* RBA
* North Dakota
* Statewide
* March 13, 2007
* NDST0703.13
Hotline: North Dakota
Update Date: March 13, 2007
Number: 701-250-4418
To Report: 701-250-4418
Coverage: Statewide
Compiler: Ken Torkelson, USFWS
Compiled: March 13, 2007
Transcriber: Jane Kostenko
mailto:kenneth_torkelson at fws.gov
- Birds Mentioned
GREAT GRAY OWL
Red-winged Blackbird
Canada Geese
Bald Eagle
NORTHERN HAWK-OWL
MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD
Rough-legged Hawk
Golden Eagle
Prairie Falcon
Northern Harrier
Horned Lark
Merlin
Cedar Waxwing
Northern Flicker
American Kestrel
Snow Bunting
Mallard
Wood Duck
GADWALL
LESSER SCAUP
Common Goldeneye
Mourning Dove
Short-eared Owl
Killdeer
Long-eared Owl
Snowy Owl
Gray Partridge
PEREGRINE FALCON
EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE
Northern Saw-Whet Owl
Rusty Blackbird
Common Grackle
NORTHERN PINTAIL
REDHEAD
RING-NECKED DUCK
LONG-TAILED DUCK
Lapland Longspur
American Tree Sparrow
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Black-capped Chickadee
American Goldfinch
Dark-eyed Junco
House Sparrow
Ring-billed Gull
CALIFORNIA GULL
Snow Goose
Northern Goshawk
-Transcript
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, March 13. All phone numbers
mentioned are area code 701 unless otherwise noted.
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
occurred before for the season being reported.
The signs of spring outnumber the signs of winter this week.
Larry Igl passes along a belated report of a GREAT GRAY OWL sighting
near Wimbledon in northwestern Barnes County on Feb. 19. Heber Golden
and his wife watched the owl fly in front of their vehicle and land
in a field near the road. Larry also reports three male RED-WINGED
BLACKBIRDS perched on cattails and singing near Pingree on March 3,
a flock of CANADA GEESE on the ice of a large wetland east of Jamestown
on March 8, and BALD EAGLES moving through the Jamestown area during
the first week of March. For more information, call Larry at 253-5511.
Dan Svingen heard a report of a NORTHERN HAWK-OWL seen March 9 near
Baldwin in Burleigh County, but could not re-locate the bird in
three tries. You can reach him at 250-4443, ext. 107.
Jan Sailer says her husband saw two male MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS at
their ranch south of Hettinger, in Perkins County, S.D. on March 7,
which was his birthday Jan says they have had eastern bluebirds
at the site in the past, but this species has not yet nested there.
For details, contact her at jngsailer@yahoo.com
Mark Gonzalez drove from Hettinger to Rapid City on Feb. 26, and
observed more than 20 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS, four GOLDEN EAGLES including
one on a large ground stick-nest, and three BALD EAGLES. Retracing
the same route on March 2, he saw two PRAIRIE FALCONS on the Grand
River National Grassland just inside South Dakota, three male
NORTHERN HARRIERS near Hettinger, and from 10-thousand to
15-thousand HORNED LARKS including numerous flocks of 50 to 250
birds. Mark notes that their numbers dropped off considerably when
he got north of Hettinger. Then, on March 2, he saw a MERLIN in
northwest Bismarck. Mark says the bird has been fairly regular
all winter. For more information, call him at 250-4443, ext. 106.
Linda Gregg saw a flock of 50 to 75 CEDAR WAXWINGS in her trees at
Horace on March 8. She has noticed a lot of activity at her feeders,
but no unusual species. Contact Linda at lgregg@wah.midco.net
Connie Norheim found three NORTHERN FLICKERS and a flock of CEDAR
WAXWINGS at Orchard Glen near Fargo on March 11. Along 52nd Ave. S.,
she encountered lots of singing HORNED LARKS in the field, and an
AMERICAN KESTREL was hunting in north West Fargo. Along old
Highway 81, Connie saw SNOW BUNTINGS, 25 MALLARDS in the ditch,
a flock of CANADA GEESE circling overhead, and a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK.
Call her at 232-4386.
A pair of WOOD DUCKS flushed from the Red River bank in north Fargo
on March 13. Dennis Wiesenborn says the sighting represents a
typical arrival date for the species. March 11 brought a wave of
new birds to that area, including seven GADWALLS, four LESSER SCAUP,
a COMMON GOLDENEYE and a MOURNING DOVE. On March 10, Dennis saw a
hunting SHORT-EARED OWL, which was a yard and neighborhood first.
Contact him at d.wiesenborn@ndsu.edu
Dan Ackerman reported a flock of more than 50 CANADA GEESE near
Exit 68 on the west side of I-29 at Fargo, plus numerous BALD EAGLES
along the Red River near Wahpeton on March 9. He heard KILLDEER in
the Wahpeton area on March 12. Contact him at 330-5781 or
daniel_ackerman@und.nodak.edu
Kathy Jacobson discovered a LONG-EARED OWL in Deering on March 9.
While walking, she saw it peeking out of a squirrel nest, and had
to come back with a scope and camera to record the lifer. For more
information, contact her at wesjacob@minot.com
After a friend alerted him, Wayne Easley drove to the Fessenden area
on March 10, and spotted a SNOWY OWL about six miles west and 1.5
miles south of the city. He also saw three pairs of GRAY PARTRIDGE,
nicely paired up. Wayne is at 234-2344.
Rick and Bonna Whitten-Stovall found good birding in Foster and
Wells counties on March 11. West of Carrington, they saw a
dark-morph NORTHERN HARRIER and a PEREGRINE FALCON. They were
amazed at the number of HORNED LARKS between Fessenden and Carrington,
and the same area held a few flocks of SNOW BUNTINGS. Contact them
at whitstov@yahoo.com
Jean Legge says the EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE was seen in Oakes on
March 8. On March 12, Jean heard a NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL near her
home at Valley City. For details, call her at 845-4762.
From Grand Forks County, Eve Freeberg saw seven RUSTY BLACKBIRDS
west of Grand Forks and six great horned owl nests on March 6;
AMERICAN KESTRELS on March 8 and 10; 14 COMMON GRACKLES near the
Air Base, a breeding pair of COMMON GRACKLES northwest of Merrifield
on March 10; three pairs of GADWALLS and seven CANADA GEESE on
March 11; and 60 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS, 15 NORTHERN HARRIERS and a
flock of 125 RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS on March 12. Eve says most of
the harriers were males, but the large blackbird flock included
some females. You can call her at 741-8105.
Ron Martin saw a male SNOWY OWL on the ice at the Minot lagoons on
March 6. Four days later, he found several new arrivals on the river
below Garrison Dam. They included NORTHERN PINTAIL, REDHEAD,
RING-NECKED DUCK and LESSER SCAUP. Ron adds that the LONG-TAILED
DUCK was still present in the tailrace, and he saw LAPLAND
LONGSPURS flying in the morning. On March 11, McHenry County held
NORTHERN HARRIER and MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD. Ron also had eight species
of raptors for the day, and he noted that things were starting to
move in small numbers, even though snow cover was still 50 percent
in some areas. For details, he’s at jrmartin@srt.com
Bernice Houser saw hundreds of CANADA GEESE in the Cartwright area
on March 10. She saw five BALD EAGLES near the Confluence Interpretive
Center west of Williston, and staff reported seeing 15 on March 9.
Near New Town, Bernice’s yard had attracted a couple more AMERICAN
TREE SPARROWS, in addition to the two that have been there all
winter. Contact her at sanishnd@hotmail.com
From Fort Yates, Thane Popelka says a female RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER
dined at his feeders last week. On March 11, he saw two HAIRY
WOODPECKERS, a DOWNY WOODPECKER, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE, three
AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES, three DARK-EYED JUNCOS and what he calls
the normal herd of HOUSE SPARROWS. Thane also saw a BALD EAGLE on
his drive from Fort Yates to Bismarck. Contact him at
lightningfog@yahoo.com
Clark Talkington found 24 RING-BILLED GULLS at the Tesoro Refinery
in Mandan on March 11, plus 11 more at Nelson Lake in Oliver County.
On the following day, he counted 12 CALIFORNIA GULLS and a SNOW GOOSE
at Nelson Lake, a KILLDEER at Sweet Briar Dam in Morton County and
a NORTHERN GOSHAWK west of Mandan. Clark is at ctalkington@bis.midco.net
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 more than 1,100 Waterfowl Production Areas in
North Dakota...offering some of the best birding opportunities in the
state. Contact Refuge offices for more information about visiting. For
phone numbers of individual Refuges, as well as additional information,
go to the Fish and Wildlife Service web site at www.fws.gov Click on
Offices, and click on North Dakota on the map.
- end transcript
* North Dakota
* Statewide
* March 13, 2007
* NDST0703.13
Hotline: North Dakota
Update Date: March 13, 2007
Number: 701-250-4418
To Report: 701-250-4418
Coverage: Statewide
Compiler: Ken Torkelson, USFWS
Compiled: March 13, 2007
Transcriber: Jane Kostenko
mailto:kenneth_torkelson at fws.gov
- Birds Mentioned
GREAT GRAY OWL
Red-winged Blackbird
Canada Geese
Bald Eagle
NORTHERN HAWK-OWL
MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD
Rough-legged Hawk
Golden Eagle
Prairie Falcon
Northern Harrier
Horned Lark
Merlin
Cedar Waxwing
Northern Flicker
American Kestrel
Snow Bunting
Mallard
Wood Duck
GADWALL
LESSER SCAUP
Common Goldeneye
Mourning Dove
Short-eared Owl
Killdeer
Long-eared Owl
Snowy Owl
Gray Partridge
PEREGRINE FALCON
EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE
Northern Saw-Whet Owl
Rusty Blackbird
Common Grackle
NORTHERN PINTAIL
REDHEAD
RING-NECKED DUCK
LONG-TAILED DUCK
Lapland Longspur
American Tree Sparrow
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Black-capped Chickadee
American Goldfinch
Dark-eyed Junco
House Sparrow
Ring-billed Gull
CALIFORNIA GULL
Snow Goose
Northern Goshawk
-Transcript
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, March 13. All phone numbers
mentioned are area code 701 unless otherwise noted.
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
occurred before for the season being reported.
The signs of spring outnumber the signs of winter this week.
Larry Igl passes along a belated report of a GREAT GRAY OWL sighting
near Wimbledon in northwestern Barnes County on Feb. 19. Heber Golden
and his wife watched the owl fly in front of their vehicle and land
in a field near the road. Larry also reports three male RED-WINGED
BLACKBIRDS perched on cattails and singing near Pingree on March 3,
a flock of CANADA GEESE on the ice of a large wetland east of Jamestown
on March 8, and BALD EAGLES moving through the Jamestown area during
the first week of March. For more information, call Larry at 253-5511.
Dan Svingen heard a report of a NORTHERN HAWK-OWL seen March 9 near
Baldwin in Burleigh County, but could not re-locate the bird in
three tries. You can reach him at 250-4443, ext. 107.
Jan Sailer says her husband saw two male MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS at
their ranch south of Hettinger, in Perkins County, S.D. on March 7,
which was his birthday Jan says they have had eastern bluebirds
at the site in the past, but this species has not yet nested there.
For details, contact her at jngsailer@yahoo.com
Mark Gonzalez drove from Hettinger to Rapid City on Feb. 26, and
observed more than 20 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS, four GOLDEN EAGLES including
one on a large ground stick-nest, and three BALD EAGLES. Retracing
the same route on March 2, he saw two PRAIRIE FALCONS on the Grand
River National Grassland just inside South Dakota, three male
NORTHERN HARRIERS near Hettinger, and from 10-thousand to
15-thousand HORNED LARKS including numerous flocks of 50 to 250
birds. Mark notes that their numbers dropped off considerably when
he got north of Hettinger. Then, on March 2, he saw a MERLIN in
northwest Bismarck. Mark says the bird has been fairly regular
all winter. For more information, call him at 250-4443, ext. 106.
Linda Gregg saw a flock of 50 to 75 CEDAR WAXWINGS in her trees at
Horace on March 8. She has noticed a lot of activity at her feeders,
but no unusual species. Contact Linda at lgregg@wah.midco.net
Connie Norheim found three NORTHERN FLICKERS and a flock of CEDAR
WAXWINGS at Orchard Glen near Fargo on March 11. Along 52nd Ave. S.,
she encountered lots of singing HORNED LARKS in the field, and an
AMERICAN KESTREL was hunting in north West Fargo. Along old
Highway 81, Connie saw SNOW BUNTINGS, 25 MALLARDS in the ditch,
a flock of CANADA GEESE circling overhead, and a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK.
Call her at 232-4386.
A pair of WOOD DUCKS flushed from the Red River bank in north Fargo
on March 13. Dennis Wiesenborn says the sighting represents a
typical arrival date for the species. March 11 brought a wave of
new birds to that area, including seven GADWALLS, four LESSER SCAUP,
a COMMON GOLDENEYE and a MOURNING DOVE. On March 10, Dennis saw a
hunting SHORT-EARED OWL, which was a yard and neighborhood first.
Contact him at d.wiesenborn@ndsu.edu
Dan Ackerman reported a flock of more than 50 CANADA GEESE near
Exit 68 on the west side of I-29 at Fargo, plus numerous BALD EAGLES
along the Red River near Wahpeton on March 9. He heard KILLDEER in
the Wahpeton area on March 12. Contact him at 330-5781 or
daniel_ackerman@und.nodak.edu
Kathy Jacobson discovered a LONG-EARED OWL in Deering on March 9.
While walking, she saw it peeking out of a squirrel nest, and had
to come back with a scope and camera to record the lifer. For more
information, contact her at wesjacob@minot.com
After a friend alerted him, Wayne Easley drove to the Fessenden area
on March 10, and spotted a SNOWY OWL about six miles west and 1.5
miles south of the city. He also saw three pairs of GRAY PARTRIDGE,
nicely paired up. Wayne is at 234-2344.
Rick and Bonna Whitten-Stovall found good birding in Foster and
Wells counties on March 11. West of Carrington, they saw a
dark-morph NORTHERN HARRIER and a PEREGRINE FALCON. They were
amazed at the number of HORNED LARKS between Fessenden and Carrington,
and the same area held a few flocks of SNOW BUNTINGS. Contact them
at whitstov@yahoo.com
Jean Legge says the EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE was seen in Oakes on
March 8. On March 12, Jean heard a NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL near her
home at Valley City. For details, call her at 845-4762.
From Grand Forks County, Eve Freeberg saw seven RUSTY BLACKBIRDS
west of Grand Forks and six great horned owl nests on March 6;
AMERICAN KESTRELS on March 8 and 10; 14 COMMON GRACKLES near the
Air Base, a breeding pair of COMMON GRACKLES northwest of Merrifield
on March 10; three pairs of GADWALLS and seven CANADA GEESE on
March 11; and 60 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS, 15 NORTHERN HARRIERS and a
flock of 125 RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS on March 12. Eve says most of
the harriers were males, but the large blackbird flock included
some females. You can call her at 741-8105.
Ron Martin saw a male SNOWY OWL on the ice at the Minot lagoons on
March 6. Four days later, he found several new arrivals on the river
below Garrison Dam. They included NORTHERN PINTAIL, REDHEAD,
RING-NECKED DUCK and LESSER SCAUP. Ron adds that the LONG-TAILED
DUCK was still present in the tailrace, and he saw LAPLAND
LONGSPURS flying in the morning. On March 11, McHenry County held
NORTHERN HARRIER and MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD. Ron also had eight species
of raptors for the day, and he noted that things were starting to
move in small numbers, even though snow cover was still 50 percent
in some areas. For details, he’s at jrmartin@srt.com
Bernice Houser saw hundreds of CANADA GEESE in the Cartwright area
on March 10. She saw five BALD EAGLES near the Confluence Interpretive
Center west of Williston, and staff reported seeing 15 on March 9.
Near New Town, Bernice’s yard had attracted a couple more AMERICAN
TREE SPARROWS, in addition to the two that have been there all
winter. Contact her at sanishnd@hotmail.com
From Fort Yates, Thane Popelka says a female RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER
dined at his feeders last week. On March 11, he saw two HAIRY
WOODPECKERS, a DOWNY WOODPECKER, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE, three
AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES, three DARK-EYED JUNCOS and what he calls
the normal herd of HOUSE SPARROWS. Thane also saw a BALD EAGLE on
his drive from Fort Yates to Bismarck. Contact him at
lightningfog@yahoo.com
Clark Talkington found 24 RING-BILLED GULLS at the Tesoro Refinery
in Mandan on March 11, plus 11 more at Nelson Lake in Oliver County.
On the following day, he counted 12 CALIFORNIA GULLS and a SNOW GOOSE
at Nelson Lake, a KILLDEER at Sweet Briar Dam in Morton County and
a NORTHERN GOSHAWK west of Mandan. Clark is at ctalkington@bis.midco.net
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 more than 1,100 Waterfowl Production Areas in
North Dakota...offering some of the best birding opportunities in the
state. Contact Refuge offices for more information about visiting. For
phone numbers of individual Refuges, as well as additional information,
go to the Fish and Wildlife Service web site at www.fws.gov Click on
Offices, and click on North Dakota on the map.
- end transcript