I was there with Don Kienholz (plus Milton Blomberg and Tanya--didn't get the last name) when the Golden-crowned Sparrow was seen this morning. As mentioned by Don and Milton, there are other bird feeders that this bird frequents. Rather than having everyone stand at Jeff Newman's feeders, it would be better if people spread out and checked other feeders as well as the alley way.
The one Common Eider was still present in front of the Beacon Point condos (off of E 22nd and 23rd Streets in Duluth), giving excellent views. Another diving bird was there too. Given the size and shape (and lack of a functioning scope), I thought it was a Red-necked Grebe. Later, Milton and I revisited Beacon Point with his scope to find that the bird was actually a Pacific Loon. (I forgot how tiny they are!) I'm guessing that this is the same individual that was spotted here on November 13th. The loon was seen north and south of the condos. I have photos, one of which I may put up on the MOU website. Thank you everyone for keeping us all updated on these rarities, and especially to Jeff Newman and Karl Bardon for finding them! Good birding, Alyssa DeRubeis visiting Golden Valley, Hennepin Co. ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
