Birdingonthe.Net Recent Postings from North Dakota > Home > Mail > Alerts Updated on Wednesday, September 1 at 10:37 PM ET The most recently received Mail is at the top.	Mckowns Longspur,©David Sibley

1 Sep Minot Lagoons [Ron Martin ] 1 Sep White-throated Sparrow [David Lambeth ] 1 Sep ADMIN: Barn Owls in Petersburg [James Tyler Bell ] 1 Sep Barn Owls in Petersburg [Lillian Crook ] 1 Sep owls and others [Wayne Easley ] 31 Aug Armour [Keith Corliss ] 31 Aug Barn Owls in Petersburg [Sandy Aubol ] 31 Aug Canada Warbler [Lawrence D Igl ] 30 Aug Hettinger-Adams Co. [Chris Hiatt ] 30 Aug Barn Owls [Sherry ] 30 Aug Barn Owl [Corey Ellingson ] 29 Aug Barn Owls in Petersburg [David Lambeth ] 29 Aug male White-winged Crossbill [Lawrence D Igl ] 27 Aug Upper Souris NWR [Ron Martin ] 27 Aug Minot Lagoons [Rod Fossen ] 27 Aug wood thrush [Larry Jones ] 26 Aug Additional Devils Lake Area Opportunity for September 25 [Tom Ibsen ] 26 Aug Long-tailed Jaeger [Corey Ellingson ] 25 Aug Devils Lake boat trip [Ron Martin ] 24 Aug Lincoln's Sparrow [David Lambeth ] 23 Aug Warblers [carl Stangeland ] 23 Aug Fall Warblers [Sandy Aubol ] 23 Aug US 85 Watford City-Grassy Butte; motel rooms, camping in McKenzie County [Stevan Hawkins ] 23 Aug Krider's Red-tailed Hawks [Buchanan Law Office ] 23 Aug Blue-gray Gnatcatcher [Paulette Scherr ] 23 Aug Recent sightings [Dan Svingen ] 22 Aug Bowman Haley Dam [Chris Hiatt ] 22 Aug Minot Lagoons [Ron Martin ] 22 Aug Weekend [Ron Martin ] 22 Aug re judges rule: not a Calliope [Jlegge ] 22 Aug Hummingbird [Rick ] 22 Aug ND Field Notes Online [Corey Ellingson ] 22 Aug Calliope hummer in Barnes County -possible [jlegge ] 21 Aug Northern Cardinal [Rod Fossen ] 20 Aug Recent sightings [Dan Svingen ] 19 Aug Oak Park warblers [Ron Martin ] 19 Aug WF parks [Keith Corliss ] 18 Aug Aug 18 [David Lambeth ] 18 Aug gull ID correction [Erik Bruhnke ] 17 Aug Pacific Ocean to Wisconsin road trip, bird lists [Erik Bruhnke ] 17 Aug barn owls [Nancy Drew ] 15 Aug Oak Park Sunday [Sherry ] 14 Aug Fargo lagoons [Ron Martin ] 14 Aug Scarlet Tanager [Corey Ellingson ] 13 Aug Oak Park Friday [Ron Martin ] 12 Aug BUOW, Kidder Co. [Dan Svingen ] 11 Aug Minot Lagoons [Ron Martin ] 10 Aug Franklin's gull [Chris Hiatt ] 10 Aug another juvey gull [Keith Corliss ] 9 Aug ND Bird Checklist - review reminder [Dan Svingen ] 9 Aug BBSA, Burleigh County [Dan Svingen ] 8 Aug weekend birds [Ron Martin ] 8 Aug Hummingbird [carl Stangeland ] 8 Aug Juvenile Sabine's Gull [Lawrence D Igl ] 7 Aug Fw: eBird Report - Home 417 Terrace Drive , 8/7/10 [David Lambeth ] 4 Aug NDBS Fall Field Trip [Corey Ellingson ] 3 Aug Fw: Fargo Lagoons shorebirds [Ron Martin ] 3 Aug Devils Lake - Camp Grafton [Rod Fossen ] 3 Aug Fargo lagoons--update [Keith Corliss ] 2 Aug Red-breasted Nuthatch [carl Stangeland ] 2 Aug Mckenzie County birding [Stevan Hawkins ] 31 Jul Re: Finally a Kestrel! [Stevan Hawkins ] 28 Jul Finally a Kestrel! [Charles J Taft ] 26 Jul Piping Plover at Alkaline Lake Thursday July 22 [Dan Ackerman ] 24 Jul Bad return address for Kent Jensen [Stevan Hawkins ] 24 Jul NDBS Fall Trip [Corey Ellingson ] 24 Jul Re: RFI: Sage Grouse at TR National Park South Unit [Stevan Hawkins ] 23 Jul Lake Darling [Ron Martin ] 23 Jul RFI: Sage Grouse at TR National Park South Unit [Stevan Hawkins ] 23 Jul Re: Phone numbers ["Ricky D. Olson" ] 23 Jul Re: Phone numbers [James Tyler Bell ] 22 Jul Phone numbers [Stevan Hawkins ] 21 Jul Blue Jays, etc. [Bernice Houser ] 21 Jul Northern Cardinal [Linda Gregg ] 21 Jul Re: blue jays [Rick ] 21 Jul Re: blue jays [Daniel Ackerman ] Subject: Minot Lagoons From: Ron Martin <jrmartin AT SRT.COM> Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 22:36:54 -0500 ND-Birders: There was a late Piping Plover among 14 shorebird species at the Minot Lagoons today. The most numerous species was Baird's Sandpiper at 290 individuals. Good birding, Ron Martin Sawyer Subject: White-throated Sparrow From: David Lambeth <davidlambeth58201 AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 09:29:50 -0700 For me one of the markers of fall migration is the first White-throated Sparrow. There was one in our yard this morning. However I wouldn't be surprised if its more than two weeks until I see the next one. Actually I'm pretty sure this bird was around two days ago but it got away before I could get a for sure ID. Dave Lambeth Grand Forks, North Dakota Subject: ADMIN: Barn Owls in Petersburg From: James Tyler Bell <jtylerbell AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 09:27:26 -0700 I'm sure people don't think of it as harassing a bird, but having a sudden influx of people in a virtually empty area has GOT to be stressful for these birds; it's not like they're curious creatures who like activity--they're owls who like peace and quiet!  It is a list policy on various most listserves that locations of roosting owls are not disclosed but due to the small number of birders in North Dakota, I believe it is acceptable in this case. Still, I urge people to be mindful of the birds' welfare first and foremost. Tyler Bell ND-Birds Listowner ________________________________ From: Jane Kostenko To: James Tyler Bell Sent: Wed, September 1, 2010 12:02:16 PM Subject: RE: [ND-BIRDS] Barn Owls in Petersburg Subject: Barn Owls in Petersburg From: Lillian Crook <lilliancrook AT HOTMAIL.COM> Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 10:09:56 -0500 Made the trip from Bismarck yesterday to see the Barn Owls. Saw one, a lifer for me! 6:30 p.m. NE edge of town, just south of the grain elevator. Dozing in a tree. Photo will be available later today on husband's blog. LillianBismarck Subject: owls and others From: Wayne Easley <easley57 AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 08:06:20 -0700 Hi: Yesterday, Larry Jones and I made our way over to Petersburg to check on the barn owls.  On the way over, we drove down old 281 to the W. of Devil's Lake (mostly under water now) as far as we could.  It is now impossible to get to the best places there so might want to try some other locations for a while.  We did see a pair of snow geese about 3 miles south of #2 but not much else.  We arrived in Petersburg about 7:30 pm and were told that two of the immature owls had been spotted earlier in the day but the adults would likely not show up until around 9:00 pm.  Eventually as the evening wore on there were 10 of us looking for the owls and fighting off the ever increasing number of mosquitos!  At one home in the NW part of the village, we talked to the folk living there and the lady said about 4 weeks ago, a strange looking bird had fallen from some sort of nest in a tangle high in the trees.  She thought it might have been one of the baby owls?  Larry and I thought that nest in the tree (may be a hollow in the tree) could very well be the owl nest.  We waited and waited and on the stroke of 9:00 pm exactly two adult barn owls flew out from above us and began to feed in the marsh just to the NW of Petersburg.  It was quite a sight to see them hunting in the light of the evening sunset. Noting that a road goes right through the marsh where the owls were; we decided to drive that way.  It was a wonderful sight to see the two birds crossing in front of the car.  We had seen many owl pellets earlier, so these birds are doing good!  Around 9:15 pm, the birds flew back into the backyard of the Yocum's residence (on 2nd Ave.).  It was too dark to see if they were taking food to the immatures but they may have been doing just that!  On our return trip to Harvey (arrived home about midnight), we saw multiple animals on the road: a male deer, a skunk, and 10 raccoons some with little ones. A big thank you to the hospitable people there in Petersburg who were most helpful and to Dave Lambeth for getting us on the owls.  Wayne Easley in Harvey, ND at 701-324-2344  Subject: Armour From: Keith Corliss <koolhand AT JUNO.COM> Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:35:00 GMT West Fargo's (Cass Co.) Armour Park gave up 13 warbler species this morning with Wilson's being the most numerous. First of seasons were blackpoll and magnolia. K. Corliss, West Fargo Subject: Barn Owls in Petersburg From: Sandy Aubol <egf_baseball AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 06:23:00 -0700 Four of us made the trip to Petersburg last night to try to relocate the Barn Owls. The thunderstorm arrived at the same time we did. We waited it out and then searched for quite some time with no luck. I was told the owls have not roosted in the 'original' tree since Saturday and that perhaps they had moved a little further west/southwest. A neighbor to the southwest told us she had seen one of them in her tree about half an hour before the storm but did not know where it had gone. I didn't wait until dark as I had already seen them Saturday, but I was told that they were right on schedule with one beginning to fly around 9 PM in the NW corner by the light poles and wires and, right on schedule, about 9:15 the calling began. Sandy Aubol East Grand Forks, MN Subject: Canada Warbler From: Lawrence D Igl <ligl AT USGS.GOV> Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 07:59:05 -0500 Yesterday, Gary Krapu found a dead female Canada Warbler that struck a window in Valley City (Barnes Co.). ************************************************************** Lawrence D. Igl, Ecologist U.S.G.S. Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center 8711 37th Street SE Jamestown, North Dakota 58401-7317 Phone: 701-253-5511 Fax: 701-253-5553 E-mail: ligl AT usgs.gov Internet: www.npwrc.usgs.gov ************************************************************** Subject: Hettinger-Adams Co. From: Chris Hiatt <hiattch AT SBCGLOBAL.NET> Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 21:17:12 -0700 Since it was too rainy and cold to pull honey today, I checked yards in Mott.  In between storms and almost getting stuck a couple of times on the back roads, I found 18 Hettinger co birds.  Not too bad.  Here's some of the county birds I had: Mott Park along Cannonball River and dam: Olive sided flycatcher spotted sandpiper Marsh 3mi N. and 4 mi E. of Mott or 69th St.  This spot has great water levels and could be a real happening shorebird spot,plus I had no scope to check out the far away birds: Pectoral sandpipers (11 or more) Black tern 5 prarie falcon kestral horned grebe c.snipe lesser yellowlegs says phoebe Hettinger- Adams Co-Mirror Lake 4 new co.birds Wood ducks 5 Eur.collared dove yellow headed blackbirds (25!) osprey Good birding folks,but be careful the backroads are muddy now, Chris Hiatt Bowman Subject: Barn Owls From: Sherry <bird_nd AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 14:41:50 -0700 Made a trip to Petersburg and about 9:15PM the owls gave their horrible call and then I finally saw one in the tree by the house in the NW corner of town.  As I was leaving three of the owls flew right in front of the car so good views.  Added a few more county birds and ZILLIONS of mosquitoes so plan on taking repellent if you go looking for the owls. Great birds!! Sherry Leslie 725-4389 Subject: Barn Owl From: Corey Ellingson <crackerjackbirder AT BIS.MIDCO.NET> Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 09:36:53 -0500 Greetings ND-Birders, Since I could not get away Saturday, I made a trek to Petersberg yesterday (Sunday Aug 29). I always hesitate to post negative sightings as other people may not take the time to good looking, but I did not locate an owl in my searching between 3:30 and 6:00pm. They are probably somewhere there, just not in the usual roost tree (that was pointed out to us). I was somewhat distracted by warblers also. Before yesterday, I had observed 4 species (6 individuals!) this fall in Bismarck. My sightings for the day however: Griggs Co (reached 200 species for the county): town of Hannaford Olive-sided Flycatcher Red-breasted Nuthatch - 3 12 warbler species including Canada. Intersection of Hwy 32 and 45 farmstead 14 species of warbler including Broad-winged Hawk Swainson's Thrush Yellow-throated Vireo Blackburnian Warbler Canada Warbler Orchard Oriole (swore I heard a Red-bellied Woodpecker, but never saw the bird) Nelson county: Aneta Dam: Yellow-rumped Warbler town of Petersberg Common Nighthawk (3) Olive-sided Flycatcher 9 warblers incl. Canada Just south of Stump Lake, also located a Black Duck among 100 Mallards. The birds flushed as I was finishing scoping. Eastern Kingbirds still around, no Westerns. Good Birding, Corey Ellingson Bismarck, ND Subject: Barn Owls in Petersburg From: David Lambeth <davidlambeth58201 AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Sun, 29 Aug 2010 13:43:45 -0700 Dear Birders: There currently is a family group of five Barn Owls in Petersburg. I have permission from Joe and Lorie who live at 619 2nd Ave (yellow house) to post this information. Birders should check in with them, or their next door neighbor to the west who was also very helpful in showing us where two of the owls were roosting yesterday afternoon in a tree in her back yard. These two owls use this tree a lot as a roost spot, but of course no guarantee can be made that they will be there on a given day. And it should be added that since the young are flying well, the whole group could leave the area at any time. If not found in that tree, try walking streets and alleys to the east and south of Joe and Lorie's residence and looking carefully through every tree. Petersburg has many large, mature trees so finding one of the five owls can be a challenge. If a daytime search doesn't pan out, the owls do become active about 8:45 to 9 PM and can be seen flying over the nw corner of Petersburg when it likely will be to dark to make out field marks. Good Birding! Dave Lambeth Grand Forks, North Dakota Subject: male White-winged Crossbill From: Lawrence D Igl <ligl AT USGS.GOV> Date: Sun, 29 Aug 2010 12:31:23 -0500 Amy and I saw/heard a male White-winged Crossbill singing from the top of a spruce tree at the Army Corps headquarters at Pipestem Dam on Saturday, 28 Aug. ************************************************************** Lawrence D. Igl, Ecologist U.S.G.S. Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center 8711 37th Street SE Jamestown, North Dakota 58401-7317 Phone: 701-253-5511 Fax: 701-253-5553 E-mail: ligl AT usgs.gov Internet: www.npwrc.usgs.gov ************************************************************** Subject: Upper Souris NWR From: Ron Martin <jrmartin AT SRT.COM> Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2010 22:31:56 -0500 ND-Birders: Among 15 species of shorebirds on "B" pool at Upper Souris today was a single Red Knot. Also 3 Am. Golden Plovers, the first I have seen this fall. Good birding, Ron Martin Sawyer Subject: Minot Lagoons From: Rod Fossen <rfossen AT MIN.MIDCO.NET> Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2010 21:38:30 -0500 On Wednesday evening I saw a Peregrine Falcon at the Lagoons. It was sitting on a fence post and let me get some what close for pictures, much closer than a Buteo would have anyway. Rod Fossen, Minot Subject: wood thrush From: Larry Jones <jljones AT DAKTEL.COM> Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2010 21:22:11 -0500 Wed. we had a wood thrush pop in behind our house for a quick bath. Nothing yesterday but today my wife saw him again and confirmed that it was a wood thrush. Larry Jones Bowdon, N.D Subject: Additional Devils Lake Area Opportunity for September 25 From: Tom Ibsen <Tom_Ibsen AT FWS.GOV> Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2010 11:55:27 -0500 Saturday, September 25 is also National Public Lands Day. Admission to Sullys Hill National Game Preserve and other federally managed areas across the country is free that day. I encourage the group to swing by Sullys Hill following the tour to scope out some of the fall migrants in the woodlands and wetlands. A recent drawdown of one of our wetlands along the auto loop has resulted in increased shorebird activity: green heron, greater yellowlegs, and solitary sandpiper were spotted on Sunday. Tom Ibsen Refuge Manager Sullys Hill National Game Preserve U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Phone: 701-766-4272 ext. 428 Fax: 701-766-4096 tom_ibsen AT fws.gov Mailing Address: PO Box 908 Devils Lake, ND 58301 Website: www.fws.gov/sullyshill/ Subject: Long-tailed Jaeger From: Corey Ellingson <crackerjackbirder AT BIS.MIDCO.NET> Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2010 09:37:43 -0500 Greetings ND-Birders: Eve Freeberg just called me to report what she believes to be a juvenile Long-tailed Jaeger at the GF Lagoons. The bird at the present time is straight north of the plant she says. If anyone wishes to stop by there, please check in at the plant. As you may recall, there was a bird identified as a juvenile Long-tailed Jaeger at the same location on 04 Sept 2007 also. Thanks Eve, and Good Birding! Corey Ellingson Bismarck, ND Subject: Devils Lake boat trip From: Ron Martin <jrmartin AT SRT.COM> Date: Wed, 25 Aug 2010 21:49:20 -0500 ND-Birders: One again this year the North Dakota Birding Society will be hosting a "pelagic" trip on the ever-expanding Devils Lake. Now at over 250 square miles, there is a lot of water to explore. The trip this year will be on Saturday, Sept. 25. We embark from the Spirit Lake Marina at the Spirit Lake Casino at 8:00 am. Be prepared for all types of weather. We will be out for 6 hours, so plan to bring some lunch and perhaps a loaf of bread or bag of popcorn to lure the gulls. We have never missed Sabine's Gull and have had Little Gull several times. The cost is $20 per person. You must contact me for a reservation; seating is limited. Even if you spoke to me previously about this, please reply to this e-mail if you will be participating. If the weather is bad (read wind), we will try to get the marina folks to move our reservation to Sunday if enough people are willing to stick around for a day. Good birding, Ron Martin Sawyer 701-624-5241 Subject: Lincoln's Sparrow From: David Lambeth <davidlambeth58201 AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Tue, 24 Aug 2010 16:41:38 -0700 My first fall sighting of Lincoln's Sparrow was today, in my yard. Maybe it came in on the northwest wind! Yesterday a Clay-colored Sparrow appeared. Although they nest less than 3 blocks from my house, in the Greenway, I only see them in our yard during migration. We still have Baltimore Orioles Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. We continue to see Nashville Warblers ... I don't remember an August with so many! Yesterday, 3 were in the water at the same time. A Mourning Warbler was in the yard today, and I photographed an immature in the Greenway. Good Birding! Dave Lambeth Grand Forks, North Dakota Subject: Warblers From: carl Stangeland <carlcs AT DAKTEL.COM> Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 21:52:33 -0500 I saw the FOS Wilson's Warbler today, on the 21st, I saw a Chestnut-sided Warbler and a Black&White Warbler, all near the bridge at McElroy Park. Carl Stangeland Jamestown Subject: Fall Warblers From: Sandy Aubol <egf_baseball AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 18:48:37 -0700 After the rain and wind stopped and the sun started to pop out this evening, 8/23, I made a quick trip to Riverside Park in Grand Forks. I found my first of fall Chestnut-sided Warbler, Northern Waterthrush (first heard, then seen) and, my favorite of the evening, a Mourning Warbler (got very good looks at this one in the open before it hopped away back into the brush). Last Friday, 8/20, I saw my first of fall Nashville Warbler at Riverside Park in GF, along with several Olive-sided Flycatchers. Sandy Aubol East Grand Forks, MN Subject: US 85 Watford City-Grassy Butte; motel rooms, camping in McKenzie County From: Stevan Hawkins <shawkins4 AT SATX.RR.COM> Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 14:35:17 -0500 ND-Birders: Two weeks and a day ago after having lunch with yet another cousin and spouse in McKenzie County I finally got brave enough to test the road construction on US 85. It turned out that the impacted area extended from the south rim of the Little Missouri River Canyon to just north of Grassy Butte. There was a stretch of 1-3 miles of soft dirt that would be an absolute nightmare to drive though in a rain storm. After that, it was hard-packed dirt till just north of Grassy Butte and pavement. On a warm, dry, Sunday, that bad stretch of road was a breeze, except for the thick dust clouds. As short as the highway rebuilding season is in the northern states, I don't doubt that significant progress has been made on that road construction. Motel rooms in McKenzie County may not be available in Watford City. That is because WC is in the middle of the Bakken Oil boom. As to what the cost of a motel room in Watford City is, I don't know because I always stay with relatives. What I saw on Road Trip 2010 is that housing in WC is in great enough demand for the oil companies to have created their own double-wide trailer housing area on the south side of town. Also, somebody was in the process of building a new neighborhood along the ND 23-US 85 bypass that goes around the SE quadrant of WC. Both of these may have resulted in a decreased demand for motel rooms. The other positive information I got was in relation to long standing relationships some of the motels have with clients who come to McKenzie Co. Family members and/or others told me that when the motel owners told the oil companies of their hunting season customers' needs, that freed up some motel rooms. As to what extent, I don't know. As Arnegard is only eight miles west of WC, the situation in both places has to be about the same. When I drove through Mandaree, I was glad that a cousin had advised me to go to Killdeer to get a tire puncture handled. If people in Mandaree get a tire repaired, they go to Killdeer, Four Bears Village, or Watford City. I didn't see any motels out on that 25-mile long peninsula that Mandaree is on. Being as I never go to casinos and didn't need a motel room, I didn't investigate the Four Bears Casino. Although I will have to admit to ignorance about motel and other facilities in Grassy Butte, my impression at this moment is that the town could fit in the parking lot of a big city mall. A person would be better off driving to Killdeer for a motel room. When I went to Killdeer to get my tire puncture problem solved, checking on the price of a motel room was not a priority. Camping: As crowded as Watford City was, I didn't investigate any potential tent camping in town. I heard from several sources that the Tobacco Garden Recreation Area charges "seasonal" rates. Camping in the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt NP is reasonable. See http://www.nps.gov/thro/planyourvisit/juniper-campground.htm A person is limited to fifteen days camping total at this site and thirty days during the winter. For further information, the park can be contacted at 701-842-2333. The CCC Campground, on the south side of the Little Missouri River is a US Forest Service campground at the north end of the Maah Daah Hey Trail. Facilities are minimal, i.e.: potable water and pit unisex toilets. The cost is attractive: $6.00/night. Campers are allowed to camp for fourteen days before being required to move to another USFS facility. Other USFS campgrounds in the area include Sather Lake, Bennett, Summit, and Magpie. Sather Lake is in western McKenzie County at the intersection of ND 68 and ND 16. The other USFS camping sites are associated with the Maah Daah Hey Trail and are accessible marked roads from US 85. The cost of camping and duration of stay at these facilities are the same as at the CCC Camp. The US Forest Service office, 701-842-2393, in Watford City is along US 85 south of town and on the west side of the highway. With the above said and done, a person can go to http://www.4eyes.net/VisitorInformation/Accomodation.aspx for more information about accommodations in McKenzie County. Hope this helps. Onward! Steve Stevan Hawkins San Antonio TX Subject: Krider's Red-tailed Hawks From: Buchanan Law Office <bulaw AT DAKTEL.COM> Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 12:16:56 -0500 On Sunday 8/22/10 at around noon I clearly saw two Krider's Red-tailed Hawks soaring not high over the hilltops at the northwest end of Alkali Lake (Audubon Sanctuary) in Stutsman County. Earlier, I saw good numbers of Eared Grebes and Ruddy Ducks at the Jamestown Lagoon near Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center. Dan Buchanan Box 879 Jamestown, ND 58402 Tel. (701) 252-6604 Fax (701) 952-4757 bulaw AT daktel.com Subject: Blue-gray Gnatcatcher From: Paulette Scherr <Paulette_Scherr AT FWS.GOV> Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 11:32:33 -0500 ND Birders, This morning about 9:15 am I found one Blue-gray Gnatcatcher in the Wildlife Viewing area (Picnic Area) at Arrowwood NWR. At the time he was chipping often and easily visible in some dead shrubs. David Dragon, and summer technician at Arrowwood and I watched him for a few minutes. Unfortunately, I didn't have a camera or recorded with me. So I went back about 10:30 but could not relocate the bird. I did think I heard him in about the same area, but never saw the bird chipping. Paulette Scherr Wildlife Biologist Arrowwood NWR 7745 11th St. SE Pingree, ND 58476 701-285-3341 Ext. 4 Subject: Recent sightings From: Dan Svingen <dsvingen AT FS.FED.US> Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2010 08:45:01 -0600 A young-of-the-year McCown's longspur was present at Rhame Prairie, Bowman Co. on 19 August. Beaver Lake State Park, Logan Co. had a little wave of migrants, including blackpoll warbler yesterday, 22 August, but nothing unusual to report with the exception of an adult Herring Gull on the lake itself. dan. Dan Svingen Grasslands Biologist Dakota Prairie Grasslands Bismarck, ND (701) 250-4443 ext. 107 Subject: Bowman Haley Dam From: Chris Hiatt <hiattch AT SBCGLOBAL.NET> Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2010 22:06:15 -0700 Hello birders, I went and did some birding at the dam this morning...lots of Franklin's and other gulls and shorebirds a long ways out on a sandbar on the west end of the lake. I wish I could've gotten closer. Black terns coming close was a treat, the owl/eastern bluebird boxes seemed empty near the campground with the exception of a swarm of bees in one. Guess I should take care of it. Here's my list: Good birding, Chris Hiatt Bowman Location: Bowman, Bowman County, ND, US Observation date: 8/22/10 Notes: MOstly birded around Haley Dam. Number of species: 55 Canada Goose 45 Gadwall 5 American Wigeon 15 Mallard 250 Blue-winged Teal 22 Northern Shoveler 70 Green-winged Teal 14 Ring-necked Pheasant 2 Eared Grebe 3 American White Pelican 75 Great Blue Heron 1 Turkey Vulture 1 Northern Harrier 2 Swainson's Hawk 2 Red-tailed Hawk (Krider's) 1 Ferruginous Hawk 2 American Coot 5 Semipalmated Plover 2 Killdeer 35 American Avocet 2 Spotted Sandpiper 1 Solitary Sandpiper 1 Greater Yellowlegs 5 Willet 1 Marbled Godwit 2 Least Sandpiper 40 Stilt Sandpiper 2 Long-billed Dowitcher 3 Wilson's Phalarope 25 Franklin's Gull 350 Ring-billed Gull 50 Black Tern 8 Rock Pigeon 7 Eurasian Collared-Dove 2 Mourning Dove 40 Say's Phoebe 2 Western Kingbird 8 Eastern Kingbird 12 Loggerhead Shrike 2 Horned Lark 4 Bank Swallow 15 Barn Swallow 12 House Wren 1 American Robin 2 Brown Thrasher 1 Yellow Warbler 4 Clay-colored Sparrow 1 Lark Sparrow 1 Lark Bunting 35 Song Sparrow 2 Red-winged Blackbird 39 Western Meadowlark 9 Yellow-headed Blackbird 1 American Goldfinch 4 House Sparrow 5 Subject: Minot Lagoons From: Ron Martin <jrmartin AT SRT.COM> Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2010 22:45:34 -0500 ND-Birders: Shorebirds today at the Minot Lagoons: Black-b. Plover - 2 Semipalmated Plover - 3 Killdeer - 12 Am. Avocet - 60 Spotted Sandpiper - 20 Willet - 1 L. Yellowlegs - 13 Hud. Godwit - 1 Semipalmated Sandpiper - 371 Least Sandpiper - 53 Baird's Sandpiper - 36 Stilt Sandpiper - 25 Wilson's Phalarope - 900 Red-n. Phalarope - 160 Good birding, Ron Martin Sawyer Subject: Weekend From: Ron Martin <jrmartin AT SRT.COM> Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2010 22:14:15 -0500 ND-Birders: New for the fall in Oak Park today was a Nashville Warbler, among seven species of warblers. Yesterday I had an Am. Black Duck on a small pond on the west side of Ray in Williams Co. This species is quite rare west of Hwy 83. Good birding, Ron Martin Sawyer Subject: re judges rule: not a Calliope From: Jlegge <jlegge AT DAKTEL.COM> Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2010 13:52:12 -0500 Subject: Hummingbird From: Rick <fholbrook AT CABLEONE.NET> Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2010 13:51:28 -0500 The first migrant that I have seen during this migration season stopped off to feed on our Milkweed along with about 10 Monarch Butterflies. Rick Holbrook Fargo, ND N 46°53'251" W 096°48'279" Remember the USS Liberty http://www.ussliberty.org/ Reply to: fholbrook(at)cableone.net Subject: ND Field Notes Online From: Corey Ellingson <crackerjackbirder AT BIS.MIDCO.NET> Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2010 13:40:52 -0500 Greeting Birders, Ron Martin and I have completed the editing for the Spring Season 2010, and a Adobe Acrobat PDF file is available at the following link on the net: http://ndbirdingsociety.com/customContent.php?seq=27&title=ND Seasonal Reports Online For anyone that would rather have a Word copy of the report, feel free to email me. crackerjackbirder AT bis.midco.net Local bird report from me... lots of mosquitoes, and the first warbler migrant for Bismarck this morning - Mr. Wilson at Sleepy Hollow. Good Birding, Corey Ellingson Bismarck, ND Subject: Calliope hummer in Barnes County -possible From: jlegge <jlegge AT DAKTEL.COM> Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2010 10:06:40 -0500 I have photos of what I believe to be a Calliope Hummingbird which perches right by my kitchen wiindow feeder. I thought at first he was an immature ruby-throated because he was smaller and had a streaky throat and uneven red neck. Today he was fighting with a ruby-throated male and the size and coloration differences were quite notable, so I checked the bird guides and with the white streaks under the chin and the irregular red throat, smaller size and shorter bill I concluded he was a Calliope. I have sent photos to Ron Martin for confirmation and am waiting for confirmation. Any one else wanting to see photos, email me and I will send you one. -- Jean Legge jlegge AT daktel.com Barnes County Valley City, ND 58072 Subject: Northern Cardinal From: Rod Fossen <rfossen AT MIN.MIDCO.NET> Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2010 00:51:30 -0500 Greetings All, My family and I were in Fargo last weekend moving my daughter into a dorm at NDSU. Early Sunday morning I went to the Forest River area to try to see my first N. Cardinal. It didn't take long, I saw two during the two hours I was there and heard several others. For being such a loud, colorful and somewhat large bird they sure are hard to spot, a couple of times I was close to one singing and did not see it. I also saw 3 Red-bellied Woodpeckers another first for me. Rod Fossen, Minot Subject: Recent sightings From: Dan Svingen <dsvingen AT FS.FED.US> Date: Fri, 20 Aug 2010 10:35:45 -0600 On Sat. and Sun, 14 & 15 Aug., the girls and I camped at Ft. Lincoln State Park, Morton Co. From the cabin area, we were able to see juvenile bald eagles (not yet masters of all they surveyed), juvenile piping plover, and several adult least terns. The surrounding woods were busy with family groups of many species, including: brown thrashers, gray catbirds, Baltimore orioles, warbling vireos, etc. I saw no obvious migrants. Yesterday, 19 Aug. I found a flock of 31 common nighthawks, several family groups of American kestrels, and a family group of red-headed woodpeckers in the Ponderosa Pine Area, Slope Co. I also saw ~10 ferruginous hawks, including one on the SD state line in Bowman Co. that was being harrassed by a prairie falcon. Good birding. dan. Dan Svingen Grasslands Biologist Dakota Prairie Grasslands Bismarck, ND (701) 250-4443 ext. 107 Subject: Oak Park warblers From: Ron Martin <jrmartin AT SRT.COM> Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2010 21:44:41 -0500 ND-Birders: Today was the first day this fall in Oak Park in Minot with a small push of migrant warblers. Temps were in the upper 40s this morning. Tennessee Warbler - 4 Yellow Warbler - 16 Chestnut-sided Warbler - 1 Black-and-White Warbler - 1 Am. Redstart - 1 Wilson's Warbler - 5 Canada Warbler - 1 Good birding, Ron Martin Sawyer Subject: WF parks From: Keith Corliss <koolhand AT JUNO.COM> Date: Thu, 19 Aug 2010 18:11:50 GMT Nice to see migrants again. Nine warbler species in the West Fargo (Cass Co.) parks this morning. Biggest contributing species to the count total? Wilson's--over 20. K. Corliss, West Fargo Subject: Aug 18 From: David Lambeth <davidlambeth58201 AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2010 18:57:24 -0700 The showers early this morning may have resulted in a few more birds in our yard this morning. The number of orioles and grosbeaks was up, but not warblers. My guess is that we have seen the same two Nashville Warblers for over a week. The first Purple Finch, likely juveniles, appeared yesterday. This morning an Osprey was checking out the stormwater retention pond at Columbia Mall. Dave Lambeth Grand Forks, North Dakota Subject: gull ID correction From: Erik Bruhnke <birdfedr AT HOTMAIL.COM> Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2010 00:10:50 -0500 On August 8th, I called Larry about a Sabine's Gull at the Devil's Lake water treatment pond. I am very thankful for him posting, however I did want to post a correction that has been made since my initial ID on that bird. My two best photos of the bird can be found at these links: http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/127521625 http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/image/127521915 After some talk with Ron Martin, Larry Igl, and Oregon birding friends Shawneen Finnegan & Dave Irons, the consensus about this bird is Bonaparte's Gull. I have never observed a Bonaparte's Gull in the clean, brown juvenile plumage (only in the plumages after 1st winter). I've learned a lot on IDing young Bonaparte's Gulls, and this email clears up the ID of the bird I saw. -with looking at the photo of the gull in front of the Franklin's Gull, the gull of interest appears smaller than a Franklin's Gull. When considering size of the gull, this rules out Black-headed Gull. Sabine's Gull and Bonaparte's Gull are left for the identification. While looking at the neck-coloration alone, a Sabine's Gull will have a partially brown neck and side of face, whereas Bonaparte's Gull should have a brown pale collar on the sides of the neck, in addition to the white throat and partially white face. Also, Bonaparte's Gull has a black spot just behind the eye, whereas a Sabine's Gull is mostly brown throughout the back of the face. The overall "feel" of the bird in my photographs is Bonaparte's Gull. Ron did mention that a few juvenile-plumaged Bonaparte's Gulls make their way into North Dakota in early August every year, so that is in support of Bonaparte's Gull. Bonaparte's Gulls typically breed throughout the boreal forests of Canada. I am unfamiliar with them in the prairies (they do move through the area, just not exactly sure when), however on Lake Superior Back home, they form flocks that pass by in early fall (September is when a considerable number move through). Sabine's Gulls (my initial thought on the bird), breed in high arctic islands and along the northeast shores of Alaska. They are seen throughout the prairies in small numbers every fall in small numbers, but typically a little later than early August. Black-headed Gulls (another thought on the bird, before the confirmation of Bonaparte's Gull) are a Eurasian Gull (Europe and Asia) that show up along the northeast coast of North America during the winter. Ron made the good point as well about this gull, in that it would be unlikely that such a distant gull, being a juvenile , could have flown all the way to North Dakota. Black-headed Gull (as a species) has never been seen in North Dakota. Good birding, Erik Bruhnke Waukesha, WI NATURALLY AVIAN - Bird photography and guided bird hikes www.pbase.com/birdfedr birdfedr AT gmail.com Subject: Pacific Ocean to Wisconsin road trip, bird lists From: Erik Bruhnke <birdfedr AT HOTMAIL.COM> Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2010 16:07:06 -0500 This post is belated by about two weeks. It is lengthy, however if you are interested in hearing about the fun sightings my friend and I had on the road-trip from the Pacific Ocean to Wisconsin, this email has you covered. I'm including this email in ND-Birds because several of the lists in this email are of North Dakota sightings along the way. All but the first bird list in this email are from the major hikes/drives/birdwatching spots we visited. I hope you enjoy the email :) First off, here is our trip raptor list, tallying 256 birds total: Bald Eagle 2 Golden Eagle 4 Turkey Vulture 83 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 Northern Harrier 2 Osprey 27 Red-shouldered Hawk 2 Red-tailed Hawk 74* Swainson’s Hawk 24** Ferrugenous Hawk 2 American Kestrel 20 Peregrine Falcon 2 Prairie Falcon 2 Unknown buteo 3 Unknown raptor 6 *Mix of different morphs throughout the trip (light, intermed. and dark). Also one Krider’s Red-tailed Hawk observed in North Dakota ** Of the 13 Swainson’s Hawks observed in Oregon, all 13 were dark morphs! I worked my last day in Oregon on July 30th. My friend Sarah Glesner joined me on the fantastic carpooling/birdwatching trip back to Wisconsin. This email consists of the bird species we found at each major birdwatching location we stopped at along the way home. We left Cottage Grove, OR, and birdwatched at the Bandon Marsh NWR and Bandon Jetty Friday evening before camping nearby. 7/30/2010 Bandon Jetty & Bandon Marsh NWR (Bandon, OR) California Gull Western Gull Least Sandpiper Killdeer Wandering Tattler Great Egret (North Bend, OR) Bewick’s Wren Bald Eagle …The next day Sarah and I met up with Tom & Carol Sykes (birdwatching riends from Wisconsin). We visited Battle Rock & the Port Orford Marina first thing in the morning. 7/31/2010 Battle Rock & Marina (Port Orford, OR) GRAY WHALE Red-throated Loon Pacific Loon Common Loon Western Grebe Surf Scoter Brown Pelican Pigeon Guillemot Marbled Murrelet Black Oystercatcher Black Turnstone Caspian Tern California Gull Glaucous-winged Gull Band-tailed Pigeon Violet-green Swallow Song Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Red Crossbill …We then headed to Coquille Point for most of the mid-day and afternoon 7/31/2010 Coquille Point (Bandon, OR) Tufted Puffin Double-crested Cormorant Pelagic Cormorant Western Gull Turkey Vulture Osprey Common Murre Pigeon Guillemot …spent the afternoon at Bandon Marsh 7/31/2010 Bandon Marsh NWR (Bandon, OR) Heerman’s Gull Greater Yellowlegs Black-bellied Plover Bald Eagle Red-shouldered Hawk Swainson’s Thrush Wilson’s Warbler Orange-crowned Warbler Red Crossbill …Then camped out at Sixes Campground, where Stellar’s Jays and Chestnut-backed Chickadees were observed! …The next morning we visited Battle Rock one last time 8/1/2010 Battle Rock (Port Orford, OR) Brown Pelican Pigeon Guillemot Black Oystercatcher California Gull Glaucous-winged Gull Heerman’s Gull Band-tailed Pigeon Cliff Swallow Song Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow …then drove to Cape Blanco, where we got to experience the gusty-ness and true edge-of-the-ocean environment one last time 8/1/2010 Cape Blanco, OR Brandt’s Cormorant Western Grebe (22) Turkey Vulture Band-tailed Pigeon Chestnut-backed Chickadee Bushtit Cedar Waxwing Golden-crowned Kinglet Song Sparrow American Goldfinch Red Crossbill …From Cape Blanco, we drove to Bandon to explore the beauty of this amazing town one last time. 8/1/2010 Pullout just south of Riverside Drive (Bandon, OR) Semipalmated Sandpiper Least Sandpiper Western Sandpiper Glaucous-winged Gull Western Gull California Gull Canada Goose …then we drove to Sisters in the Cascade Mountains, to camp out for the night. Our campsite provided us with some heart-of-the-mountain species 8/1/2010 Indian Ford Campground campsite (Sisters, OR) Mountain Chickadee Bushtit Flycatcher sp (call-notes heard, but unable to ID) … the next day, we had an AMAZING time on the path that leads off from the campground (over the course of .8 miles round trip hiking). I saw my first White-headed Woodpecker & Cassin’s Vireo that morning! 8/2/2010 Indian Ford Campground hiking path (Sisters, OR) WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKER Clark’s Nutcracker Pygmy Nuthatch White-breasted Nuthatch Red-breasted Nuthatch Mountain Chickadee Common Yellowthroat CASSIN’S VIREO Hammond’s Flycatcher Gray Flycatcher -possibly Dusky Flycatcher Chipping Sparrow Audubon’s Yellow-rumped Warbler (observed feeding young in nest!) Pine Siskin Red Crossbill …Sarah and I then took a walk to the Cascade-known Best Western birdfeeders, where we had quite a show! 8/2/2010 Best Western birdfeeders (Sisters, OR) Northern Flicker (red-shafted) PINYON JAY (new one for Sarah and I!) Stellar’s Jay Western Scrub Jay Pygmy Nuthatch Brewer’s Blackbird Dark-eyed Junco Pine Siskin …we then had a long, but amazingly beautiful drive to Malheur Lake , and stopped at a pond along the direct drive to the campground 8/2/2010 Pond (Malheur, OR) American Coot Cinnamon Teal Wilson’s Phalarope Greater Yellowlegs Spotted Sandpiper Black-necked Stilt Killdeer Black Tern Western Kingbird Yellow-headed Blackbird Brewer’s Blackbird …on the drive between Bend and Malheur this is what we had Ferrugenous Hawk Swainson’s Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Northern Harrier American Kestrel Turkey Vulture Golden Eagle Black-crowned Night Heron Western Meadowlark (camped at Paige Springs Campground) 8/2 and 8/3/2010 Paige Springs Campground Malheur, OR Great Horned Owl California Quail Common Nighthawk Violet-green Swallow Gray Catbird Yellow Warbler Pygmy Rabbit … Sarah and I did the auto loop at Malheur Lake and were pretty much beside-ourselves at how amazing that place is. The White-faced Ibis were seen by the hundreds, flocks of mixed blackbirds (thousands in some flocks) and Bank Swallows tallying well over a thousand birds! 8/3/2010 Malheur Lake NWR Auto Loop (Malheur, OR) Pied-billed Grebe Western Grebe Gadwall Cinnamon Teal White-faced Ibis (incredible) Wilson’s Phalarope Northern Harrier Bank Swallow Black-billed Magpie Eastern Kingbird Willow Flycatcher Western Wood Pewee Red-winged Blackbird Bobolink Yellow-headed Blackbird Coyote 8/3/2010 Malheur Lake NWR headquarters (Malheur, OR) American White Pelican Great Blue Heron California Quail Calliope Hummingbird – at feeders!! Loggerhead Shrike (family) Western Tanager Yellow Warbler …Sarah and I spent the night at a friend’s house in Idaho, where we had both Goldfinch Species (American & Lesser), and an unknown hummingbird species at the feeder, which we saw brief glimpses of. … we then visited Glacier National park two days later, and drove through the park on Hwy 2 (Going-to-the-Sun Road). It was INCREDIBLE. 8/5/2010 Glacier National Park, on Going-to-the-Sun Road, MO Osprey Hairy Woodpecker Northern Flicker Red-breasted Nuthatch Mountain Chickadee Chestnut-backed Chickadee Golden-crowned Kinglet Pacific-slope Flycatcher (feeding young at nest under ledge, next to waterfall) American Dipper American Robin Cedar Waxwing Audubon’s Yellow-rumped Warbler MacGillivray’s Warbler Dark-eyed Junco Chipping Sparrow Black-headed Grosbeak Western Tanager Black-backed Woodpecker Pine Siskin Black Bear …we slept at Summit Campground near East Glacier. This campground was “on top” of the continental divide. Very cool campground! That next morning we got up early and walked through the entire Aster Trail (maybe 3-4 miles total round trip). 8/6/2010 Aster Trail, Glacier National Park, MO Black-backed Woodpecker Chestnut-backed Chickadee Mountain Chickadee Olive-sided Flycatcher Yellow-rumped Warbler …we then headed to North Dakota, and visited the Devil’s lake water treatment pond (just north of the lake) 8/7/2010 Devil’s Lake Water Treatment pond, Devil’s Lake, ND American Coot ~150 Eared Grebe ~30 Redhead 7 Canvasback 3 Mallard ~400 Green-winged Teal 20 Blue-winged Teal ~500 Northern Pintail ~25 Northern Shoveler ~50 Red-breasted Merganser 1 Bonaparte’s Gull 2 Ring-billed Gull 2 Franklin’s Gull ~600 Black Tern 2 Common Tern 3 Pectoral Sandpiper 1 Greater Yellowlegs 20 Lesser Yellowlegs 5 Least Sandpiper 1 Ferrugenous Hawk 1 Peregrine Falcon 1 Nelson’s Sparrow 1 (only heard, but what a treat to hear!) …after being amazed by NoDak diversity, we birdwatched at the beach of Spirit Lake Casino, where I found a Little Gull last summer! 8/7/2010 Spirit Lake Casino beach, Devil’s Lake, ND Pied-billed Grebe 1 Western Grebe 1 Semipalmated Plover Greater Yellowlegs 1 Spotted Sandpiper 1 Ruddy Turnstone 1 Franklin’s Gull ~400 California Gull 4 Ring-billed Gull 3 …The last main stop for birdwatching before doing back to MN and WI was Kellys Sloughs NWR. This spot was a true favorite of mine from while working in Grand Forks two summers back, and I also made sure to visit this beautiful location on my drive home from North Dakota last summer. If you’re ever going through Grand Forks, I highly recommend this spot. 8/7/2010 Kellys Sloughs NWR, Grand Forks, ND Great Blue Heron 1 American White Pelican ~180 Semipalmated Plover 1 Killdeer ~15 Canada Goose Mallard Northern Pintail Northern Shoveler Blue-winged Teal Killdeer ~15 American Avocet 114 Greater Yellowlegs ~30 Lesser Yellowlegs ~45 Spotted Sandpiper 1 Willet 5 Marbled Godwit 1 Pectoral Sandpiper ~10 Stilt Sandpiper ~60 Dowitcher sp. ~110 White-rumped Sandpiper ~400 Baird’s Sandpipers ~200 Semipalmated Sandpiper ~40 Least Sandpiper ~30 Wilson’s Phalarope 15 Franklin’s Gull Ring-billed Gull Black Tern Cliff Swallow Eastern Kingbird If you're in northern MN this fall, be sure to stop by Hawk Ridge in Duluth, MN. I'll be there, pointing out raptors and educating visitors about identifying the raptors & explaining the feats of bird migration. Hope to see you there! Good birdwatching, Erik Bruhnke Waukesha, WI NATURALLY AVIAN - Bird photography and guided bird hikes www.pbase.com/birdfedr birdfedr AT gmail.com Subject: barn owls From: Nancy Drew <ncdrew AT POLARCOMM.COM> Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2010 10:17:42 -0500 I have been listening to barn owls here at our farm a mile west of Clifford, North Dakota for many years. I just saw at a USGS site (and then checked my Sibley's) that they are not normally in this area. Is this true, or is it just the maps have not caught up with reality? I have lived here since 1989 and have been hearing that blood-curdling scream since I moved here. In fact, since it is nice out, my windows were open last night and I listened to them for several hours. Nancy Drew in SW Traill County, just west of Clifford Subject: Oak Park Sunday From: Sherry <bird_nd AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2010 09:14:56 -0700 Wilson's Warbler American Redstart Yellow Warbler Black and White Rose-breasted Grosbeaks Warbling and Red-eyed Vireos Cooper's Hawk Least Flycatcher Cedar Waxwings and the rest of the "regulars" 8-8 Yardbirds Oven Bird Tennessee Warbler Black and White Yellow Warblers Ruby-throated Hummingbirds Black-headed and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks Chipping Sparrows feeding young Eastern Bluebirds House Finch and the regulars Sherry Leslie 725-4389 Subject: Fargo lagoons From: Ron Martin <jrmartin AT SRT.COM> Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2010 23:14:21 -0500 ND-Birders: Keith Corliss and I had 18 species of shorebirds today at the Fargo Lagoons. Among this group was a single Buff-br. Sandpiper. Good birding, Ron Martin Sawyer Subject: Scarlet Tanager From: Corey Ellingson <crackerjackbirder AT BIS.MIDCO.NET> Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2010 17:09:02 -0500 Greetings ND-Birders: My mother and I made a check for the Glossy Ibis at Lake Etta this morning. We saw Ibis but not one that I thought was the Glossy however. Many ibis were flying around that did not get a scope look. Meanwhile, we did a check at Dawson WMA south of Etta a few miles and were surprised to observe a fall SCARLET TANAGER(!) beside the parking lot. According to my notes, it may be a first county record. Also seen was a flyover Peregrine Falcon which was my first of year. On the way home, we made a stop at McKenzie Slough. Last year's pea field on the south half, east side of the main road yielded 6 BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER and 9 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER in a scope scan. The shorebird habitat at both locations is nearly non-existent. Good Birding, Corey Ellingson Bismarck, ND Subject: Oak Park Friday From: Ron Martin <jrmartin AT SRT.COM> Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2010 17:18:42 -0500 ND-Birders: There was a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher calling in Oak Park this morning. The only warbler migrants seen were Yellow and Black-and-White. Good birding, Ron Martin Sawyer Subject: BUOW, Kidder Co. From: Dan Svingen <dsvingen AT FS.FED.US> Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2010 09:20:04 -0600 Yesterday a burrowing owl was sitting on the fenceline along 47th St. SE, approximately 2.4 miles west of Highway 3. This road is about 4 miles south of the Dawson WMA. dan. Dan Svingen Grasslands Biologist Dakota Prairie Grasslands Bismarck, ND (701) 250-4443 ext. 107 Subject: Minot Lagoons From: Ron Martin <jrmartin AT SRT.COM> Date: Wed, 11 Aug 2010 21:14:14 -0500 ND-Birders: Shorebirds from the Minot Lagoons today: Black-b. Plover - 6 Semipalmated Plover - 17 Piping Plover - 2 Killdeer - 21 Am. Avocet - 101 Spotted Sandpiper - 29 L. Yellowlegs - 20 Sanderling - 3 Semi. Sandpiper - 38 Least Sandpiper - 2 Baird's Sandpiper - 93 Stilt Sandpiper - 5 Wilson's Phalarope - 2400 Red-necked Phalarope - 675 Also one attending Peregrine Falcon. Good birding, Ron Martin Sawyer Subject: Franklin's gull From: Chris Hiatt <hiattch AT SBCGLOBAL.NET> Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2010 21:51:09 -0700 Way back on July 18th I had a lone Franklin's gull just north of Gascoyne on US 12 in the middle of a wheat field that had a little standing water still.  Pretty early heading south I guess.  ALso took my father in law from Eureka, CA that was in town last week to the burrowing owl (school land site) west of Bowman and saw 2 owls.  ALong with lots of chesnut collared longspurs still.  3 am. bitterns where a surprise in the marsh there.  Also had two yellowthroats at Kalina Dam.  I'm in Cal. now until THursd. when I'll fly back to ND. But on the WY-Utah border had some golden eagles, osprey, bl.billed magpies, etc. as we were driving through Flaming Gorge down to Vernal Utah. Gorgeous.      Good Birding, Chris Hiatt Bowman Subject: another juvey gull From: Keith Corliss <koolhand AT JUNO.COM> Date: Tue, 10 Aug 2010 05:27:59 GMT Sunday afternoon, among the great numbers of Franklin's gulls at the Fargo lagoons, sat a juvenile Bonaparte's gull, my first of the season. K Corliss West Fargo Subject: ND Bird Checklist - review reminder From: Dan Svingen <dsvingen AT FS.FED.US> Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2010 11:24:02 -0600 On 14 May, I asked for volunteers to review the manuscript "Updated Checklist of ND Birds". Several of you responded. This is just a reminder that I would like your input (either as hardcopy or as "track changes" electronic edits) by 7 September 2010. I will then arrange a time to meet with Ron Martin and Larry Igl to go-over your input. My surface mail address is below. Thanks much! dan. (Chair, ND Bird Records Committee) Dan Svingen Grasslands Biologist Dakota Prairie Grasslands 240 W. Century Ave. Bismarck, ND 58501 (701) 250-4443 ext. 107 Subject: BBSA, Burleigh County From: Dan Svingen <dsvingen AT FS.FED.US> Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2010 09:41:29 -0600 Saturday, August 7, I found 8 buff-breasted sandpipers in an agriculture field 3 miles west of the junction of Old Highway 10 and US 83. The birds were in the sw corner of the intersection. Emily and I checked this and some similar sites last nite, to no avail. Good birding. dan. Dan Svingen Grasslands Biologist Dakota Prairie Grasslands Bismarck, ND (701) 250-4443 ext. 107 Subject: weekend birds From: Ron Martin <jrmartin AT SRT.COM> Date: Sun, 8 Aug 2010 21:47:30 -0500 ND-Birders: On the way to and from the ND Birding Society meeting in Oakes this weekend Corey E. and I had a chance to do some birding on Friday and Sunday. On Friday we had a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher in McIntosh Co. Today we had an Olive-sided Flycatcher at Johnson's Gulch in Dickey Co. A stop at DeWald Slough this afternoon produced an Am. Black Duck and a Glossy Ibis. The ibis was in the same area where they were seen repeatedly in June of this year. Good birding, Ron Martin Sawyer Subject: Hummingbird From: carl Stangeland <carlcs AT DAKTEL.COM> Date: Sun, 8 Aug 2010 20:47:13 -0500 Had the first Ruby-throated Hummingbird in the yard since late May. Carl Stangeland Jamestown Subject: Juvenile Sabine's Gull From: Lawrence D Igl <ligl AT USGS.GOV> Date: Sun, 8 Aug 2010 14:14:27 -0500 Erik Bruhnke called on Saturday, 8 August, to report that he found a juvenile Sabine's Gull in Devils Lake at the Spirit Lake Casino. Erik was passing through ND on his return trip from conducting field work in Oregon during the spring and summer. ************************************************************** Lawrence D. Igl, Ecologist U.S.G.S. Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center 8711 37th Street SE Jamestown, North Dakota 58401-7317 Phone: 701-253-5511 Fax: 701-253-5553 E-mail: ligl AT usgs.gov Internet: www.npwrc.usgs.gov ************************************************************** Subject: Fw: eBird Report - Home 417 Terrace Drive , 8/7/10 From: David Lambeth <davidlambeth58201 AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Sat, 7 Aug 2010 14:38:30 -0700 Birders, Although I couldn't make it to the NDBS fall field trip and meeting, I was treated with a surprising number of fall migrants at my home considering that it is still the first week of August. Perhaps the most unexpected was a Yellow-rumped Warbler and a Philadelphia Vireo. The complete list for 2 hours of watching is below, as posted to e-bird. Dave Lambeth Grand Forks, North Dakota --- On Sat, 8/7/10, do-not-reply AT ebird.org wrote: > From: do-not-reply AT ebird.org > Subject: eBird Report - Home 417 Terrace Drive , 8/7/10 > To: davidlambeth58201 AT yahoo.com > Date: Saturday, August 7, 2010, 4:33 PM > > > Location:     Home 417 Terrace Drive > Observation date:     8/7/10 > Notes:     This is a surprising number > of early fall migrants. In late night and early morning, > there were weak winds out of the southeast. A brief shower > occurred before 7 AM. The numbers reported are the maximum > number seen at any one time, except when different birds of > a given species could be distinguished by plumage. I got > good looks at all the warblers because they were coming to > water to bathe. > Number of species:     24 > > Ruby-throated Hummingbird     1  >    First of fall (actually first in yard in > 2010) > Downy Woodpecker     1 > Least Flycatcher     1 > Great Crested Flycatcher     1 > Warbling Vireo     1 > Philadelphia Vireo     1  >    Good looks at this one > Red-eyed Vireo     1 > American Crow     X > Black-capped Chickadee     1 > Red-breasted Nuthatch     1  >    First in yard for fall. > Gray Catbird     2 > Brown Thrasher     1 > Tennessee Warbler     5 > Nashville Warbler     3 > Yellow Warbler     4 > Yellow-rumped Warbler     1  >    Surprising date. Saw marks including some > yellow on cap, yellow rump, streaked sides, yellow at bend > of wing, and prominent white tail spots. > Chipping Sparrow     10  >    Both adults and juveniles > Song Sparrow     1 > Northern Cardinal     1 > Rose-breasted Grosbeak     1 > Baltimore Oriole     2 > House Finch     4 > American Goldfinch     5 > House Sparrow     1 > > This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org) > Subject: NDBS Fall Field Trip From: Corey Ellingson <crackerjackbirder AT BIS.MIDCO.NET> Date: Wed, 4 Aug 2010 18:41:11 -0500 Greetings ND-Birders: A reminder that this upcoming weekend is the annual Fall NDBS trip and meeting based in Oakes ND. Anyone is welcome to join us. (SD birders too if you like!) We will meet as a group Saturday morning at 6:30am in the parking lot of the Travel Inn. Looking at the internet, the location is west Main (88th St SE), 3 blocks west of Hwy 1 as it passes through Oakes. The phone number there is (701) 742-3403. Dinner has been arranged at Donna Diner at 5:30pm Saturday evening Aug 7th, with a business meeting following. I am told there is a separate meeting room available which I secured. Location for this establishment is 2 blocks east of Travel Inn, or 1 block west of Hwy 1 along Main St (88th St SE). It sounds like there will be 16 or so (that sent an RSVP), so should be a busy weekend! Good Birding, Corey Ellingson Bismarck, ND (701) 400-5891 Subject: Fw: Fargo Lagoons shorebirds From: Ron Martin <jrmartin AT SRT.COM> Date: Tue, 3 Aug 2010 22:49:04 -0500 ----- Original Message ----- From: Ron Martin To: ND Birds Sent: Monday, August 02, 2010 8:07 PM Subject: Fw: Fargo Lagoons shorebirds ----- Original Message ----- From: Ron Martin To: ND Birds Sent: Sunday, August 01, 2010 8:56 PM Subject: Fw: Fargo Lagoons shorebirds ----- Original Message ----- From: Ron Martin To: ND Birds Sent: Sunday, August 01, 2010 7:47 PM Subject: Fargo Lagoons shorebirds ND-Birders: I counted shorebirds at the Fargo Lagoons this am and tallied the following: Black-b. Plover - 2 Semi. Plover - 48 Killdeer - 97 Am. Avocet - 5 Spotted Sandpiper - 12 Willet - 2 Gr. Yellowlegs - 11 L. Yellowlegs - 203 Upland Sandpiper - 3 Marbled Godwit - 6 Ruddy Turnstone - 1 Least Sandpiper - 436 Semi. Sandpiper - 185 Baird's Sandpiper - 166 Pectoral Sandpiper - 2 Stilt Sandpiper - 67 Short-b. Dowitcher - 7 Red-n. Phalarope - 2 Also present: Mallard X Am. Black Duck - 1 Franklin's Gull - 5000 Peregrine Falcon - 1 At the Grand Forks Cemetery yesterday I had a Nashville Warbler and a Cape May Warbler. Good birding, Ron Martin Sawyer Subject: Devils Lake - Camp Grafton From: Rod Fossen <rfossen AT MIN.MIDCO.NET> Date: Tue, 3 Aug 2010 22:42:31 -0500 FYI, For the last couple of months the National Guard has been pumping the water out of the shooting range area next to Hwy 20. It is nearly empty now except for a couple of pools and lots of mud. There must be some concentrations of fish in those pools because many Egrets, Herons and Pelicans have been hanging out there along with numerous shorebirds. If anyone is gong to be in the area before it becomes completely dry I would suggest having a look there might be something interesting down there. This area has been full of water for at least the last four years. Rod Fossen, Minot Subject: Fargo lagoons--update From: Keith Corliss <koolhand AT JUNO.COM> Date: Tue, 3 Aug 2010 17:04:31 GMT There have been several species of shorebirds present at the Fargo lagoons this past week or so with 18 being seen by Ron Martin Sunday morning. Three buff-breasted sandpipers were there this morning (I missed them but Sujan saw them) as well. Some things to keep in mind with regard to the lagoon complex... Much construction is currently underway and has been for several weeks with heavy equipment and trucks moving about steadily. The dikes, i.e. roads, are nothing more than dirt in some places. And it can be rough. I wouldn't even attempt it after a rain. Most of the cells are dry or nearly so especially the four southern ones. The rainwater has created wonderful shorebird habitat as a result. The middle west cell is completely covered in waist-high weeds. Once water starts to flow into the lagoons whenever the city is done with whatever they are doing, this could make for some interesting birding with emergent vegetation. Bottom line: it's pretty good right now, might be even better later. But I would confine myself to weekends when the equipment is silent and not moving about. Plus you won't have to answer any strange questions about why you are in there. My two cents, Keith Corliss, West Fargo Subject: Red-breasted Nuthatch From: carl Stangeland <carlcs AT DAKTEL.COM> Date: Mon, 2 Aug 2010 19:42:30 -0500 I had two Red-breasted Nuthatch's in the yard this evening, first time I've seen them in the middle of summer. Carl Stangeland Jamestown Subject: Mckenzie County birding From: Stevan Hawkins <shawkins4 AT SATX.RR.COM> Date: Mon, 2 Aug 2010 17:13:06 +0000 ND-Birders: Got to McKenzie County on Thursday, July 29. After stopping at Watrford City's Long X Museum and Visitors Center and visiting with an aunt in town, I headed up 1806 to "Sand Creek Ranch". The high point of that drive was the hen Sharp-tailed Grouse with young near the south end of the Tobacco Garden Recreation Area. When I arrived at Sand Creek Ranch, I was greeted by Mountain Bluebirds, Barn Swallows, Say's Phoebes, and Western Kingbirds. What I thought to be a low flying bat turned out to be fast low-flying, smallish, Common Night-hawk After breakfast on Friday, my cousin Craig and I went outside. It was almost surprising to see a bluebird with red on the breast. This was my first inkling that Sand Creek Ranch also had Eastern Bluebirds. Lark Sparrows are everywhere on the ranch. For me it is almost odd seeing more of them tan Vesper Sparrows. American Crows are abundant on the ranch. During the conversation we saw a large bird fly away from us. As large as it was, my first impression was that it was a Great Blue Heron. The view in my binoculars showed a huge Buteo shape with the tail flared out that reminded me of large eagles I had seen in Mexico. Although the center of the tail showed fired-brick reddia tones, this had to be a juvenile Bald Eagle. I do not know if this is the same large, brown, eagle that Craig told me about sevefal months ago, or if this is a bird that was hatched in 2010. Lake Sakakawea has backed up into Sand Creek. Had a female Canvasback, judging by the shape of the head and beak. A pair of very dark ducks were much more problematic. Their beaks were "un-ducky" shaped, dark upper mandible, and dark orange lower for 2/3 of thr proximal portion of the lowere mandible. My impression was that they were margansers. The problem was that these birds were dabbling instead of diving as the Hooded Mergansers that winter in Bexar County TX to. The back of the head was shaggy, as a person would explect in Common Mergansers. Hopefully at least one of the 50-75 photographs I took will shed more light on this pair. While I was trying to figure out what in blazes these birds were, a Belted Kingfisher going here and there. There were some 30 or so Canada Geese in Sand Creek Bay, a couple of American White Pelicans, and a gull sp that a glance suggested being a Ring-billed or California Gull. In the meantime tha young eagle stayed in the snag it had landed in. When I gotto the top of the low bluff overlooking the bay, it had gone. About that time I flushed an adult Bald Eagle, which I took 4-8 photographs of. Going back to the house, I realized that HY Say's Phobes are almost all gray. In San Antonio we rarely see that plumage. Saturday's Caprock Canyon Trail hike at TR National Park was not nearly as productive. Part of that was due to my reaction to a sandwich I had gotten in Watford. Did see and hear Spotted Towhees. Heard Black-and-white Warblers. That poor showing is I need to put some more effort in the park this week. Sunday, August 1 provided a nice contrast. At the intersection of a section-line road and 37th St a small marsh had a Gadwalland and young. For the first time in my birding life I took the time to investigate Demick's Lake. The lake is smaller than shown on maps, whether due to drought or as a source for irrigation water. The lake was not visitible from the east-west County Road 12. Going south on 115th Avenue, Demick's Lake's waters were a good half of a mile away. Going south on 113th Avenue from CR 113 takes a person to a useful, albeit distant, view of the lake. The "ducks" looked to be Canada Geese. Up in the reeds other emergent vegetation some non-pelican white birds could only be egrets of some sort. My first guess of Great Egret was shot down by Svingen and Martin's 2004 checklist of the Little Missouri National Grasslands showing Snowy Egret being the only white colored heron in the area. After the N-S 115th Ave turned into the E-W 31 M St, I stopped at a dip where it crossed a S-N drainage. A pond on the south side of the road had a Gadwall with young + an Ameican Coot with young. The scolding wren sounded like a House Wren. What looked like a Lincon's Sparrow without the brown band across the breast was presumably a Clay-colored Sparrow or something else. Eastern Kingbirds continued to be common. After that, I passed by some interesting groves of tree along 31 M St. 1806 southbound to ND 23 didn't have much. I took CR 37 soutward from the ND 23-1806 intersection in an effort to find my Hawkins grandparents' ranch had been. Crossing over a ridge showed me a stock tank 100-150 yards away, pond running SE-NW. That had 20 or so Candad Geese. The drainage CR 37 takes before climbing an escarpment looks inteesting, but is private land. I took CR 37 up to a four-way intersection. Going south on the map's intimidating appearing dead-end road from that intersection takes a person to a portion of the Badlands that is part of the LM National Grasslands. That very interesting looking draingage is a tributary of Cherry Creek. It warrants further investigatin. It Ccan be accessed by taking CR 37 eastward from where it intersects US 85 between Watford Cit and TR National Park. The spur ends at private inholding in the grasslands. Now for lunch. Onward! Steve Stevan Hawkins San Antonio TX Subject: Re: Finally a Kestrel! From: Stevan Hawkins <shawkins4 AT SATX.RR.COM> Date: Sat, 31 Jul 2010 01:47:34 +0000 Charles: Western South Dakota and North Dakota from Spearfish to Belfield and Beach to Watford City all looked like irrigated pastures or cropland on Thursday. Can't say I noticed any AMKEs in that stretch, though. I will be on the lookout for them. Onward! Steve Stevan Hawkins San Antonio TX ---- Charles J Taft wrote: > Hi, > Driving north of the Burning Coal Vein Campground (officially still closed according to signs), heading toward Hwy 85 on 3rd Creek road, we saw a male Kestrel on the power line about a half-mile south of an intersection labeled 3rd Creek Rd and 50th St ??. This street doesn't show up labeled on Google Earth. But anyway, finally saw one, first one this year. Oh, several Mountain Bluebirds also noted along the way. And it is still quite green out there. > > Charles > > > Charles J Taft > cjtaft AT mac.com Subject: Finally a Kestrel! From: Charles J Taft <cjtaft AT MAC.COM> Date: Wed, 28 Jul 2010 11:58:54 -0500 Hi, Driving north of the Burning Coal Vein Campground (officially still closed according to signs), heading toward Hwy 85 on 3rd Creek road, we saw a male Kestrel on the power line about a half-mile south of an intersection labeled 3rd Creek Rd and 50th St ??. This street doesn't show up labeled on Google Earth. But anyway, finally saw one, first one this year. Oh, several Mountain Bluebirds also noted along the way. And it is still quite green out there. Charles Charles J Taft cjtaft AT mac.com Subject: Piping Plover at Alkaline Lake Thursday July 22 From: Dan Ackerman <dackman81 AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Mon, 26 Jul 2010 09:05:15 -0500 Sorry this is a late post. Fished Alkaline Lake (south of Tappen) this past Thursday (July 22) from shore along the SW edge of the lake and found a single piping plover foraging and hanging around right on the gravel road. The bird walked within 10 feet of me and my friends as we attempted to catch some fish! Good birding to all. Dan Ackerman 701-330-5781 Subject: Bad return address for Kent Jensen From: Stevan Hawkins <shawkins4 AT SATX.RR.COM> Date: Sat, 24 Jul 2010 11:08:33 -0500 ND-Birders: For some reason twice I have gotten the error message below when I have replied to Kent Jensen of SDSU. I want to reply, but can't. That is a bit frustrating. Thanks! Steve Stevan Hawkins San Antonio TX ******************************************************** auto-reply Message********************************************************* This message was created automatically by the mail system (ecelerity). A message that you sent could not be delivered to one or more of its recipients. This is a permanent error. The following address(es) failed: >>> Kent.Jensen AT sdstate.edu (reading confirmation): 554 Service >>> unavailable; Client host [cdptpa-omtalb.mail.rr.com] blocked using >>> Barracuda Reputation; >>> http://bbl.barracudacentral.com/q.cgi?ip=24.28.140.198 Subject: NDBS Fall Trip From: Corey Ellingson <crackerjackbirder AT BIS.MIDCO.NET> Date: Sat, 24 Jul 2010 09:51:30 -0500 Greetings Birders: The fall NDBS Field trip is just two weeks away in Dickey county, with a home base of Oakes. Just across the SD border near Hecla, the marshland has expanded tremendously in the last ten years. As a result, SD birders have found Least Bitterns, Tricolored Heron, Little Blue Herons, Glossy Ibis, Common Moorhen and Great-tailed Grackle. This will be an opportunity to check all the marshes on the North Dakota side of the border for the same species. Accommodations are available at Oakes Travel Inn - 701-742-3403. Quoted at $50 for a queen size bed for 2 people, wireless internet, continental breakfast, and each room has frig/microwave. I called this morning and they still have plenty of rooms available. For purposes of me setting up an evening meal with the business meeting, could those of you planning to attend please RSVP me so I can get an idea of a head count. The local diners close at 8pm, so arrangements may need to be made. Hope to see you there. Good Birding, Corey Ellingson Bismarck, ND Subject: Re: RFI: Sage Grouse at TR National Park South Unit From: Stevan Hawkins <shawkins4 AT SATX.RR.COM> Date: Sat, 24 Jul 2010 04:16:33 -0500 ND-Birders: I have been pleasantly flooded with information about the sad state of Greater Sage Grouse in North Dakota and South Dakota. Unfortunately North Dakota and South Dakota residents have all said that the news about Great Sage Grouse populations at least on the eastern edge of this species range is bad. . I have learned a lot, much of which people say will be discussed in the North Dakota Outdoors that is in the mail. Hopefully that issue will be in my mail box later today, Saturday. This has been after acting on my curiosity about the presence of GRSG on the TRNP checklist. In any case I will be printing the replies to my RFI so that I can use them when I get up to North Dakota on Monday or Tuesday. I also need to reply to each person individually after thanking the group in general. Thank you! Sincerely, Steve Stevan Hawkins San Antonio TX Subject: Lake Darling From: Ron Martin <jrmartin AT SRT.COM> Date: Fri, 23 Jul 2010 20:29:12 -0500 ND-Birders: Today on Lake Darling at Upper Souris NWR there was a pair of Clark's Grebes with at least one young in tow. They were up the lake about a half mile from the dam on the west side. Many young Western Grebes in the same area. Good birding, Ron Martin Sawyer Subject: RFI: Sage Grouse at TR National Park South Unit From: Stevan Hawkins <shawkins4 AT SATX.RR.COM> Date: Fri, 23 Jul 2010 14:37:31 -0500 ND-Birders: What with the upcoming Harley fest in Sturgis SD coming up, my route to North Dakota has been altered. The Orange-billed Nightingale-thrush is a one-time thing and it is anyone's guess as to when it will show up next in South Texas, my back yard, whereas American Three-toed Woodpecker, Great Gray Owl, and Dusky Grouse will be in the Rocky Mountains in 2011. How findable is Sage Grouse in the South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park South Unit and/or that area? Thanks! Steve Stevan Hawkins San Antonio TX Subject: Re: Phone numbers From: "Ricky D. Olson" <tatanka40 AT PIE.MIDCO.NET> Date: Fri, 23 Jul 2010 08:48:02 -0500 Stevan I surprised you did not know about birdingonthe.net. Many birders I know use this site especially while traveling to see what's been seen in the state they are birding in without having to sign up to their listserve. All listserve have archives of emails sent. Yahoo Groups host SD & NE listserves, you can go to yahoo groups and sign up as a member and look back at emails from a long time ago. Minnesota's MOU site has many years of archived listserve posts. ----- Original Message ----- From: Stevan Hawkins To: ND-BIRDS AT LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU Sent: Thursday, July 22, 2010 3:48 PM Subject: [ND-BIRDS] Phone numbers ND-Birders: This is to make people aware, not to make them panic. Today when I was doing a search for "Williston ND Birding" I came across http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NDAK.html It has a complete copy of every last post on ND-Birds for the past month. That copy includes whatever information the given person has included in their given ND-Birds post. It is useful to note where the observation is made and where the reporter is from. The phone number a person might want to give out in off-list communication. On the other hand, since Birding-On-The-Net has been around for ever and ever, phone numbers are in most cases probably not all that secret. Onward! Steve Stevan Hawkins San Antonio TX Subject: Re: Phone numbers From: James Tyler Bell <jtylerbell AT YAHOO.COM> Date: Fri, 23 Jul 2010 05:52:53 -0700 Actually, the archives of ND-Birds are freely accessible to anyone and go back to the dawn of creation of ND-Birds way back when it was on the National Audubon Society listserver. Birdingonthe.net doesn't have archives. There are a certain amount of lines of emails and once it gets to the bottom of the list, it falls of never to be seen again. You can't access it. The problem with ND-Birds is that there aren't that many posts so an email takes quite a while to fall of the bottom. Look at Texbirds and see how short the retention time is for emails to that list! Emails currently on there go back only to 7/17. ND-Birds goes back to 6/13! In case anyone on this list is unaware of Jack Siler's awesome collection of bird discussion lists, here's a link: http://birdingonthe.net/birdmail.html   Tyler Bell jtylerbell AT yahoo.com California, Maryland ________________________________ From: Stevan Hawkins To: ND-BIRDS AT LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU Sent: Thu, July 22, 2010 4:48:36 PM Subject: [ND-BIRDS] Phone numbers ND-Birders:   This is to make people aware, not to make them panic.  Today when I was doing a search for "Williston ND Birding" I came across http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NDAK.html  It has a complete copy of every last post on ND-Birds for the past month.  That copy includes whatever information the given person has included in their given ND-Birds post.  It is useful to note where the observation is made and where the reporter is from.  The phone number a person might want to give out in off-list communication.  On the other hand, since Birding-On-The-Net has been around for ever and ever,  phone numbers are in most cases probably not all that secret.   Onward!   Steve   Stevan Hawkins San Antonio TX Subject: Phone numbers From: Stevan Hawkins <shawkins4 AT SATX.RR.COM> Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2010 15:48:36 -0500 ND-Birders: This is to make people aware, not to make them panic. Today when I was doing a search for "Williston ND Birding" I came across http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/NDAK.html It has a complete copy of every last post on ND-Birds for the past month. That copy includes whatever information the given person has included in their given ND-Birds post. It is useful to note where the observation is made and where the reporter is from. The phone number a person might want to give out in off-list communication. On the other hand, since Birding-On-The-Net has been around for ever and ever, phone numbers are in most cases probably not all that secret. Onward! Steve Stevan Hawkins San Antonio TX Subject: Blue Jays, etc. From: Bernice Houser <sanishnd AT RTC.COOP> Date: Wed, 21 Jul 2010 20:49:20 -0500 Our Blue Jays have disappeared, too. We used to have several year 'round, with young ones in the summer. This year we saw 2 Blue Jays one day this spring, and that's it. Lots of other birds around, though. This morning there were Lark Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows, Lazuli Buntings, a very young Spotted Towhee ( don't think I have ever seen one that dark brown, and it only had spots on one wing, unless the other wing was hidden under the spotted one), a Hairy Woodpecker, and now, on this wonderful warm wind-less evening, the young Yellow Warblers are really taking advantage of the bird bath--the young Gray Catbird didn't stick around after the warbler family moved in. The number of Brown-headed Cowbirds has dropped considerably, so I am assuming they have found a nest in which to drop their eggs, so their job here is done. Lots of Goldfinches and House Finches at the feeders, and quite a few Mourning Doves, and the two Wild Turkeys make their appearance at least once a day, along with a Ring-necked Pheasant or two. We have raccoon problems now--in both the feeders and the garden. Never dull in the country--I only wish they didn't like to eat the same food we humans do! Bernice Houser Rural New Town ND Subject: Northern Cardinal From: Linda Gregg <lgregg AT FAR.MIDCO.NET> Date: Wed, 21 Jul 2010 20:10:48 +0000 I am sitting here watching a male Northern Cardinal eating out of a platform feeder on the ground in our backyard. Haven't seen one in the yard since Spring. Linda Gregg Horace, ND Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry Subject: Re: blue jays From: Rick <fholbrook AT CABLEONE.NET> Date: Wed, 21 Jul 2010 11:27:50 -0500 On 7/20/2010 10:08 PM, carol wrote: > Just a post to ask if anyone else has noticed a lack of blue jays? I > have always had a couple of pairs that bring the young to the > feeders. This year I have seen only a couple all year. Carol Harwood I never seen Blue Jays on my feeders during the summer; However, I have seen them flying around in our neighborhood. :-) -- Rick Holbrook Fargo, ND N 46°53'251" W 096°48'279" Remember the USS Liberty http://www.ussliberty.org/ Reply to: fholbrookatcableone.net Subject: Re: blue jays From: Daniel Ackerman <dackman81 AT GMAIL.COM> Date: Wed, 21 Jul 2010 11:03:40 -0500 Carol and others, I've actually noted more blue jays here in the last month than I have seen in the past three years that I have been in Bismarck. Just this morning we had 4 jays near our apartment courtyard! Good birding, Dan Ackerman On Tue, Jul 20, 2010 at 10:08 PM, carol wrote: > Just a post to ask if anyone else has noticed a lack of blue jays? I > have always had a couple of pairs that bring the young to the feeders. This > year I have seen only a couple all year. Carol Harwood > -- Daniel S. Ackerman 2015 N. 16th St. #14 Bismarck, ND 58501 (C): 701-330-5781