MOU Field Trip to Duluth: Jaegers, Terns and Gulls on Lake Superior When:September 24th 2011 Time: 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Leader: Mike Hendrickson Where to Meet: At ParkPoint Recreational Area. *Park at the large parking lot near the play ground to meet me and hopefully some assistant leaders. What to Bring: Scope, binoculars, guide books, lawn chair, rain suit (in case of rain), warm jacket, hat and possibly gloves and bring a lunch or snacks. We are not going to designate a time for lunch or a place to eat lunch. Lunch is on your time. There is a Subway in the Canal Park area to grab a quick lunch. Max. of Birders: NO limit of birders!! Every MOU member is invited to come and spend the day on the beaches of Lake Superior. Cost: FREE! Just get in your car and meet us for the day in Duluth! Late September is a excellent month to look for jaegers, terns and gulls on Lake Superior. Last year an adult Long-tailed Jaeger was located at Wisconsin Pt. as well as Parasitic Jaegers and one Pomarine Jaeger that was well documented. Also several Sabine Gulls were also seen off Minnesota Point and Wisconsin Point last fall season. Past years Little Gulls have been spotted on Lake Superior along with Arctic Terns.
We will spend time on Park Point on lawn chairs scanning Lake Superior for jaegers, terns and gulls but also we will keep an eye out for shorebirds such as Sanderlings, Golden Plovers, Black-bellied Plovers and possibly a Whimbrel. Several species of waterfowl will be seen and hopefully we might see some early Scoters or Long-tailed Ducks flying by us. This is good time for Red-throated Loons and the time to start looking for Pacific Loons on Lake Superior. Above us many species of raptors will be using the Minnesota Point as a land bridge into Wisconsin and beyond. Several species of passerines will be found in the trees and bushes Wisconsin Society of Ornithologists will be having their annual Jaeger trip at Wisconsin Point and we will be in communication with the leaders to see if they are getting jaegers off Gull Bluff or spotted some odd gull or Arctic Tern If the jaegers are easily seen over at Wisconsin Point vs Park Point we will make the trip over there to view the jaegers and join them for a bit. Also while we are there we can go to the end of Wisconsin Pt to the Superior Entry Way and scan the waters off the tip of Minnesota Point for birds and also chum the gull to us and look for a early Thayer’s Gull or a Lesser Black-backed Gull. I’ll bring several large bags of old bread to use as chum to bring the gulls to us and hopefully lure the jaegers in. This is a casual trip with some hiking and sitting or standing on the beach. We will hike around Park Point to look for passerines in the early morning but mid morning we will devote ourselves to sit and scan for jaegers, terns and gulls for the rest of the day.. Plus loons, waterfowl, shorebirds and raptors are to be found on the beach. If birders want to be with us in the morning hours and then head up to Hawk Ridge for the afternoon flight that is perfectly ok with me! I’ll share some identification tips on gulls, terns and jaegers plus other birds we see through the day. So if you want to spend a nice fall day on the shores of Lake Superior and scan for some interesting birds… please join me. KEEP THIS POST AND PRINT IT OUT AND STICK IT ON YOUR CALENDAR OR REFRIGERATOR TO REMIND YOU THAT THERE IS A FREE BIRDING TRIP IN DULUTH. Of course I'll make a few more reminders as the time gets closer -- lets enjoy spring and summer first. Mike Hendrickson Duluth, Minnesota Website: http://www.mikehendricksonbirding.com Blog: http://colderbythelakebirding.blogspot.com/ ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
