The first MOU field trip of the fall will happen next Saturday, September 10th in Duluth, Minnesota. We're going to head out and hit all of the local migrant traps, searching for all species. The trip was orginally planned for the following weekend, but has been moved to avoid the Inline Marathon.
There has been some concern that moving the trip earlier will decrease our chance of finding certain hard-to-find birds, but I don't think that will be the case. This will still be a fantastic trip at a beautiful time of the year, with a great possiblity for vagrants and rare migrants. Look at recent sightings in the area: Lark Bunting, Red Knot, and Little Gull. This is a fantastic time for Jaegers and we'll spend some time in the evening, just sitting on the beach scanning for the birds. My co-leader will be Mike Hendrickson, a long-time swami of Duluth birding and the man who taught me everything I know about birding the area. He and I have both spent extensive amounts of time combing the area in the fall and know the best places to hit migrant waves and the more reliable places for the rarer species. I know that gas expense is a concern, so we'll carpool as much as possible, to save everyone the hassle of filling up at over $3.00 a gallon. If you'd like to attend, please send me an email at this address and I'll sign you up and give you additional details on exact meeting locations and times. Hope to see you out there! Tom Auer MOU Field Trip Chairman
