For most of the afternoon today (6 May), light winds and good lighting produced excellent viewing of birds on Lake Superior from the public access sites on Park Point. Between 5:20 and 6:10 PM, I watched 19 Red- throated Loons from the Beach House at the Park Point Recreation Area. The birds were far enough off shore to require a spotting scope, but the excellent viewing conditions left no doubt as to their identity. At almost the same time, Kim Eckert found a Red-throated Loon off 31st Street (Lafayette Square), making a total of 20 Red-throateds off Park Point this evening.
I found an adult Little Gull among a large gathering of Bonaparte's Gulls on Lake Superior off 22nd Street in the late afternoon; it was refound by Kim Eckert off Canal Park at about 7:00 PM, where most of the gulls seen earlier between 12th Street and the Recreation Area had assembled into a noisy congregation. A record high spring migration total of 4,153 Bonaparte's Gulls was carefully counted by groups of 10 at Park Point between 3:15 and 6:15 PM today (6 May). Not included in this total were flocks of 775 Bonaparte's seen earlier in the day near the mouth of Miller Creek off 27th Ave West and 943 Bonaparte's on the back side of Hearding Island, since they were assumed to be part of the evening congregation at Canal Park. Kim and I estimated that more than 3,000 Bonaparte's Gulls gathered at Canal Park in the early evening -- not including a large flock that passed overhead. Other highlights at Park Point: Horned Grebe -- total of 902, relatively late peak count Piping Plover -- unbanded bird still present at 22nd Street access Willet -- three between 12th Street and 22nd Street Ruddy Turnstone -- one at 22nd Street access Sanderling -- three at 22nd Street access Forster's Tern -- two at Recreation Area (Common Tern, which has a median arrival date of 1 May in northern Minnesota, has yet to be found at Duluth this spring). -- Peder H. Svingen Duluth, MN
