Fall 2023 DULUTH MBWednesdays Summary
(September 20 - October 4 - October 18 - October 25)
We eventually completed four Duluth-based MBWednesdays this fall, and (to put it kindly) I suppose it’s fair to say we had mixed success. We managed to compile a composite list of 94 species for these MBWs, which was nearly the same as the 97 on the fall 2022 MBWednesdays – although note there were only three MBWs then contributing to this total. Note as well that the individual species totals in 2022 were 55, 63, and 56 (an average of 58), while this year we could only manage totals of 40, 57, 36, and 50 species (for a disappointing average of 46).
Here are the species totals and weather for each of this fall’s MBWednesdays:
• MBW I on Sept. 20 = 40 species
weather = high 73, clear, light E winds
• MBW II on Oct. 4 = 57 species (with 19 of these not seen on any of the other MBWs)
weather = mid 60s, partly cloudy w/some rain, moderate WSW winds
• MBW III on Oct. 18 = 36 species
weather = low 50s, cloudy w/ some rain, moderate E winds
• MBW IV on Oct. 25 = 50 sp (incl. 17 of these not seen on the other MBWs)
weather = low 50s, cloudy, light E winds
Unfortunately, these four MBW days were consistent overall with the rest of this fall in Duluth & the North Shore: i.e., generally warm with prevailing east winds (hardly any days with a westerly and more favorable component), and almost no cold fronts to stir up the migration. Indeed, the birding has generally been about as dull as it ever gets here in the fall, with very few rarities discovered (almost no Casuals/Accidentals), and low numbers for most of the more regular migrants.
On the positive side, though, there were several interesting highlights:
• 4 Ross’s Geese in Two Harbors (on MBWednesdays III & IV);
• Surf and Black Scoters (MBW I in Duluth and MBW III at Stony Point, respectively);
• Long-tailed Ducks in both Two Harbors & Duluth (MBW IV);
• Red-throated Loon (MBW IV, though it flew off just after being spotted out from the Lester River);
• a decent raptor flight with 9 species (MBW II; our only MBWednesday with non-east winds);
• Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (!) and a Black-billed Magpie (new for my Lake county list), both on MBW IV;
• and 2 very late Gray-cheeked Thrushes in Two Harbors (MBW III).
Bird List
• I = seen on Sept 20 MBWednesday I
• II = seen on Oct 4 MBWednesday II
• III = seen on Oct 18 MBWednesday III
• IV = seen on Oct 25 MBWednesday IV
Ross’s Goose III, IV
Cackling Goose IV
Canada Goose I, II, III, IV
Northern Shoveler II
Mallard I, II, III, IV
American Black Duck I, IV
Green-winged Teal IV
Redhead I, II, IV
Ring-necked Duck IV
Greater Scaup II, IV
Lesser Scaup II, IV
Surf Scoter I
Black Scoter III
Long-tailed Duck IV
Common Goldeneye IV
Hooded Merganser I, III, IV
Common Merganser I, II, III, IV
Red-breasted Merganser IV
Horned Grebe IV
Red-necked Grebe IV
Rock Pigeon I, II, III, IV
Mourning Dove I, II, III, IV
Sanderling I
Wilson’s Snipe IV
Ring-billed Gull I, II, III, IV
Herring Gull I, III, IV
Red-throated Loon IV
Common Loon III, IV
Double-crested Cormorant I, II
Osprey II
Northern Harrier II
Sharp-shinned Hawk II
Bald Eagle II, III, IV
Broad-winged Hawk II
Red-tailed Hawk II
raptor, sp. III
Belted Kingfisher I, II, IV
Red-bellied Woodpecker II
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker II
Downy Woodpecker I, II, III, IV
Hairy Woodpecker II, IV
Northern Flicker I, II, III
American Kestrel I, II
Merlin I, II, IV
Peregrine Falcon II
Least Flycatcher I
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher IV
Blue-headed Vireo II
Northern Shrike III, IV
Blue Jay I, II, III, IV
Black-billed Magpie IV
American Crow I, II, III, IV
Common Raven I, II, III, IV
Black-capped Chickadee I, II, III, IV
Horned Lark I, II, III, IV
Barn Swallow II
Ruby-crowned Kinglet I, II
Golden-crowned Kinglet II, III
Cedar Waxwing I
Red-breasted Nuthatch I, II, III
White-breasted Nuthatch I, II, III
Brown Creeper II
Gray Catbird II
European Starling I, II, III, IV
Eastern Bluebird IV
Gray-cheeked Thrush III
Swainson’s Thrush I, II
Hermit Thrush II
American Robin I, II, III, IV
House Sparrow III, IV
American Pipit II
Purple Finch II
Common Redpoll IV
Pine Siskin IV
American Goldfinch I, IV
Lapland Longspur III
Snow Bunting IV
Chipping Sparrow I
Fox Sparrow III
American Tree Sparrow III, IV
Dark-eyed Junco II, III, IV
White-crowned Sparrow I, II, III
White-throated Sparrow I, II, III
Savannah Sparrow I
Song Sparrow II, IV
Swamp Sparrow III
Red-winged Blackbird II, IV
Rusty Blackbird IV
Common Grackle II
Tennessee Warbler II
Orange-crowned Warbler II
Nashville Warbler I, II
Palm Warbler I, II
Yellow-rumped Warbler I, II, IIII
Scarlet Tanager
* * *
FALL 2022 DULUTH MBWEDNESDAYS SUMMARY
Composite Species List (97 species)
Snow Goose
Ross’s Goose
Cackling Goose
Canada Goose
Trumpeter Swan
Mallard
American Black Duck
Redhead
Greater Scaup
Surf Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruffed Grouse
Red-necked Grebe
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Killdeer
Pectoral Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher
Bonaparte’s Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Common Loon
Double-crested Cormorant
American White Pelican
Turkey Vulture
Golden Eagle
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
American Kestrel
Merlin
Peregrine Falcon
Eastern Phoebe
Yellow-throated Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Black-capped Chickadee
Boreal Chickadee
Horned Lark
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Cedar Waxwing
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
House Wren
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Eastern Bluebird
Townsend’s Solitaire
Swainson’s Thrush
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
American Pipit
Purple Finch
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch
Lapland Longspur
Snow Bunting
Fox Sparrow
American Tree Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
White-crowned Sparrow
Harris’s Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln’s Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
Rusty Blackbird
Ovenbird
Tennessee Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Cape May Warbler
Palm Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Summer Tanager
Indigo Bunting
Duluth MBWednesday II – September 28, 2022
BIRD LIST (55 species)
Canada Goose
Mallard
American Black Duck (unexpected group of 12 at Park Point)
Redhead
Greater Scaup
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser
Ruffed Grouse
Rock Pigeon
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (later than normal)
Bonaparte’s Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Common Loon
Double-crested Cormorant
American White Pelican
Turkey Vulture
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk
Bald Eagle
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
American Kestrel
Eastern Phoebe
Blue Jay
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Horned Lark
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Cedar Waxwing
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
House Wren (also later than normal)
Gray Catbird
European Starling
American Robin
American Pipit
American Goldfinch
Lapland Longspur
Fox Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
White-crowned Sparrow
Harris’s Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Tennessee Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Cape May Warbler (nice looks at Stony Point)
Palm Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
WEATHER
Clear, cool, calm, and about as pleasant as it gets in Duluth in late September! The light & variable winds were not conducive to migration, but we found birds (especially Yellow-rumped Warblers) at almost every stop.
Duluth MBWednesday III – October 5, 2022
BIRD LIST (63 species)
• S = St. Louis County only
• L = Lake County only
• species not annotated S or L = seen in both counties
Snow Goose L (juv blue-morph)
Ross’s Goose L (juv; could easily be a hybrid)
Cackling Goose L
Canada Goose
Surf Scoter L (3 fly-bys at Lighthouse Pt)
Red-breasted Merganser L
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Killdeer
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Common Loon
Turkey Vulture L
Northern Harrier L
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Bald Eagle
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
American Kestrel S
Merlin
Yellow-throated Vireo S (at our secret Alseth Rd “hotspot”)
Blue Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Black-capped Chickadee
Boreal Chickadee S (at the secret hotspot)
Horned Lark
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Cedar Waxwing S
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
European Starling S
Eastern Bluebird L
Townsend’s Solitaire S (also at our secret spot)
Swainson’s Thrush L
Hermit Thrush L
American Robin
American Pipit
Purple Finch
American Goldfinch
Lapland Longspur L
Dark-eyed Junco
White-crowned Sparrow
Harris’s Sparrow S (just after we adjourned)
White-throated Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow L
Song Sparrow
Lincoln’s Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird L
Rusty Blackbird S (several migrant flocks)
Ovenbird L
Tennessee Warbler L
Orange-crowned Warbler L
Common Yellowthroat L
American Redstart S
Palm Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler (by the 100s?)
Indigo Bunting S (guess where!)
WEATHER
Despite the nice weather (it reached 70+ degrees in the afternoon), we saw a strong movement of migrants most of the day, with birds around at almost every stop (especially Yellow-rumpeds); usually SW winds are not conducive to much migraton.
Duluth MBWednesday IV – October 19, 2022
BIRD LIST (56 species)
Snow Goose
Canada Goose
Trumpeter Swan (lone adult unexpectedly on the lake)
Mallard
American Black Duck
Redhead
Greater Scaup
White-winged Scoter (bayside of Park Point)
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Red-necked Grebe
Rock Pigeon
Pectoral Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher (quite unexpected with a Pectoral at Two Harbors golf course)
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Common Loon
Turkey Vulture
Golden Eagle (adult moving with vultures over McQuade Rd)
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Peregrine Falcon (Two Harbors ore docks)
Blue Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Black-capped Chickadee
Horned Lark
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
European Starling
Eastern Bluebird
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
American Pipit
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch
Lapland Longspur
Snow Bunting
American Tree Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
White-crowned Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Rusty Blackbird
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Summer Tanager (mostly obscured & brief views of female at Lighthouse Point)
WEATHER
A bit too windy and cold in the morning, but sunny all day and warming into the high 40s in the afternoon. NW winds resulted in a decent showing of hawks and other migrants.
The summaries of the 2023 & 2022 Duluith MBWednesdays
follow the summary of the 2024 MBWednesdays.
__________
FALL 2024 DULITH MBWEDNESDAYS
Sept. 18 ~ Oct. 9 ~ Oct. 23, 2024
To be honest, I’d have to admit it was a disappointing season for our Fall 2024 schedule of Duluth MBWednesdays. And I don’t think we could have expected much, given how the weather was hardly conducive to inspiring much migration. Going back to late August and through mid-October, most days included a southerly component to the wind, with only a few cold fronts and days with NW winds. Not only was it significantly warmer than normal overall (lots of highs in the 70s and low 80s), but the lack of precipitation was even more noticeable as I logged too many zero readings on my rain gauge. Indeed, only four days during this entire time recorded a tenth of an inch or more of rainfall.
The birding was especially slow during September, resulting in the cancellation of the first of four planned Wednesdays on Sept. 11 – as all but two of those registered had canceled after learning of the birding situation. We finally got started on Sept. 18, though the weather and migration hadn’t really improved, and we could only manage to find 35 species. Our next MBW on Oct. 9 did better with 52 species, but favorable NW winds the day before switched to the east on the 9th, and, after a decent morning at Park Point, we couldn’t find much along the North Shore. On our third MBWednesday on Oct. 23, the NW winds were finally in our favor as we came up with 60 species.
This averaged out to only 49 species per MBW, far fewer than our average of 58 on the Fall 2022 MBWednesdays. Our average on the Wednesdays in Fall 2023 was about the same as this year, as unfavorably warm temperatures and south winds had also prevailed. But then our overall composite total was 94 species for the season, compared to only 84 this year, and 97 species in 2022.
We did manage to come up with a few highlights this fall despite the weather. Waterfowl were generally good, as we found an adult Ross’s Goose at Park Point along with 3 Surf Scoters on MBW II, and a Long-tailed Duck at close range joined the same scoters on MBW III. Even though the birding on MBW I was slow, practically our first birds of the day were several close Sanderlings on the beach at our Park Point meeting place. Our best warbler was a well-marked Cape May on MBW II, and our best finds on MBW III were a “Red-shafted” type Northern Flicker flying by at Stony Point, both Winter and Marsh wrens in Knife River, and a day’s total of 5 meadowlarks (all presumably Westerns).
Bird List
• I = seen on Sept 18 MBWednesday I
• II = seen on Oct 9 MBWednesday II
• III = seen on Oct 23 MBWednesday III
Ross’s Goose II
Canada Goose I, II, III
Mallard II, III
American Black Duck II, III
Northern Pintail II
Green-winged Teal III
Canvasback III
Greater Scaup II, III
Lesser Scaup II, III
Surf Scoter II, III
Long-tailed Duck III
Bufflehead III
Common Goldeneye III
Common Merganser II, III
Red-breasted Merganser II, III
Horned Grebe III
Red-necked Grebe I, III
Rock Pigeon I, II, III
Mourning Dove III
Sanderling I
Ring-billed Gull I, II, III
Herring Gull II, III
Double-crested Cormorant I, II
Turkey Vulture II
Accipiter, sp. II
Bald Eagle I, II, III
Red-tailed Hawk II, III
Belted Kingfisher I, II
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker I
Downy Woodpecker I, II, III
Hairy Woodpecker I, II, III
Northern Flicker II, III
Pileated Woodpecker III
Merlin II
Least Flycatcher I
Eastern Phoebe I
Red-eyed Vireo I
Blue Jay I, II, III
American Crow I, II, III
Common Raven II, III
Black-capped Chickadee I, II, III
Horned Lark I, II, III
Ruby-crowned Kinglet II, III
Golden-crowned Kinglet II
Cedar Waxwing I
Red-breasted Nuthatch I, II, III
White-breasted Nuthatch I, III
Brown Creeper II, III
Winter Wren III
Marsh Wren III
Gray Catbird I
European Starling I, II, III
Eastern Bluebird III
Swainson’s Thrush II
Hermit Thrush II, III
American Robin I, II, III
American Pipit III
Purple Finch III
Pine Siskin II, III
American Goldfinch I, III
Lapland Longspur II, III
Snow Bunting III
Chipping Sparrow III
Clay-colored Sparrow III
Fox Sparrow II
American Tree Sparrow II, III
Dark-eyed Junco II, III
White-crowned Sparrow II, III
Harris’s Sparrow II
White-throated Sparrow I, II, III
Savannah Sparrow I, II, III
Song Sparrow I, II, III
Lincoln’s Sparrow I, II
Swamp Sparrow II, III
Western Meadowlark III
Red-winged Blackbird III
Rusty Blackbird III
Common Grackle I, II, III
Tennessee Warbler I
Common Yellowthroat I
American Redstart I
Cape May Warbler II
Palm Warbler I, II
Yellow-rumped Warbler I, II, III
* * *
