These two Duluth-based MBWs took place in mid-September,

later than the 2025 MBW, but the birding potential should be similar.

__________

CARLTON CO and DULUTH I & II MBWs SUMMARY

September 14-15-16, 2007

My first reaction was that I miscounted. Could we have possibly had a composite total of 125 species during our 3-day weekend? After all, it was very cold (in the 40s most of the time) and windy (NW at 15-25 mph) in Carlton Co on Friday, Saturday in Duluth wasn't nearly as cold but still on the too-windy side (SW at 10-20), and Sunday was downright summer-like (high of 70). But, even though the weather conditions were hardly conducive to birding, a recount revealed that my species count was indeed accurate.

Of the 125 species, only 65 were in blustery Carlton Co on the 14th, but these included 8 species we missed in Duluth (see list below). Our best stop was at the Moose Lake sewage ponds where, thanks to a tip from Ron E, we had nice looks at Am Golden-Plovers, Baird's & Stilt sandpipers, and Long-billed Dowitchers in a pond not visible from the road. Also noteworthy in the county that day were Philadelphia Vireo, Gray-cheeked Thrush (well, I'm pretty sure), Pine Warbler, and N Cardinal.

In Duluth, from late Friday afternoon through Sunday, our species count was 117 in all. Again, the weather was not in our favor for turning up any jaegers or rare gulls/terns on Saturday-Sunday (no one else did, either), but we still managed to come up with impressive species totals of 15 shorebirds and 18 warblers. Among the shorebirds, the best ones were side-by-side Black-bellied and Am Golden-Plovers, a lone Buff-breasted briefly at the ballfields at Park Point, and excellent studies of 3 vocal juvenile Long-billed Dowitchers. Among the warblers, Blackpolls were surprisingly predominant on Sunday, and a lucky few in the group were able to spot Orange-crowned, Pine, Mourning, and Canada on Saturday. Other highlights included Cackling Geese, Horned and Red-necked grebes, 2 Peregrine Falcons (a perched juvenile on Friday at Park Point and a seagull-munching adult at Interstate Island on Sunday), an "Eastern" Wood-Pewee at Park Point on Friday (I still think it might have been a Western!), and both Bobolinks and Rusty Blackbirds at 40th Ave West.

So, we're still standing at 349 species for the all-time MBW composite list, and there is still time to mail in your entries in the Guess #350 Contest if you haven't already done so. (The next 2 MBWs are in western Minn and then come back-to-back November trips up the North Shore: will 350 be something wandering in from the Dakotas, a rarity from the Great Lakes, or neither of the above?). Finally, as always, thanks to all of you for coming (see participants lists below), and it was especially nice to have guests Mark Alt, Peter (from Sweden), and Stuart White along on Saturday.     

BIRD LIST

C = Carlton Co / Sept 14

D = Duluth / Sept 14-15-16

Snow Goose   D

Cackling Goose   D

Canada Goose   CD

Wood Duck   D

American Wigeon   CD

American Black Duck   D

Mallard   CD

Blue-winged Teal   CD

Northern Shoveler   C

Northern Pintail   D

Green-winged Teal   CD

Redhead   D

Lesser Scaup   D

Common Goldeneye   D

Hooded Merganser   CD

Common Merganser   D

Red-breasted Merganser   D

Common Loon   D

Pied-billed Grebe   CD

Horned Grebe   D

Red-necked Grebe   D

Double-crested Cormorant   D

Great Blue Heron   CD

Turkey Vulture   CD

Osprey   D

Bald Eagle   CD

Northern Harrier   CD

Sharp-shinned Hawk   CD

Broad-winged Hawk   C

Red-tailed Hawk   C

American Kestrel   CD

Merlin   D

Peregrine Falcon   D

American Coot   CD

Black-bellied Plover   D

American Golden-Plover   CD

Semipalmated Plover   CD

Killdeer   D

Lesser Yellowlegs   CD

Ruddy Turnstone   D

Sanderling   D

Least Sandpiper   CD

Baird’s Sandpiper   CD

Pectoral Sandpiper   CD

Dunlin   D

Stilt Sandpiper   CD

Buff-breasted Sandpiper   D

Long-billed Dowitcher   CD

Wilson's Snipe   D

Bonaparte’s Gull   D

Ring-billed Gull   CD

Herring Gull   D

Caspian Tern   D

Common Tern   D

Rock Pigeon   CD

Mourning Dove   CD

Ruby-throated Hummingbird   D

Belted Kingfisher   CD

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker   D

Downy Woodpecker   D

Hairy Woodpecker   D

Northern Flicker   CD

Pileated Woodpecker   D

Eastern Wood-Pewee   D

Least Flycatcher   D

Eastern Phoebe   CD

Eastern Kingbird   D

Blue-headed Vireo   C

Philadelphia Vireo   CD

Red-eyed Vireo   D

Blue Jay   CD

American Crow   CD

Common Raven   C

Tree Swallow   C

Bank Swallow   D

Barn Swallow   CD

Black-capped Chickadee   CD

Red-breasted Nuthatch   CD

White-breasted Nuthatch   CD

Brown Creeper   C

Gray-cheeked Thrush   CD

Swainson’s Thrush   CD

Hermit Thrush   CD

American Robin   CD

Gray Catbird   D

European Starling   CD

American Pipit   D

Cedar Waxwing   CD

Tennessee Warbler   CD

Orange-crowned Warbler   D

Nashville Warbler   D

Northern Parula   D

Yellow Warbler   D

Chestnut-sided Warbler   D

Magnolia Warbler   D

Yellow-rumped Warbler   CD

Black-throated Green Warbler   D

Pine Warbler   CD

Palm Warbler   CD

Blackpoll Warbler   D

Black-and-white Warbler   D

American Redstart   CD

Ovenbird   CD

Mourning Warbler   D

Common Yellowthroat   D

Canada Warbler   D

Chipping Sparrow   CD

Savannah Sparrow   CD

Song Sparrow   D

Lincoln’s Sparrow   D

Swamp Sparrow   D

White-throated Sparrow   CD

White-crowned Sparrow   D

Dark-eyed Junco   CD

Northern Cardinal   CD

Rose-breasted Grosbeak   D

Bobolink   D

Red-winged Blackbird   CD

Rusty Blackbird   D

Common Grackle   CD

Purple Finch   CD

House Finch   D

Pine Siskin   C

American Goldfinch   CD

House Sparrow   CD

*          *          *

Duluth I & Duluth II MBWs Summary

September 16 - 17, 2006

Well, at least it didn't rain on us, but the weather was still not conducive to birding or finding migrants: overcast, warm, with light S winds on Saturday, and then too windy from the SW (birds either reluctant to emerge from cover or hard to spot among blowing leaves) and still too warm on Sunday. (But we still managed to have a better weekend than Duluth's hapless meteorologists – "Saturday's" cold front finally came through on Sunday evening!)

Of course, the weekend's highlight was that juvenile Pomarine Jaeger which rewarded those who were able to stay with us into Sunday afternoon at Park Point. It eventually gave all of us decent views as it chased Ring-billed Gulls, and we were thus able to safely make this difficult ID. (This, by the way, was Minnesota species #344 on the all-time MBW list!) Some of us also had time later to hike the 40th Ave West area where a Great Egret flew by, and this species is quite rare in NE Minn.

Other weekend highlights included a total of 5 Peregrines (4 at Park Point on Saturday + 1 Sunday at Stoney Point), the fly-by Red-headed Woodpecker seen by Tony, and a decent total of 14 warbler species (incl. great studies of Cape Mays on Saturday and Blackpolls on Sunday).

BIRD LIST

I = seen on Saturday only (Duluth I)

II = seen on Sunday only (Duluth II)

(species not marked I or II were seen both days)

Canada Goose

Wood Duck   I

Gadwall   I

American Wigeon

American Black Duck   I

Mallard

Blue-winged Teal   II

Northern Shoveler   II

Green-winged Teal   II

Redhead   II

Common Goldeneye   I

Common Merganser

Red-breasted Merganser   I

Common Loon   I

Pied-billed Grebe   I

Horned Grebe

Red-necked Grebe   II

Double-crested Cormorant

Great Blue Heron

Great Egret   II

Osprey

Bald Eagle

Sharp-shinned Hawk   II

American Kestrel   II

Merlin

Peregrine Falcon

American Coot   II

Black-bellied Plover   I

American Golden-Plover

Lesser Yellowlegs

Sanderling

Pectoral Sandpiper

Pomarine Jaeger   II

Bonaparte’s Gull

Ring-billed Gull

Herring Gull

Caspian Tern   I

Forster’s Tern   I

Rock Pigeon

Mourning Dove

Belted Kingfisher

Red-headed Woodpecker   II

Downy Woodpecker

Hairy Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

Eastern Phoebe   I

Red-eyed Vireo   I

Blue Jay

American Crow

Common Raven   II

swallow, sp.   I

Black-capped Chickadee

Red-breasted Nuthatch

White-breasted Nuthatch   I

House Wren   II

Swainson’s Thrush

Hermit Thrush   I

American Robin

Gray Catbird   I

European Starling

American Pipit   II

Cedar Waxwing

Tennessee Warbler

Orange-crowned Warbler   I

Northern Parula   I

Yellow Warbler   II

Magnolia Warbler   I

Cape May Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Blackburnian Warbler   II

Palm Warbler

Blackpoll Warbler

Black-and-white Warbler

American Redstart   I

Northern Waterthrush

Common Yellowthroat

Savannah Sparrow   II

Song Sparrow

Swamp Sparrow

White-throated Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow   I

Dark-eyed Junco   I

Northern Cardinal   I

Indigo Bunting   II

Bobolink   II

Red-winged Blackbird

Common Grackle   I

American Goldfinch

House Sparrow   I