POPE - DOUGLAS COUNTIES MBW

July 15-16-17, 2016

Summary by Craig Mandel (with edits by KRE)

The cool and for the most part dry weather made for a pleasant MBW, although recent rains and the heavy rainfall at night during the weekend filled in most of the locations that had been productive for shorebirds. But at least there were a few migrant shorebirds observed at the Osakis sewage ponds, and Spruce Hill County Park produced 7 species of warblers in addition to both Willow and Alder flycatchers.  

Our day in Pope County turned up the most interesting bird of the three days – a gull standing on the beach in Glenwood which we had identified as a Herring Gull. Thanks to Gerry and his eBird photos of the bird, it was then tentatively (and temporarily) identified as a Great Black-backed Gull by the eBird editor(s). But upon further submission and examination of the photos, it was then changed to a Lesser Black-backed Gull by experts on the North American Gulls Facebook page! (So for those county listers on the trip, make sure to change your Pope County Herring Gull to a first-county-record Lesser Black-backed.)

Other significant sightings in Pope County were the American Bittern, Least Bitterns, and both rails all observed along CR 28 just west of the town of Villard.

Our Saturday itinerary took us into Grant County for a part of the afternoon with hopes of a Snowy or Cattle egret. No luck on those species, but we did add a few interesting birds, including that disoriented immature Vesper Sparrow which was apparently stranded on a Highway 79 bridge.

BIRD LIST (118 species)

P = seen/heard in Pope Co July 15 

D = seen/heard in Douglas Co July 16-17

G = seen/heard in Grant Co July 16

Canada Goose     P, D, G

Trumpeter Swan     D

Wood Duck     P, D, G

Mallard     P, D, G

Blue-winged Teal     P, D, G

Northern Shoveler     D

Canvasback     D

Redhead     D

Ring-necked Duck     P

Hooded Merganser     D

Ring-necked Pheasant     P, D

Wild Turkey     P, D

Common Loon     P, D

Pied-billed Grebe     P, D, G

Red-necked Grebe     P, D

Western Grebe     D

Double-crested Cormorant     P, D, G

American White Pelican     P, D, G

American Bittern     P

Least Bittern     P

Great Blue Heron     P, D, G

Great Egret     P, D, G

Green Heron     P, D, G

Turkey Vulture     P, D

Osprey     D

Bald Eagle     P, D, G

Northern Harrier     P, D

Cooper's Hawk     D

Red-tailed Hawk     P, D, G

Virginia Rail     P

Sora     P, D

Sandhill Crane     P, D

Killdeer     P, D, G

Spotted Sandpiper     P, D

Solitary Sandpiper     D

Lesser Yellowlegs     D

Least Sandpiper     D

Pectoral Sandpiper     D

Wilson's Snipe     D

Franklin's Gull     D

Ring-billed Gull     P, D, G

Lesser Black-backed Gull     P

Black Tern     P, D, G

Rock Pigeon     P, D, G

Eurasian Collared-Dove     D

Mourning Dove     P, D

Chimney Swift    P, D

Ruby-throated Hummingbird     P

Belted Kingfisher     P, D

Red-bellied Woodpecker     D

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker     P, D

Downy Woodpecker     P, D

Hairy Woodpecker     D

Northern Flicker     P, D

Pileated Woodpecker     P, D

American Kestrel     P, D

Eastern Wood-Pewee     P, D

Alder Flycatcher     D

Willow Flycatcher     D

Eastern Phoebe     P, D

Great Crested Flycatcher     D

Eastern Kingbird     P, D, G

Yellow-throated Vireo     P, D

Warbling Vireo     P, D

Red-eyed Vireo     P, D

Blue Jay     P, D

American Crow     P, D, G

Horned Lark     P, D

Purple Martin     P, D

Tree Swallow     P, D, G

Northern Rough-winged Swallow     D

Bank Swallow     D

Cliff Swallow     P, D

Barn Swallow     P, D, G

Black-capped Chickadee     P, D

Red-breasted Nuthatch     D

White-breasted Nuthatch     P, D

House Wren     P, D

Sedge Wren     P, D

Marsh Wren     P, D, G

Eastern Bluebird     P, D

Veery     P, D

American Robin     P, D, G

Gray Catbird     P, D, G

Brown Thrasher     D

European Starling     P, D

Cedar Waxwing     P, D

Ovenbird     D

Golden-winged Warbler     D

Black-and-white Warbler     D

Nashville Warbler     D

Common Yellowthroat     P, D, G

American Redstart     P, D

Yellow Warbler     P, D

Chipping Sparrow     P, D, G

Clay-colored Sparrow     P, D

Field Sparrow     D

Vesper Sparrow     P, D, G

Savannah Sparrow     D

Grasshopper Sparrow     P

Song Sparrow     P, D, G

Swamp Sparrow     P, D, G

Scarlet Tanager     P

Northern Cardinal     P, D

Rose-breasted Grosbeak     P, D

Indigo Bunting     P, D

Dickcissel     P

Bobolink     P

Red-winged Blackbird     P, D, G

Western Meadowlark     D

Yellow-headed Blackbird     P, G

Common Grackle     P, D

Brown-headed Cowbird     P, D

Orchard Oriole     P

Baltimore Oriole     P, D

House Finch     P, D

American Goldfinch     P, D, G

House Sparrow     P, D

Lesser Black-backed Gull (photo by Gerry Hoekstra)

Well, maybe! This second-year immature was first mistaken for a Herring Gull by the MBW group (apparently birding without Proper Adult Supervision), it was then temporarily posted as a Great Black-backed on eBird, and still later the consensus on the North American Gulls Facebook page became Lesser Black- backed. But this ID was apparently not without dissent – I'd be more comfortable just calling it a Sea Gull (Larus lumpus).  –KRE