

airport on my way out to the ponds. 
 
Today Wed.) the NDSU campus crab apples were filled with cedar waxwings.  It 
was fun checking these birds out (more digital photo opportunities).
 
I wonder what this weekend will bring?  
 
 
                                                                  Happy 
birding, 
 
                                                                              
                Rick Gjervold
                                                                              
                
                                                                              
                north Fargo



************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com

It has been several weeks since I last saw either of the adults, but they were 
both present through mid to late September. The kids all disappeared in late 
July or August. 


 

In short, it was a perfectly uneventful year. By that I mean everything was 
seamless. As far as we know, all four fledglings survived. 


 

Just reviewed my notes describing the nestings to date. Thought you might be 
interested in a summary. 


 

We have now had 6 successful nestings in Fargo (01, 03-07). The adult male 
named Dakota Ace has been the father each time. His mate since 2002 has been 
Frieda. 


 

Every nesting has involved four eggs. One egg in 2001 did not hatch. In 2004 2 
eggs blew out of a poorly constructed box. Otherwise every egg has hatched and 
every hatchling has survived to fledge. Therefore, fledgings to date total 21. 
We know that at least 4 will killed in accidents shortly after fledging. This 
was the first perfect year, with no know mortalities. That leaves a maximum of 
17 survivors. 


 

Fargo progeny are showing up throughout the region. One of our females has been 
nesting for years in Brandon, Man. Two birds from different years (half 
siblings) are paired and nesting in Sartell, Minn. One of our males has been 
seen at several locations in Minneapolis, but as far as we know has not 
successfully nested. Most recently, one of our males from 05 has established 
himself in Grand Forks, but has apparently not yet attracted a mate. 


 

The one disappointment this year was the web camera and site. Both clearly need 
attention. Will do what I can to get those glitches worked out in time for next 
years nesting. 


 

Wick Corwin

Conmy Feste Ltd.

406 Main Avenue

Fargo ND 58103

Phone:

Fax:

 

*RBA
*North Dakota
*Statewide
*Oct. 16, 2007
*NDST0710.16

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, Oct. 16.  All phone numbers mentioned are area code
701 unless otherwise noted.

Gulls, scoters and whoopers top our report this week.

Corey Ellingson found two LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS at the Bismarck
landfill on Oct. 9.  He says one bird had an entirely black mantle, while
the other had some white feathering mixed in.  The landfill also hosted two
adult CALIFORNIA GULLS, and Corey said the numbers of HERRING GULLS were
increasing.  A check of Sleepy Hollow Park turned up the TOWNSEND’S
SOLITAIRE and a FOX SPARROW.  The solitaire had been reported the previous
day by John Hoganson and Cathy Clayton.  An Oct. 15 evening walk through
the park flushed two NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWLS.  Corey says the owls remained
perched for the 90-minutes he was at the park.  They were the first
Burleigh County sightings in 12 years.  Other sightings included the
latest-ever TENNESSEE WARBLER for the Bismarck-Mandan area, a late
ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER and two PURPLE FINCHES.  For details, contact Corey
at tcellingson AT juno.com

Bob O’Connor saw two male WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS still in breeding plumage in
the southwest cell of the Fargo sewage lagoons on Oct. 12.  He believes
there may have been at least one female with them.  Contact Bob at
robert.oconnor AT ndsu.edu

Dean Riemer and Pat Beauzay followed up on Bob O’Connor’s sighting that
evening.  They observed a total of five WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS plus a BLACK
SCOTER and a LONG-TAILED DUCK– all in the southwest cell of the lagoons.
Dean birded Grand Forks County on Oct. 13.  He teamed up with Eve Freeberg
and recorded five TRUMPETER SWANS near McCanna, a SABINE’S GULL, 20 SNOW
BUNTINGS and many RED-TAILED HAWKS.  Dean is at driemer AT kwh.com

Keith Corliss discovered a lone SURF SCOTER in the east-central cell of the
Fargo lagoons just before sunset on Oct. 9.  Contact him at
kcorliss AT forumcomm.com

The first confirmed sighting of WHOOPING CRANES in North Dakota this fall
came near Noonan on Oct. 10.  Tim Kessler of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service saw three birds in two adjacent fields after receiving a report
from a hunter who had reported whoopers the previous weekend.  Kessler says
the whoopers were traveling with SANDHILL CRANES.  You can reach him at
.

It won’t be considered a confirmed sighting, but Bob Scarlett says a friend
of his who lives south of Menoken reported that he and several others saw a
group of 10 WHOOPING CRANES circling overhead with SANDHILL CRANES on Oct.
14.  They had binoculars and watched the whoopers for about half-an-hour.
Scarlett notes that the friend has seen whoopers several times in the past,
so he considers the sighting reliable.  Bob had some interesting sightings
of his own in recent days.  He saw three PEREGRINE FALCONS about 25 miles
southwest of Mandan on Oct. 13 and 14, where he had seen the species for
several weeks, and he plans to search for a nest next spring.  One week
earlier, Bob watched a PEREGRINE FALCON attack a NORTHERN HARRIER, making
feathers fly and forcing the harrier into a “crash landing.”  Bob and two
friends also watched a MERLIN snatch a flying DARK-EYED JUNCO out of a
flock.  For details on any of those sightings, contact him at
bobkat AT btinet.net

Eve Freeberg’s yard in Grand Forks hosted a very late GREAT CRESTED
FLYCATCHER from Oct. 13-15.  She believes it’s one of the latest sightings
on record for North Dakota.  Eve’s other highlights included a single
HERMIT THRUSH at the Grand Forks cemetery on Oct. 9 and eight more on her
deck on Oct. 14, a SABINE’S GULL and the first SNOW BUNTINGS northwest of
Grand Forks on Oct. 10, two TUNDRA SWANS at Kellys Slough National Wildlife
Refuge on Oct. 11 and a NORTHERN SHRIKE near McCanna on Oct. 12.  For more
information, call Eve at .

Mark Otnes birded the country between Jamestown and Valley City on Oct. 12.
His highlight was a quite tame LONG-EARED OWL on the south side of Pipestem
Reservoir.  Mark also reported abundant RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES, along with
PINE SISKIN, PURPLE FINCH and HERMIT THRUSH, and he may have heard a RED
CROSSBILL at Jamestown Reservoir.  At Eckelson Slough in Barnes County,
Mark got a single FORSTER’S TERN, saw plenty of RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES,
PURPLE FINCHES and a single GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET north of Valley City.
He says HARRIS’ SPARROWS and DARK-EYED JUNCOS were abundant throughout the
area.  On Oct. 7, Mark took a run along the Sheyenne River north of Valley
City, and recorded GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET, three PURPLE FINCHES, two
BLACK-BILLED MAGPIES, a GREEN HERON, HERMIT THRUSH and four SANDHILL
CRANES.  You can call Mark at .

Jean Legge is still scratching her head about a bird that showed up at her
sunflower feeder north of Valley City on Oct. 12.  She describes it as “a
very bright reddish finch with a triangular topknot on the crown of his
head.”  Send your identifications to Jean at jlegge AT daktel.com

Ron Martin recorded an EVENING GROSBEAK at the headquarters of J. Clark
Salyer National Wildlife Refuge near Upham on Oct. 14.  Nearby, he added a
WINTER WREN.  On Oct. 13, Ron teamed up with Corey Ellingson for a tour of
McHenry County.  They turned up five COMMON LOONS, 56 HORNED GREBES, a
CLARK’S GREBE at Buffalo Lodge Lake, two SURF SCOTERS at Round Lake, a
PRAIRIE FALCON, seven SMITH’S LONGSPURS in two locations, and a
seasonal-first SNOW BUNTING.  On Oct. 12, Ron conducted a two-hour hawk
watch on the south edge of the Souris Valley near the Minot landfill.  He
recorded two NORTHERN HARRIERS, 13 SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS, COOPER’S HAWK,
NORTHERN GOSHAWK, 77 RED-TAILED HAWKS and four AMERICAN KESTRELS.  Other
species included Ron’s first NORTHERN SHRIKE of the fall, 18 PURPLE FINCHES
in Minot’s Oak Park and a couple more near Sawyer, and lots of PINE
SISKINS.  Ron says a NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL was calling near Sawyer and he
saw a single RED-BREASTED MERGANSER at Buffalo Lodge Lake on Oct. 11.  The
Minot sewage lagoons held two SURF SCOTERS on Oct. 8.  You can reach Ron at
jrmartin AT srt.com

Dan and Emily Svingen saw lots of raptors at Long Lake National Wildlife
Refuge on Oct. 14.  They recorded five LONG-EARED OWLS, 60 RED-TAILED
HAWKS, 12 NORTHERN HARRIERS, two SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS, a COOPER’S HAWK,
MERLIN and two AMERICAN KESTRELS.  The other highlight of the day was a
SEDGE WREN.  Contact Dan at , ext. 107.

Wayne Easley and his wife discovered a female PILEATED WOODPECKER in Harvey
on Oct. 13.  They say the bird was checking every crevice in the telephone
poles along Jackson Street in the southeastern part of town.  You can reach
the Easleys at .

Sherry Leslie searched unsuccessfully for whoopers on Oct. 14, but found
other interesting birds.  Her list included 13 TUNDRA SWANS near Ryder, 114
LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS near Douglas, eight GREATER YELLOWLEGS two miles
south of the Lonetree WMA, and numerous flocks of SANDHILL CRANES.  Contact
Sherry at sherry_leslie AT excite.com

Bob Peterson has seen a GREAT HORNED OWL around his Heimdal farm for
several years, but the most recent appearance– on Oct. 14– provided some
entertainment.  Bob watched out his kitchen window as the owl caught
grasshoppers just a few feet away.  You can reach Bob at kq6af AT gondtc.com

A SONG SPARROW joined the flock of birds at Rick Holbrook’s yard in Fargo
on Oct. 11.  Contact him at fholbrook AT cableone.net

Mel and Elaine Bennefeld’s sunflower feeder in north Fargo entertained a
RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH on Oct. 14, while several WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS
picked up the seeds that fell to the ground.  Contact the Bennefelds at
emben1 AT juno.com

The Oct. 14 “Big Sit” at Arrowwood National Wildlife Refuge attracted 16
participants.  Highlights included RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS, YELLOW-RUMPED
WARBLERS and a MERLIN.  For more information, call Paulette Scherr at
.

Dan Buchanan found “at least in the hundreds” TUNDRA SWANS at and near
Horsehead Lake in Kidder County on Oct. 15.  He saw smaller numbers of the
species at Arrowwood NWR the previous day.  Dan also recorded RED-TAILED
HAWKS, SWAINSON’S HAWKS and NORTHERN HARRIERS during the two days.  Contact
him at .

And from just inside South Dakota near Hettinger, Jan Sailer reported
seeing four or five LONG-EARED OWLS on Oct. 14 in an evergreen shelterbelt
at her ranch.  She adds that almost every one of the species she has ever
seen has been at that location.  You can reach Jan at jngsailer AT 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 the map at the
bottom of the page, and click on North Dakota on the next map.

Hi 
 
 After work I had a few minutes to go birding, so I drove to the Fargo Lagoons. 
The road to the south gate was quite muddy from the light rain we received all 
afternoon. I found the following birds in the southwest cell of the Fargo 
Lagoons. 

 
1 - Surf Scoter
3 - White-winged Scoter
 
Good Birding 
Dean Riemer
West Fargo ND 


CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for 
the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and 
privileged information. Any unauthorized review, copy, use, disclosure, or 
distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please 
contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original 
message. 

My name is Kim Breuer, from Minot--I joined because there are always 
questions I have and I figure this is the place to get answers... We are 
a family who home educates and our bird feeders are definitely part of 
our school day.... For a few years we did Project Feederwatch but our 
schedule has become quite involved lately so we decided not to do it 
this year. We like to take our binoculars and go walking at Lake Darling 
and see what different types of birds we can find as compared to what we 
get at our backyard feeders.

I have a question about red-breasted nuthatches.  My children and I 
think they are the neatest little birds--last year we did not get one at 
our feeders and this year we've seen one just one time. The seasons we 
have seen them it's been only one or two but never more. They dart in to 
the feeders, take some suet or some sunflower seeds and are gone before 
you know it. And we usually would only see them once a week if that often.

Are these considered unusual for North Dakota? If anyone can fill me in 
on details, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks!
Kim Breuer
Minot
breuer AT srt.com

 Yesterday afternoon, Monday the 15th, on the gravel road from just west of 
Robinson, in Kidder County, south to I-94 there were along Horsehead Lake a 
large number of Tundra Swans, numbering at least in the hundreds. 

 Sunday there were a much smaller number of them at Arrowwood NWR during the 
"Big Sit." Paulette Scheer will share the full count with us. 

 Red-tailed and Swainsons's Hawks and Northern Harriers were also in abundance 
along the roads, on utility poles and hovering just above the prairie. Fall 
birding is proving to be great from my perspective. 



Dan Buchanan
P.O. Box 879
Jamestown, ND 
Tel.  Fax.
E-mail:  bulaw AT daktel.com

Birders --
   
 My husband and I walked an evergreen shelter belt at our ranch yesterday as 
the afternoon was fading. We found at least four, maybe five, long-eared owls. 
This planting is about 25 years old, three rows, more than a fourth mile -- but 
less than a half mile -- in length. It's primarily thick junipers but quite a 
few pines and some spruce. Almost every long-eared owl I've ever seen has been 
in this shelterbelt. We've recorded them also on  (at least four that 
time), 11-2-02, and 2-6-00. On 9-19-01 we found one about two miles from this 
place, in a perfectly open, treeless spot. One has to wonder if they're here 
every year, and for how long???? 

   
 This ranch site is about 12 miles south of Hettinger, in Perkins Co, SD. Not 
an ND location, but pretty close. 

   
  Jan Sailer
  Hettinger
   

       
---------------------------------
Pinpoint customers who are looking for what you sell. 

A friend  who lives south of Menoken reported that yesterday afternoon he
and several others were sitting on his deck being entertained by flocks of
Sandhills circling overhead.  Then they saw a group of 10 whoopers with
them, visible for about 1/2 hour and watched with binoculars.  He has seen
whoopers several times before as had another in his group so I consider his
sighting reliable.
I saw 3 peregrine falcons near the bridge 25 miles SW of Mandan on two days
last weekend.  We had seen a peregrine or sometimes two in the area for
several weeks.  The Heart river forms quite a number of high rocky cliffs
for a few miles in that area, so next spring I plan to snoop around for
possible nesting.
Last week while helping a friend haul silage a few miles south of this
weekend's sighting I noted a peregrine several times over a couple of days.
 I noticed a Northern Harrier fly by and the peregrine dived from a hundred
feet up and hit the Harrier making feathers fly.  The harrier limped away,
obviously hurt and fluttered in on a hillside 1/4 mile away, but the falcon
lost interest and flew away in the other direction.  My question  - was the
falcon trying to kill and eat the Harrier or simply drive it away?  I didn't
have time to check out the Harrier but watched it intermittently with
binoculars for several hours with it lying on the ground, not sitting
normally before it disappeared during one of my absences.
In the same area 2 friends and I watched a merlin snatch a flying junco out
of a flock.  We were impressed!

Greetings ND-Birders:
   This evening I walked Sleepy Hollow Park in Bismarck and flushed a
Saw-whet Owl beside the trail.   After observing the gem for a few
minutes, I turned to go home for a camera.  There 30 yards away was
sitting owl #2 in plain sight.   Both owls remained perched for the 1.5
hours I was there at the park.  

The following were the birds of interest:
Northern Saw-whet Owl (2) - first in 12 years in Burleigh
Tennessee Warbler - Bismarck/Mandan latest by 10 days
Orange-crowned Warbler - our latest is 10/20
Purple Finch(2)

Good Birding,
Corey Ellingson
Bismarck, ND 
 

Birders,
This Sunday morning at about 10:20 we were treated to a rare site here in our 
yard. We have had a Great Horned Owl (GHO) around for several years but today 
He/She did something I have never observed before, let alone up close. 

Looking out our kitchen window we first saw the owl running along the ground by 
the trailer my canoe is on. I at first thought he might be after one of the 
barn kittens but he flew up and perched on the Canoe and sat there for several 
minutes surveying the lawn then glided down to the grass and started chasing 
something. That's when I had to get the spotting scope and see what he was 
after. 

As I watched, one after another, he was catching grasshoppers. They had not 
been killed by the frost yet, but they hadn't warmed up enough to move very 
fast so the owl was having a feast. 

Of course I have seen many birds, small owls, and hawks catch grasshoppers but 
this was a first for a GHO and only a few feet from our kitchen window. It was 
actually quite comical to watch as it chased the grasshoppers with the wings 
down like skirts making the GHO appear to float like a ghost across the grass 
in pursuit of Sunday brunch. 


Bob Peterson
4 miles north of 
Heimdal, ND
Benson County

Emily and I birded Long Lake NWR yesterday.  Highlights included 5
long-eared owls and a sedge wren.  It was a very good raptor day.  We had
60 red-tailed hawks, 12 northern harriers, 2 sharp-shinned hawks, a
Cooper's hawk, a merlin and 2 American kestrels.

Dan Svingen
Grasslands Biologist
Dakota Prairie Grasslands
Bismarck, ND
 ext. 107

        Sunday afternoon we had a Red Breasted Nuthatch enjoying the sun
flower feeder and several White Throated Sparrows on the ground
underneath picking up what was dropped.

Mel and Elaine Bennefeld
North Fargo

Birders,
While driving around looking for cranes a few of the birds observed were 13 
Tundra Swans on the outskirts of Ryder, 114 Long-billed Dowitcher near Douglas 
and 8 Greater Yellowlegs 2 miles south of Lonetree. Numerous flocks of 
Sandhills but no apparent Whoopers. 

Sherry Leslie
Rural Burlington 



_______________________________________________
Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com
The most personalized portal on the Web!

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Ackerman, Daniel S. 
Date: Oct 4, 2007 12:50 PM
Subject: FW: Sand Hill Cranes
To: dackman81 AT gmail.com



 ------------------------------
*From:* Huncovsky, Tom M.
*Sent:* Thursday, October 04, 2007 12:48 PM
*To:* Wermers, Greg L.; Davis, Mike A.; Kessler, Steven E.; Mack Huncovsky;
Reidman, Robin R.; Baggenstoss, Karen U.; Ackerman, Daniel S.; Kunkel,
Nicole M.; Jeff Torreson
*Subject:* FW: Sand Hill Cranes


 Great photographs and you can turn the music down if you prefer.

Tom Huncovsky
NDDOT



    ROBERT GROVER PHOTOGRAPHY - Presented by

Phanfare 

*read before you click on the hyperlink. it's really interesting and
beautiful.....This guy is an artist with his camera*

 One of our Sand Hill Crane couples recently had an exciting
addition to their family. When they built their nest near the water's
edge it immediately drew attention of passers by. Soon there were two
eggs sitting on top of the nest and the mother on top of them.

    Those of us who were really curious passed by the site every
morning and we would stop our cars to get out and see if there were any
new cranes yet. Many brought cameras of all shapes and sizes and would
stand near the water for long periods of time hoping to catch a photo of
the hatching.

    Robert Grover, a dentist, didn't actually catch the birth but,
he sure did capture some fabulous shots of the Momma, Papa and baby (the
second egg never hatched). Then he put together a slide show with music
that is just too good to not share it.


  ------------------------------





-- 
Daniel S. Ackerman
2015 N. 16th St. #14
Bismarck, ND  58501
(C):

ND-Birders:

This morning at the Clark Salyer HQ I had an Evening Grosbeak. It flew off to 
the west and was not relocated. There was also a Winter Wren in the shelterbelt 
east of the HQ building. 


Good birding,
Ron Martin
16900 125th St. SE
Sawyer, ND 58781
jrmartin AT srt.com

Hi: On Sat., the 13th, about 9:15 am, my wife and I observed a female pileated 
woodpecker in the SE part of Harvey, North Dakota, which is in Wells Co.. This 
bird was working the telephone poles along Jackson St, checking each and every 
crevice. We were able to get several good shots, both slides as well as 
digital, despite the fact that in my haste to photograph the bird, my beanbag 
which I use for the window to support my 500 mm lens fell off to the ground and 
broke open spilling rice all along the street. Several cars passing by were 
sure wondering what was happening! At least we did not get hit and it was a 
great bird for our area. Good birding, Wayne Easley at  

       
---------------------------------
Catch up on fall's hot new shows on Yahoo! TV. Watch previews, get listings, 
and more! 

Greetings
 
 I birded Grand Forks County today. In the afternoon I joined up with Eve 
Freeberg and here are some of the highlights. 

 
 
 5 - Trumpeter Swan  near McCanna thanks to David Lambeth
 1 - Sabine's Gull
20 - Snow Bunting 
  *   Red-tailed Hawk  - almost every where in all flavors
 
Good Birding 
Dean Riemer 
West Fargo ND
 
 
 


CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for 
the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and 
privileged information. Any unauthorized review, copy, use, disclosure, or 
distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please 
contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original 
message. 

ND-Birders:

Corey E. and I made the rounds in McHenry County today. Following are a few 
notes from the day. 


Com. Loon - 5
Horned Grebe - 56, a good total for fall.
Clark's Grebe - 1 at Buffalo Lodge L.
Surf Scoter - 2 at Round Lake.
Prairie Falcon - 1
Smith's Longspur - 7 at two locations.
Snow Bunting - 1, first for the fall season.

Good birding,
Ron Martin
16900 125th St. SE
Sawyer, ND 58781
jrmartin AT srt.com

Yesterday (10/12) I birded the country between Jamestown and Valley City.
The highlight was a quite tame long-eared owl in a pine grove along the
south side of Pipestem Reservoir.  Other birds in this area were
red-breasted nuthatch (abundant), pine siskin, purple finch, and hermit
thrush (1).  I may have heard red-crossbill at the south end of the
Jamestown Reservoir, but I'm completely sure.

 

At Eckleson Slough in Barnes County I got a single Forster's Tern.  

 

North of Valley City, there were plenty of red-breasted nuthatches, more
purple finches, and a single golden-crowned kinglet.  

 

Harris sparrows and juncos were abundant throughout the area.  

 

I forgot to post this, but I took a run along the Sheyenne River north of
Valley City on Sunday 10/7 and got the following:

 

-          golden-crowned kinglet

-          purple finch (3)

-          black-billed magpie (2 birds about 2 miles north of the fish
hatchery)

-          green heron (1 bird along the river at Faust Park)

-          hermit thrush (1)

-          sandhill crane (4)

 

Mark Otnes

Fargo ND


markotnes AT cableone.net

 

 

 

 

ND-Birders:

I did a 2 hour hawk watch on the south edge of the Souris Valley near the Minot 
landfill this afternoon. 


N. Harrier - 2
Sharp-sh. Hawk - 13
Cooper's Hawk - 1
N. Goshawk -1
Red-t. Hawk - 77
Am. Kestrel - 4

I noted quite a few other species flying by, including my first N. Shrike of 
the fall. There was a push of Purple Finches today, with 18 in Oak Park in 
Minot and a couple at my feeder near Sawyer. Also, Pine Siskins seem to be 
everywhere the last couple of days. 


Good birding,
Ron Martin
16900 125th St. SE
Sawyer, ND 58781
jrmartin AT srt.com

Greedings
 
 After seeing Bob O'Connor's earlier post about the White-winged Scoters, I 
decided to see if I could relocate them this evening. Shorty after arriving at 
the lagoons I was met by Pat Beauzay. We found the following in the southwest 
cell of the Fargo Lagoons. 

 
5 - White-winged Scoters
1 - Black Scoter
1 - Long-tailed Duck
 
Good Birding 
Dean Riemer
West Fargo ND
 


CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for 
the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and 
privileged information. Any unauthorized review, copy, use, disclosure, or 
distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please 
contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original 
message. 

Hi,

There were two male White-winged Scoters still in breeding plumage in the
southwest cell of the Fargo Sewage Lagoons on Friday afternoon.  They were
easy to scope from the south gate.  There may have been at least one
female with them, but I was having such trouble with the light-sensitivity
of my eyes (from recent lasik treatments) that I gave up on them.  Hope
someone gives the ponds a thorough search over the weekend.  I suspect
there may be other good birds around.

Bob O'Connor

Barnes Co, north of Valley City

This morning at the sunflower feeder, there was a very bright  reddish 
finch with a triangular topknot on the crown of his head.
It was brighter than the other house finches there, and none of the 
house finches I've noticed flared up the top of the crown feathers either.

Are they or purple finches known to flare up their crown feathers?

I didn't get a picture as it wasn't there long enough and I haven't seen 
it return yet.  It also had a roundish red-orange patch on the butt and 
the streak behind the eye was brownish. 
-- 
Jean Legge
 Ave. SE
Valley City, ND 58072

j legge  AT  daktel.com

ND-Birders:

This evening there was a N. Saw-whet Owl giving various calls at my residence 
near Sawyer. At Buffalo Lodge Lake in McHenry Co. there was a single Red-br. 
Merganser. Two Surf Scoters were at the Minot Lagoons on this past Monday. 


Good birding,
Ron Martin
16900 125th St. SE
Sawyer, ND 58781
jrmartin AT srt.com

Hello Fellow Birders,
This morning a Song Sparrow joined the flock :-) .

-- 
Rick 
Fargo, ND
N 46�53.251"
W 096�48.279"

Remember the USS Liberty

http://www.ussliberty.org/
http://picasaweb.google.com/PaWalleye/NebraskaBirds
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ AT N00/

Greetings ND-Birders:
   I checked the Landfill yesterday afternoon and found 2 Lesser Black-back 
adults.  One bird had an entirely black mantle, while the other one had 
white feathering mixed in.   There was also 2 California adults, and the 
Herring Gull numbers are inching up.
   A check of Sleepy Hollow Park yielded a look at the Townsend's Solitaire 
that was reported the day before, and a continuing Fox Sparrow.

Good Birding,
Corey Ellingson
Bismarck, ND

Single individual on the east central cell just before sunset. Fargo lagoons.
keith corliss
west fargo

Last night around 6:00, John Hoganson and Cathy Clayton found a Townsend's 
Solitaire at Sleepy Hollow Park in Bismarck. The Bird flew out of the wooded 
ravine area and to the east where a stand of junipers adorns the hill. 

   
  Cathy Clayton
  Bismarck


  The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once.    
                                                           Albert Einstein


       
---------------------------------
Yahoo! oneSearch: Finally,  mobile search that gives answers, not web links. 

* RBA

* North Dakota
* Statewide
* October 9, 2007
* NDST0710.09

- Transcript

Hotline: North Dakota Update
Date: October 9, 2007
Number:
To Report:
Coverage: Statewide
Compiler: Ken Torkelson, USFWS
Compiled: October 9, 2007
Transcriber: Jane Kostenko
mailto:kenneth_torkelson AT fws.gov

- Birds Mentioned

GYRFALCON
PRAIRIE FALCON
LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL
Herring Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Long-eared Owl
Fox Sparrow
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
Brown Creeper
Orange-crowned Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Townsend's Solitaire
Eastern Bluebird
Bald Eagle
Common Goldeneye
Common Loon
Great Egret
Forster's Tern
Northern Shrike
Smith's Longspur
American Tree Sparrow
Rusty Blackbird
Surf Scoter
Cattle Egret
Great Blue Heron
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Red-tailed Hawk
Belted Kingfisher
American White Pelican
Canada Goose
CACKLING GOOSE
Greater White-fronted Goose
Tundra Swan
Bonaparte's Gull
Ruddy Duck
Bufflehead
American Wigeon
American Coot
Double-crested Cormorant
Redhead
Canvasback
Mallard
Ring-necked Duck
Red-necked Grebe
Pied-billed Grebe
Western Grebe
Killdeer
American Avocet
Pectoral Sandpiper
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Franklin's Gull
Black-bellied Plover
Peregrine Falcon
Savannah Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Harris's Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Winter Wren
Dark-eyed Junco
American Goldfinch
Purple Finch
Blue Jay
Northern Saw-whet Owl
White-breasted Nuthatch
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
American Robin
Pine Siskin
Song Sparrow
Black-capped Chickadee
Short-eared Owl
Sora
Common Grackle
Northern Flicker
House Finch
Lincoln's Sparrow
Clay-colored Sparrow
Western Meadowlark
Cedar Waxwing
Red-breasted Nuthatchdou
American Crow
Nashville Warbler

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, October 9. Unless otherwise
noted, any phone numbers mentioned are area code 701.

Transcriber's Note: Birds listed in ALL CAPS in the Birds Mentioned
section signify that the Revised Checklist of North Dakota Birds
lists them as Occasional, Accidental, Extirpated, or never having
occurred before for the season being reported.

The great fall sightings continue this week.

Dan Svingen found a brown, juvenile GYRFALCON just east of Moffit in
southern Burleigh County on Oct. 7.  He says it was along the so-called
Moffit Road, about 5.5 miles east of Hwy.1804.  For more information, call
Dan at , ext. 107.

Clark Talkington and Corey Ellingson say the GYRFALCON was still present
that afternoon, and a PRAIRIE FALCON was seen just east of Lincoln.  Clark
was able to pick out a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL and a HERRING GULL from
the
one-thousand RING-BILLED GULLS at the Bismarck landfill on Oct. 8.  From
Sleepy Hollow Park in Bismarck, he flushed a LONG-EARED OWL and saw a FOX
SPARROW and some RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS.  One day earlier, the park held
the
owl and the kinglets, as well as GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS, HERMIT THRUSH,
BROWN CREEPER, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS and FOX
SPARROW.  Later that day, Clark and Corey recorded a TOWNSEND�S SOLITAIRE,
66 EASTERN BLUEBIRDS and three young BALD EAGLES along Hwy. 1806 north of
Mandan.  You can reach Clark at ctalkington AT bis.midco.net

Corey Ellingson was part of a group of Bismarck-Mandan Birdclub members who
birded northern and eastern Burleigh County on Oct. 6.  Their total of 85
species included COMMON GOLDENEYE, COMMON LOON at New John�s Lake and
Heckers Lake, two GREAT EGRETS, two PRAIRIE FALCONS north of Sterling,
five
FORSTER�S TERNS at New John�s Lake, the earliest-ever NORTHERN SHRIKE for
the county, a SMITH�S LONGSPUR on a fenceline, and seasonal firsts
GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET, AMERICAN TREE SPARROW and RUSTY BLACKBIRD.  For
details on those sightings, contact Corey at tcellingson AT juno.com

Jack Lefor discovered a SURF SCOTER on cell #4 at the Dickinson lagoons on
Oct. 2.  For details, contact him at jpl AT ndsupernet.com

Jan Sailer recorded a lone CATTLE EGRET at Mirror Lake in Hettinger on Oct.
4.  Other sightings included a TOWNSEND�S SOLITAIRE, GREAT BLUE HERON,
GREATER YELLOWLEGS, LESSER YELLOWLEGS, several dowitchers, an immature
RED-TAILED HAWK and at least one BELTED KINGFISHER.  For more information,
contact Jan at jngsailer AT yahoo.com

Sherry Leslie and Rexanne Bruno enjoyed a good day of birding on Oct. 3.
At Buffalo Lodge Lake near Granville in McHenry County, they saw 35
AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS, 579 CANADA GEESE, 25 CACKLING GEESE, nine GREATER
YELLOWLEGS, five GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE, 75 TUNDRA SWANS, five
BONAPARTE�S GULLS, RUDDY DUCKS, BUFFLEHEADS, AMERICAN WIGEON, AMERICAN
COOTS, DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS, REDHEADS, CANVASBACKS, MALLARDS,
RING-NECKED DUCKS, RED-NECKED GREBE, PIED-BILLED GREBE, WESTERN GREBE and
RING-BILLED GULLS.  Moving on to the Minot sewage lagoons, they found 10
KILLDEER, 202 AMERICAN AVOCETS, eight PECTORAL SANDPIPERS, SEMIPALMATED
SANDPIPER, three FRANKLIN�S GULLS, two HERRING GULLS, two BLACK-BELLIED
PLOVERS, a WESTERN GREBE, a PEREGRINE FALCON chasing a RED-TAILED HAWK,
SAVANNAH SPARROWS, VESPER SPARROWS, WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS, HARRIS�
SPARROWS and a WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW.  At Oak Park in Minot, the highlight
was a WINTER WREN.  Sherry reported a DARK-EYED JUNCO invasion and the
return of the AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES on Sept. 29-30.  Then, on Oct. 4, at
least 10 HARRIS� SPARROWS, a WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW, AMERICAN TREE SPARROW,
eight WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS and a RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET at rural
Burlington.  Sherry says her Oct. 1 posting should have read 200 TUNDRA
SWANS and two TRUMPETER SWANS just north of Barton.  On Oct. 8, her
yardbirds included HARRIS� SPARROW, TREE SPARROW, DARK-EYED JUNCO,
AMERICAN GOLDFINCH, PURPLE FINCH, WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW, WHITE-THROATED
SPARROW, BLUE JAY, NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL, WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH, DOWNY
WOODPECKER, HAIRY WOODPECKER, AMERICAN ROBIN, PINE SISKIN, SONG SPARROW
and BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE.  For details on those sightings, contact
Sherry at sherry_leslie AT excite.com

Keith Corliss has been driving a combine during the soybean harvest, and
recording some good sightings.  He saw a SHORT-EARED OWL just north of
Fargo�s Hector Airport on Oct. 3, and a SORA on Oct. 4.  Keith is at
kcorliss AT forumcomm.com

Also from Fargo, Becky Oberlander had her first fall HARRIS� SPARROWS
arrive at her feeders on Oct. 9.  Contact her at raoberlander AT hotmail.com

Rick Holbrook had a nice collection of sparrows in his Fargo yard on Oct.
9.  The mix included a FOX SPARROW, HOUSE SPARROWS, WHITE-CROWNED
SPARROWS, AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS, WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS and HARRIS�
SPARROWS.  You can reach Rick at fholbrook AT cableone.net

>From rural New Town, Bernice Houser saw a lot of WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS
and HARRIS� SPARROWS on Oct. 5, along with several male PURPLE FINCHES, a
few COMMON GRACKLES, HAIRY WOODPECKERS, DOWNY WOODPECKERS, NORTHERN
FLICKER, PINE SISKINS, HOUSE FINCHES, AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES, DARK-EYED
JUNCOS and one WHITE-THROATED SPARROW.  On Oct. 3, a LINCOLN�S SPARROW
joined the WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS, WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS, HARRIS�
SPARROWS, CLAY-COLORED SPARROWS and DARK-EYED JUNCOS in her yard, about a
dozen PINE SISKINS were feeding with a few AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES, and the
highlight of the day was a late WESTERN MEADOWLARK.  For more information,
contact Bernice at sanishnd AT hotmail.com

Dan Buchanan saw a flock of a dozen or more CEDAR WAXWINGS in trees behind
the Wells Fargo Bank in Jamestown on Oct. 6.  On the following day, he
observed RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, two or three BELTED KINGFISHERS, four or
five AMERICAN CROWS, four or five DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS,
GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLET, more than 20 RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS, RING-BILLED
GULL, NORTHERN FLICKER, AMERICAN ROBIN and a probable juvenile
SHARP-SHINNED HAWK or COOPER�S HAWK at the base of Jamestown Dam.  Back in
his yard, Dan saw two RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES, plus BLUE JAYS, AMERICAN
ROBIN and a few YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS.  You can reach Dan at .

Also from Jamestown, Carl Stangeland saw two FOX SPARROWS, two
GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS, a NASHVILLE WARBLER and numerous RUBY-CROWNED
KINGLETS, ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS and YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS on the White
Cloud nature trails.  Contact Carl at carlcs AT daktel.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 1,100 Waterfowl Production Areas in North
Dakota...offering some of the best birding opportunities in the state.
Contact refuge managers for more information about visiting. For phone
numbers of individual refuges, as well as additional information, go to
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service web site at www.fws.gov  Click on
Offices, and click on North Dakota on the map.

- end transcript

Hello Fellow birders,

This morning I looked out at what I thought was a Song Sparrow but, 
using Binos it turned out to be a Fox Sparrow.  It is in a group of 
HOSPs, White-crowned Sparrows, American Tree Sparrows, White-throated 
Sparrows and Harris's Sparrows.

-- 
Rick 
Fargo, ND
N 46�53.251"
W 096�48.279"

Remember the USS Liberty

http://www.ussliberty.org/
http://picasaweb.google.com/PaWalleye/NebraskaBirds
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ AT N00/

Today I have my first fall Harris's Sparrows at the feeders.

Becky Oberlander
raoberlander AT hotmail.com
Fargo, ND

On the White Cloud nature trails this afternoon I saw two Fox Sparrows, two 
Golden-crowned Kinglets, a Nashville Warbler and numerous Ruby-crowned 
Kinglets, Orange-crowned and Yellow-rumped Warblers. 

  Carl Stangeland
Jamestown
carlcs AT daktel.com

 On Saturday 10/6 at 6:00 p.m. there was a flock of a dozen or more Cedar 
Waxwings perched in trees behind Wells Fargo Bank. 

 Sunday 10/7 midday at the base of Jamestown Dam: Red-breasted Nuthatch (1), 
Belted Kingfisher, male and female, (2-3), American Crow (4-5), Double-crested 
Cormorant (4-5 and a V formation), Golden-crowned Kinglet, female (1), 
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (20+), Ring-billed Gull (1), Northern Flicker (1), 
American Robin (3) and what appeared to be an Accipiter, probably juvenile 
Sharp-shinned or Cooper's Hawk. 

 At home, Red-breasted Nuthatches (2) most noteworthy, with Blue Jays, American 
Robin and a few Yellow-rumped Warblers. 


Dan Buchanan
P.O. Box 879
Jamestown, ND 
Tel.  Fax.
E-mail:  bulaw AT daktel.com

Bismarck Landfill - This mourning out of 1,000+ Ring-bill
Gulls I was able to find a Lesser-Blacked Gull and a Herring
Gull.

Bismarck Sleepy Hollow Park - I flushed the Long-eared Owl once again, and
was able to find a Fox Sparrow and some Ruby-crowned Kinglets.

Clark Talkington
Mandan

Oct. 1st I posted that we observed 200 Trumpeter Swans, but according to my 
ledger, I have written 200 Tundra and 2 Trumpeters, which sounds more 
reasonable! Also on Oct. 5th I posted 2 Clark's Grebe at Buffalo Lodge Lake and 
they should have been Westerns.(Will try and do a better job of proof reading) 

Today for yardbirds we have Harris, Tree Sparrows, Juncos, Goldfinch, Purple 
Finch, White-crown and White-throated, Blue Jays, 1 Saw-whet Owl, 
White-breasted Nuthatchs, Downy and Hairys, Robins,Pine Siskin, Song Sparrow, 
and Chickadees. The Eastern Bluebirds are getting ready to leave and the 
Turkeys are coming in larger numbers. 

Sherry Leslie
Rural Burlington



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Greetings ND-Birders:
Correction - when I posted yesterday on the Sleepy Hollow birds, the date 
was Sunday Oct 7th.  I inadvertently typed "the morning" instead of "this 
morning".   The Bismarck-Mandan fieldtrip was on Saturday Oct 6th.

Update - The Gyrfalcon was still present at 2pm upon our arrival.  A photo 
was posted to the ND Birding Society website. Clark Talkington and I both 
observed the bird.  http://www.ndbirdingsociety.com/upload/GYRF-Bur.jpg  
Upon the return trip from the Gyrfalcon, a Prairie Falcon was observed just 
east of Lincoln along Lincoln road.

Addendum - Clark and I birded the afternoon by traveling north along 1806 
north of Mandan past Cross Ranch, then over to Nelson Lake.  Birding was 
pretty quiet on the west side of the river.  Highlights included a 
Townsend's Solitaire along 1806, which was a county first for both of us.  
It was flycatching off a buffalo berry patch.  Also along 1806 was 66 
Eastern Bluebirds - they stage in mid-October, and 3 young Bald Eagles.

Good Birding,
Corey Ellingson
Bismarck, ND

Greetings ND-Birders:
   Temps are in the mid-40s, drizzle and north winds brought the birds
down this weekend (so far).  Yesterday the Bismarck-Mandan Birdclub had
an outing to New Johns Lake, then eastward to Salt Lake and Wing, then
south through McKenzie Slough on the way home.  Attendees were Betty
Morgan, Clark Talkington, Linda and Corey Ellingson.  We recorded roughly
85 species on the day with the following highlights:

Common Goldeneye - my FOS (First of Season)
Common Loon (New Johns, and Heckers Lake)
Great Egret - 2
Prairie Falcon - 2 along Hwy 14 north of Sterling
Forster's Tern - 5 at New Johns Lake
Northern Shrike - 1 (Earliest ever for Bismarck area)
Golden-crowned Kinglet (FOS)
American Tree Sparrow (FOS)
SMITH'S LONGSPUR - sitting on a fenceline 
Rusty Blackbird - 5 (FOS)

The morning, Clark Talkington and I both independently walked Sleepy
Hollow which is really hopping with birds.  The following was observed:
Long-eared Owl
Golden-crowned and Ruby Kinglets
Hermit Thrush (FOS)
Brown Creeper
Orange-crowned and Yellow Rumped warblers
Fox Sparrow (FOS)

Good Birding, I am on my way out the door for a Burleigh Gyrfalcon.
Corey Ellingson
Bismarck, ND

Greetings ND-Birders:
   Dan Svingen just called to report a brown juvenile GYRFALCON 5.5 miles
east of Hwy 1804 along the Moffit Road.  This road cuts across from Hwy
1804 to the town of Moffit and Long Lake NWR.

Good Birding,
Corey Ellingson
Bismarck, ND

This (October 5) has been a most miserable day!!  Maybe even a "Corey 
Ellingson" day!   There were a lot of White-crowned and Harris' Sparrows, 
and several male Purple Finches (have only had females up until today), a 
few Common Grackles, which have been absent for well over a month, both 
Downy & Hairy Woodpeckers, Northern Flicker, Pine Siskins, House Finches, 
Goldfinches, Dark-eyed Juncos and one White-throated Sparrow--almost a 
feeding frenzy this morning, but with the strong wind, they were pretty 
much absent the rest of the day.   

Old Stuff:  On this date in 1987, I listed, among other birds, "Juncos--
everywhere!!", 2 Common Grackles, one of which was eating discarded BBQ 
potato chips, and 25 Blackbirds (Rusty?) in the yard.  A trip to Makoti 
Lake added dozens of Ruddy Ducks, and 3 Great Blue Herons, one of which 
was dead, to the daily listing.  There were 14 species listed for the 
yard, which wasn't very spectacular.

Happy Birding!
Bernice Houser
Rural New Town
sanishnd AT hotmail.com

Wed. 10-3
I took Rexanne Bruno, from Virgina, birding Minot's Oak Park, Denbigh 
Experimental Forrest, Buffalo Lodge Lake and the Minot Sewage Lagoons. Some of 
the highlights of Buffalo Lodge were: 

35 Pelicans
579 Canada Geese
25 Cackling
9 Greater Yellowlegs
5 Greater White-fronted Geese
75 Tundra Swans
5 Bonaparte Gulls
1 Red-necked Grebe
Ruddy, Bufflehead, Wigeons, Coots, Cormorant, Redheads, Canvasbacks, Mallards, 
Ringneck, Pied-billed and Clark's Grebe, and Ring-billed Gulls. 

Lagoons:
10 Killdeer
202 Avocets (gorgeous winter plummage)
8 Pectoral Sandpipers
1 Semi-palmated
3 Franklin Gulls
2 Herring Gulls 
2 Black-bellied Plovers 
1 Western Grebe
Peregrine Falcon chasing a Red Tail out of his territory  
Savannah's, Vespers, White-throats, Harris and 1 White-crown were the Sparrows 
of the day. 

Highlight of Oak Park was a Winter Wren.
Good birding!
Sherry Leslie
Rural Burlington



_______________________________________________
Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com
The most personalized portal on the Web!

In the course of driving a combine during soybean harvest here in the
Red River Valley, a person makes some curious observations. Skunks,
badgers, plenty of vesper and savannah sparrows. Then there are the
raptors which seem to have evolved a sort of symbiosis with farm
equipment; they're always right there to catch a scrambling vole.
Wednesday afternoon I scared up a short-eared owl just north of Hector
airport. Then yesterday there was a sora. This rail would wait until I
got about 10 feet away with the header coming right at him then start to
run straight away. After about 100 yards or so it would weakly lift into
the air and into the uncut area. You know what's coming: yeah, I met
this particular bird again and again where it exhibited the same
behavior for probably six or eight rounds before it finally decided to
head toward the cut part of the field. One doesn't normally associate
soras with bean fields but as we have all come to learn, this time of
year all bets are off.

 

Keith Corliss

West Fargo

This past weekend we had the Junco invasion and the return of the Goldfinch. 
Today there were over 10 Harris Sparrows, 1 White-crowned, 1 American Tree 
Sparrow, 8 White-throats and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. The birds (and Turkeys) 
are very dry, and we end up filling our bird baths a couple times a day. 

Sherry leslie
Rural Burlington


_______________________________________________
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The most personalized portal on the Web!

All --
   
 There was a lone cattle egret at Mirror Lake in Hettinger this afternoon, a 
very uncommon visitor for us. Other good things: a Townsend's solitaire, a 
great blue heron, many yellowlegs -- mostly greater -- and one of the 
dowitchers (several individuals). An immature red-tailed hawk has been hanging 
around; its tail is getting longer. At least one belted kingfisher is still 
here. 

   
  Jan Sailer
  Hettinger

       
---------------------------------
Boardwalk for $500? In 2007? Ha! 
Play Monopoly Here and Now (it's updated for today's economy) at Yahoo! Games.

-----Original Message-----
From: Ellen Blackstone [mailto:ellen AT 123imagine.net] 
Sent: Thursday, October 04, 2007 3:21 PM
To: ND-BIRDS-Request AT listserv.nodak.edu; Bell, Tyler
Subject: ND-Birds

Thanks for the help! I've enjoyed my time with ND-Birds, and thoroughly 
enjoyed the people I've "met."

We're just back from visiting ND and had a great trip.

I'd recommend the list to anybody!

EB

-- 
===================================================
Heaven goes by favour. If it went by merit,
you would stay out and your dog would go in.
        --Mark Twain, 

A Lincoln's Sparrow joined the White-crowned, White-throated, Harris', and 
Clay-colored Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos this morning.   And about a 
dozen Pine Siskins were feeding with a few American Goldfinches.   Still a 
couple of Yellow-rumped Warblers, too.  But the highlight of the day was a 
Western Meadowlark!   I went outside this morning and was greeted by a 
meadowlark singing like it was springtime!!   I just stood and listened--
there aren't many birds singing this time of year!

20 years ago (1987) I listed a Northern Waterthrush, a Brown Creeper and 
an Orange-crowned Warbler for this date--none of which has appeared so far 
this year.

Happy Birding!
Bernice Houser
Rural New Town 
sanishnd AT hotmail.com

* RBA
* North Dakota
* Statewide
* Oct. 2, 2007
* NDST0710.02

- Transcript

Hotline: North Dakota Update
Date: October 2, 2007
Number:
To Report:
Coverage: Statewide
Compiler: Ken Torkelson, USFWS
Compiled: October 2, 2007
Transcriber: Jane Kostenko
mailto:kenneth_torkelson AT fws.gov

- Birds Mentioned

LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL
Forster's Tern
Eastern Towhee
Burrowing Owl
SABINE'S GULL
Red Knot
Surf Scoter
Harris's Sparrow
Orange-crowned Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Ovenbird
Yellow-rumped Warbler
White-throated Sparrow
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Purple Finch
Gray Catbird
Scarlet Tanager
Indigo Bunting
Red-tailed Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Townsend's Solitaire
Nashville Warbler
Dark-eyed Junco
Chipping Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Chestnut-collared Longspur
Smith's Longspur
Lapland Longspur
Tundra Swan
Long-billed Dowitcher
Greater Yellowlegs
American White Pelican
Redhead
Canvasback
Ruddy Duck
American Tree Sparrow
Clay-colored Sparrow
Spotted Towhee
Turkey Vulture
Cedar Waxwing
Pine Siskin
Eastern Bluebird
Solitary Sandpiper
American Bittern

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, Oct. 2. All phone numbers
mentioned are area code 701 unless otherwise noted.

Gulls top our report this week.

Clark Talkington discovered a LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL at Long
Lake National Wildlife Refuge on Sept. 28. Other sightings
included three FORSTER'S TERNS and an EASTERN TOWHEE. On the
27th, Clark stopped at a prairie dog town in southeastern Morton
County, where he saw a BURROWING OWL, as well as two badgers and
a mountain lion. For details, contact Clark at
ctalkington AT bis.midco.net

Dean Riemer had two successful lagoon outings in one day. On Sept.
30, he was joined by Ron Martin, Corey Ellingson and Jack Lefor
at the Fargo lagoons, where they found a juvenile SABINE'S GULL
in the southwest cell. Later that day, he teamed up with Paulette
Scherr and Stacy Whipp at the West Fargo lagoons, where they
found another (or was it the same?) juvenile SABINE'S GULL. For
more information, try Dean at driemer AT kwh.com

Eve Freeberg had some good "gulling" northwest of Grand Forks in
late September and early October. She saw two SABINE'S GULLS on
Sept. 28 and added four more on Oct. 1. Other sightings included
two RED KNOTS on Sept. 25 and 14 SURF SCOTERS including nine
juveniles on Oct. 1.  Eve adds that a drawdown of the Turtle
River pool near County 11 at Kellys Slough National Wildlife
Refuge has attracted about 500 birds of various species. For
more information, call her at .

With the Sept. 28 arrival of a HARRIS'S SPARROW in Fargo, Rick
Holbrook says all the migrant sparrows have shown up. He also
saw several ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS and TENNESSEE WARBLERS that
day. On Sept. 25, Rick reported an OVENBIRD hopping around under
his feeders and hedge. Contact him at fholbrook AT cableone.net

Linda Gregg has a lot of YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS in her back yard
in Horace. The first fall WHITE-THROATED SPARROW arrived on Sept.
30, and she reported lingering RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRDS at her
feeders, as well as at least one pair of PURPLE FINCHES. One
week earlier, she reported a brief visit from a GRAY CATBIRD,
after having at least two pair and young over the summer.
She's at lgregg AT wah.midco.net

Dave Lambeth got photos of a female or immature SCARLET TANAGER
that bathed in his Grand Forks yard for several minutes on Sept.
29. He believes it could be the latest or one of the latest
sightings in the state. Dave also had a late INDIGO BUNTING �
probably a juvenile�on Sept. 26 and 27. He says the bird came
with migrant sparrows to seed scattered on the ground. You can
reach Dave at davidlambeth58201 AT yahoo.com

Several hundred adult and juvenile RED-TAILED HAWKS converged
at Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center near Jamestown on
the evening of Sept. 28. Larry Igl saw many fights and chases
as the hawks were settling onto their perches. He adds that
there have been a few BROAD-WINGED HAWKS in the area during
the past week or so. You can reach Larry at .

From Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge, biologist Make
Rabenberg saw a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE and a couple NASHVILLE
WARBLERS at the "stone house" on Sept. 27, followed by the
first DARK-EYED JUNCO of the season and a BLUE JAY on Sept.
28, and many DARK-EYED JUNCOS plus HARRIS'S SPARROWS,
CHIPPING SPARROWS, WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS and WHITE-THROATED
SPARROWS that arrived overnight and were in the yard on the
morning of Sept. 29. Contact Mike at michael_rabenberg AT fws.gov

Ron Martin recorded a longspur "hat trick" in a pasture in
southern McHenry County on Oct. 1. He saw six CHESTNUT-COLLARED
LONGSPURS, four SMITH'S LONGSPURS and 50 LAPLAND LONGSPURS.
For details, contact Ron at jrmartin AT srt.com

Sherry Leslie found a body of water just north of Barton that
held a good variety of birds. On Oct. 1, she counted 200
TUNDRA SWANS, 12 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, a lone GREATER
YELLOWLEGS, two AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS, REDHEADS, CANVASBACKS,
RUDDY DUCKS and numerous other waterfowl. You can reach Sherry
at sherry_leslie AT excite.com

The first AMERICAN TREE SPARROW of fall arrived at Bernice
Houser's yard near New Town on Sept. 29. One day earlier, two
PURPLE FINCHES showed up, and joined CLAY-COLORED SPARROWS,
CHIPPING SPARROWS, HARRIS'S SPARROWS, WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS,
DARK-EYED JUNCOS and a SPOTTED TOWHEE. She also saw a flock
of 15 TURKEY VULTURES. The first WHITE-THROATED SPARROW of
the season came to Bernice's feeders on Sept. 25, and her
yard also attracted YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, CEDAR WAXWINGS
and PINE SISKINS. On Sept. 27, she reported a good increase
in DARK-EYED JUNCOS and HARRIS'S SPARROWS, while a pair of
male EASTERN BLUEBIRDS came to the birdbath. You can find
Bernice at sanishnd AT hotmail.com

Finally, a belated report of a SOLITARY SANDPIPER and an
AMERICAN BITTERN three miles west of Bowman on Sept. 8. The
phone message came from a Chris Hyatt or Hiatt, and left no
contact information.

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 the map at the bottom of the page, and click on North
Dakota on the next map.

- end transcript

This afternoon, I found a Surf Scoter on cell #4 at the Dickinson Lagoons.

Good birding,

Jack Lefor
Dickinson

ND-Birders:

In a pasture in southern McHenry Co. today I had three species of longspurs:
Chestnut-collared - 6
Smith's - 4
Lapland - 50

Good birding,
Ron Martin
16900 125th St. SE
Sawyer, ND 58781
jrmartin AT srt.com

Birders,
Returning from Duluth we took the northern route thru ND. Just a little north 
past Barton, ND (located on hwy 60 and at mile marker #7) there is a body of 
water which held 200 Trumpeter Swans, Long-billed Dowitchers X 12, Greater 
Yellowlegs X 1, Redheads, Canvasbacks, Ruddy Ducks, Pelicans X 2, and numerous 
other waterfowl. It was very close to Barton and had grazing cattle close by, 
which probably (?) kept the hunters away, so the small lake was full and 
allowed for close range observation. 

Sherry and Gary Leslie
Rural Burlington 



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The most personalized portal on the Web!

Well, I finally got subscribed.  I have however, been looking at the 
archives and see that Corey, Clark, Mark, and others do a great job keeping 
folks posted on birds in the greater Bismarck area.  Here are a few 
sightings I had over the weekend at Long Lake NWR.

Friday 9/27 - One Townsend's solitaire and a couple Nashville warblers at 
the "stone house" where I live.  Yellow-rumps are increasingly abundant.

9/28 - First dark-eyed junco of the season and a blue jay.

9/29 - Many juncos and Harris', chipping, white-crowned, and white-throated 
sparrows arrived overnight and are in the yard this morning.

We have not had any whooping crane sightings reported yet, but it probably 
won't be long.

Mike Rabenberg
Wildlife Biologist
Long Lake NWR

Subject: This Wednesday will be the last day to view the Mango.
From: "Mike Ramsden" 
Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2007 19:22:

Joan indicated to me today that both she and the neighbor down the hill 
would like for this Wednesday Oct 3 to be the last day for birders to come 
view the bird.  I'm going to need everyone's help getting the word out so 
that birders do not keep coming after that.  If you are a member of another 
list-serve in addition to WISBIRD, please forward this message to that list 
or else post the deadline yourself.  Many thanks.

Today was very slow;  the mango was not seen by anyone from about 8:30 a.m. 
onward as far as I know.  Perhaps it was more cooperative this evening.

Here again are the directions:

Directions to 3709 W Sandale Rd, Beloit, WI:

First, get to the intersection of I-90 and I-43 and go west on WI-81.  If 
coming from Milwaukee you would simply take I-43 west toward Beloit until it 
becomes WI-81 at the intersection with I-90.  If coming from Chicago you 
will take I-90 west toward Rockford IL/Wisconsin and then exit onto Highway 
81/ Milwaukee Rd going west into Beloit.  Then, per Mapquest:


1: Proceed on WI-81 W / MILWAUKEE RD. for 0.6 miles to 3rd stoplight

2: Turn RIGHT onto CRANSTON RD., go 2.8 miles.  You will pass several 
stoplights until the road ends at a stoplight at Riverside Drive.

3: Turn RIGHT onto RIVERSIDE DR / US-51, go 0.5 miles to the next stoplight.

4: Turn LEFT onto NEWARK RD / County Q. Continue to follow County Q. 2.7 
miles through one stoplight until reaching the stop sign at HW 213.

5: Turn RIGHT onto S MADISON RD / WI-213, go 0.6 miles to the first road on 
the left.

6: Turn LEFT onto W SANDALE DR. The house is the first driveway that you 
come to on the right.

You will want to park on the street and walk up the driveway to view the 
feeder from either side of the shed by the garage.  The bird moves around 
quite a bit, from the feeder, then perching in trees, then over to three 
more feeders in a neighbor?s back yard, and back.  The neighbor (4297 W 
Sandale) has given permission to view the feeders but not to enter the 
property.  To view the three feeders in that yard, permission has been 
granted from the owners of 3709 W Sandale to do the following:  On the left 
side of the shed is a small opening between the wood fence and the shrubs.  
Walk through there and then along the fence line past the orchard on the 
right, down the hill to the corner of the yard with the three feeders.

When you leave, be sure to sign in on the sheet by the shed.  (I think it is 
still sitting on a folding chair).  Indicate the time the bird was seen and 
where, so the next birders to arrive will have an idea where to look.

Good Birding,
Mike Ramsden
Beloit, Rock County


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