Thanks to gracious assistance from Jeanie Joppru, home owner Mary Broten, and good luck charm Ben Fritchman, Ben and I saw the black-headed grosbeak north of Thief River Falls just after noon today.
I arrived just after 10:00 a.m. and heard what I presumed (and later verified) was the bird. So I sat down about 50 yards from the feeders and waited, and waited, and waited. Saw 2 male rose breasteds and two female grosbeaks but the black headed did not show. When Ben arrived we looked for it and found it about 30 yards into the woods near the large wooden topped mammal feeders. A rose breasted male has a territory right next to, but seemingly not overlapping the black headed area. The song is very similar to a rose breasted, but a bit more "choppy." Also, it does not carry as well; the bird sounded somewhat muted compared to the rose breasted. If you hear it well, he is fairly close (at least that is how it played out for us). The homeowners request permission to anyone entering their yard, so you must call ahead. Home # 218 874-2080 Work # 218 681-0889 Thanks again to Ben (for feeding the numerous mosquitoes), Jeanie and Mary Randy Frederickson Willmar P.s. The entire western part of the state has standing water in fields and low areas, some spots are near flood stage.
