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- RBA

* North Dakota
* Statewide
* May 9, 2006
* NDST0605.09

ranscript

Hotline: North Dakota Update
Date: May 9, 2006
Number: 701-250-4418
To Report: 701-250-4418
Coverage: Statewide
Compiler: Ken Torkelson, USFWS
Compiled: May 9, 2006
Transcriber: Jane Kostenko
mailto:kenneth_torkelson@fws.gov

- Birds Mentioned

Least Flycatcher
Yellow Warbler
Palm Warbler
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Tennessee Warbler
Harris' Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Clay-colored Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Swainson's Thrush
Spotted Sandpiper
Black-and-White Warbler
Brown Thrasher
Northern Waterthrush
Eastern Phoebe
Orange-crowned Warbler
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Cooper's Hawk
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Bobolink
Baltimore Oriole
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Chimney Swift
Purple Finch
Nashville Warbler
Swamp Sparrow
Broad-winged Hawk
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Field Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
SNOWY EGRET
Great Egret
Tundra Swan
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Burrowing Owl
Virginia Rail
Sora
Marsh Wren
Cliff Swallow
Forster's Tern
Brown Creeper
Savannah Sparrow
Willet
Upland Sandpiper
Grasshopper Sparrow
HENSLOW'S SPARROW
LeConte's Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Pileated Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
American Avocet
Short-billed Dowitcher
Lesser Yellowlegs
Long-billed Curlew
Wilson's Phalarope
Marbled Godwit
Least Sandpiper
Great Blue Heron
Loggerhead Shrike
Swainson's Hawk
Wilson's Snipe
Wilson's Phalarope
Chipping Sparrow
Blue Jay
Barn Swallow
Peregrine Falcon
Baltimore Oriole
Northern Mockingbird
Western Kingbird
American Golden Plover
Blue-headed Vireo
Sanderling
Baird's Sandpiper
Piping Plover
Green Heron
Spotted Sandpiper
Glaucous Gull
Cliff Swallow
Ruddy Turnstone
Dunlin
Sedge Wren
Black-crowned Night-heron
Cooper's Hawk
Osprey
Great Horned Owl
Long-eared Owl
Western Kingbird
Western Tanager
WHITE-FACED IBIS
Bald Eagle
Sedge Wren
Spotted Towhee
Mountain Bluebird
Sharp-tailed Grouse

Welcome to the North Dakota Rare Bird Alert compiled by the North Dakota
Birding Society and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This report was
prepared on Tuesday, May 9. Unless otherwise noted, all phone numbers
mentioned are area code 701.

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

More first-of-spring sightings this week.

A May 8 visit to Trefoil Park in Fargo brought several new seasonal
sightings for Connie Norheim. They included LEAST FLYCATCHER, YELLOW
WARBLER, PALM WARBLER, GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH and a singing TENNESSEE WARBLER.
Other sightings that day included lots of HARRIS' SPARROWS and
WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS, a few CLAY-COLORED SPARROWS and LINCOLN'S
SPARROWS, several SWAINSON'S THRUSH, a SPOTTED SANDPIPER and a
BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER. Returning home, Connie found a BROWN THRASHER in
her yard. On May 6, she birded the same park with Becky Oberlander and
Laurren Schwarz, with some of the same birds and some different ones. The
list included NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH, EASTERN PHOEBE, ORANGE-CROWNED
WARBLERS, lots of RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS and a COOPER'S HAWK. Her north
Fargo backyard held a CLAY-COLORED SPARROW. For more information, call
Connie at 232-4386.

Dennis Wiesenborn reports lots of HARRIS' SPARROWS in north Fargo on May 9.
He also recorded his first ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK and first BOBOLINK that
day. Dennis adds that a BALTIMORE ORIOLE was calling from across the Red
River. He notes good numbers of YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, as well as quite a
few BLACKPOLL WARBLERS, YELLOW WARBLERS and ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS. On
May 2, Dennis watched a pair of CHIMNEY SWIFTS over Trefoil Park, along
with a CLAY-COLORED SPARROW and two PURPLE FINCHES. On May 1, highlights
included a NASHVILLE WARBLER west of Oak Grove Park and a SWAMP SPARROW in
his yard. For details, contact Dennis at d.wiesenborn@ndsu.edu

Mark Otnes birded southern Sargent County on May 5, recording BROAD-WINGED
HAWK, COOPER'S HAWK and SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, FIELD SPARROWS and a single
LARK SPARROW. At Tewaukon National Wildlife Refuge, he added a couple of
SNOWY EGRETS and many GREAT EGRETS. In Richland County, Mark found two
late TUNDRA SWANS in a flooded field along Hwy. 18 just south of the
Sheyenne River. Contact him at 241-4195.

The first RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD of the season stopped at Linda Gregg's
yard in Horace on May 7. Contact Linda at lgregg@wah.midco.net

Jean Legge's first Barnes County BURROWING OWL in decades turned up May 6
north of Valley City. Other birds that morning included VIRGINIA RAIL,
SORA, MARSH WREN, CLIFF SWALLOW, FORSTER'S TERN, BROWN CREEPER and many
SAVANNAH SPARROWS. Other sightings that day included WILLET, UPLAND
SANDPIPER, GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS and SAVANNAH SPARROWS. On May 8, Jean
added a singing HENSLOW'S SPARROW, LECONTE'S SPARROW, SAVANNAH SPARROW,
GRASSHOPPER SPARROW, VESPER SPARROW and SONG SPARROW near her home. On May
7, Jean's walk netted a LEAST FLYCATCHER, PILEATED WOODPECKER and
YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER. For details, call Jean at 845-4762.

>From Jamestown, Dan Buchanan spied a PALM WARBLER in Klaus Park on May 2.
On April 28, Dan saw numerous AMERICAN AVOCETS, a small flock of
SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS, a LESSER YELLOWLEGS, three LONG-BILLED CURLEWS, a
pair of WILSON'S PHALAROPES, MARBLED GODWITS, probable LEAST SANDPIPERS,
and two GREAT BLUE HERONS at or near McKenzie Slough, east and south of
Bismarck. At the Crystal Springs interchange, Dan saw a LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE,
with a SWAINSON'S HAWK a little farther on. For more information, call Dan
at 252-6604.

A May 7 field trip in Grand Forks County discovered a WILSON'S SNIPE,
UPLAND SANDPIPERS, MARBLED GODWITS, WILSON'S PHALAROPES, HARRIS' SPARROWS,
CLAY-COLORED SPARROWS, VESPER SPARROWS, SAVANNAH SPARROWS, CHIPPING
SPARROWS, BLUE JAY, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER and BARN SWALLOWS. On the west
side of Kellys Slough National Wildlife Refuge, Betsy Batstone-Cunningham
heard MARSH WRENS and SORA, and later saw the wren and heard the sora
again. Back in Grand Forks, Betsy saw a PEREGRINE FALCON on the "happy
face" water tower. Contact her at batsham@gra.midco.net

The first ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK of the season reached Dave Lambeth's yard
in Grand Forks on May 9. He adds that SORAS and VIRGINIA RAILS have been
calling in the coulee that runs through his back yard. For more
information, e-mail Dave at davidlambeth58201@yahoo.com

Another May 9 ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK turned up at the Grand Forks
cemetery. Eve Freeberg says the same location also held TENNESSEE WARBLER,
BALTIMORE ORIOLE and a NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD on that date. Other sightings
included a WESTERN KINGBIRD northwest of Grand Forks. On May 8, Eve
discovered an AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER at Kellys Slough National Wildlife
Refuge, along with PALM WARBLER and BLUE-HEADED VIREO at the cemetery. May
7 brought a SANDERLING northwest of Grand Forks and a BAIRD'S SANDPIPER at
the refuge. On May 6, Eve saw four PIPING PLOVERS northwest of Grand
Forks, along with CLAY-COLORED SPARROW and LARK SPARROW, plus a GREEN HERON
and SPOTTED SANDPIPER. On May 4, she discovered a GLAUCOUS GULL northwest
of Grand Forks, plus LEAST SANDPIPER, CLIFF SWALLOW and RUDDY TURNSTONE.
May 3 brought a DUNLIN and a SEDGE WREN to the refuge. On May 2, Eve saw a
FORSTER'S TERN at the refuge, a BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, and a HARRIS'
SPARROW in her yard. Contact her at 741-8105.

Corey Ellingson rounded up 86 species in eight hours of birding Burleigh
County on May 7. He reported a pair of COOPER'S HAWKS in Sleepy Hollow
Park in Bismarck, an OSPREY at Sibley Park, a SANDERLING at McKenzie
Slough, two GREAT HORNED OWL young at McKenzie Slough WMA, a LONG-EARED OWL
at Sleepy Hollow Park, and two WESTERN KINGBIRDS at Tom O'Leary golf course
in Bismarck. Corey relays a report that Dave Griffiths recorded a young
male WESTERN TANAGER at a residence in Hettinger on May 5. For details,
contact Corey at tcellingson@juno.com

Dave Lindee discovered at least five WHITE-FACED IBIS in a slough about
three miles south of the NDSU ag research station in Minot on May 6.
Contact him at davelindee@srt.com

Ron Martin and Sherry Leslie birded J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife
Refuge and McHenry County on May 7. Highlights included a BALD EAGLE near
a new nest on the refuge, YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKERS drumming in the
sandhills on the refuge, 21 LECONTE'S SPARROWS along the refuge's auto tour
route, as well as SEDGE WREN and AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER. Contact Ron at
jrmartin@srt.com

Rita Satermo reports Myrtle YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS have reached the New
Town area in large numbers. Contact her at rsatermo@rtc.coop

Also from the New Town area, the first ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK of spring
reached Bernice Houser's yard on May 9. That arrival ties three other
years for the earliest. Other sightings that day included a second SPOTTED
TOWHEE, the first LARK SPARROW of the season and a new little flock of
YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS. On May 7, Bernice drove the "bluebird trail,"
finding several male and one female MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS, a few SHARP-TAILED
GROUSE still on the lek, and a LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE. Despite the May 4 cold,
several new birds arrived. They included LINCOLN'S SPARROW, WHITE-THROATED
SPARROW and CLAY-COLORED SPARROW. You can reach Bernice at
sanishnd@hotmail.com

Now, a couple items for your calendar. Long Lake National Wildlife Refuge
will host an Introduction to Waterbirds class on Wednesday, May 17. The
class will teach identification of shorebirds, wading birds and waterfowl
that use the refuge. For details, call Lynda Knutsen at 387-4397. And,
the South Dakota Ornithologist's Union's spring meeting is set for May
19-21 in Belle Fourche. The event will include field trips, a photo show,
banquet and picnic. For more information, contact Vic Fondy at
vicdonna@mato.com or 605-269-2553.

That concludes this report from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the
North Dakota Birding Society. This report is normally updated each
Tuesday. The Fish and Wildlife Service operates 62 National Wildlife
Refuges and 1,100 Waterfowl Production Areas in North Dakota...offering
some of the best birding opportunities in the state. Contact refuge
managers for more information about visiting. For phone numbers of
individual refuges, as well as additional information, go to the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service web site at www.fws.gov Click on Offices, and click
on North Dakota on the map.

- End Transcript