North Dakota (Statewide) RBA
April 22, 2008

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Subject: RBA: North Dakota, April 22, 2008
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*RBA 
*North Dakota 
*Statewide 
*April 22, 2008 
*NDST0804.22 

-Transcript

Hotline: North Dakota Update
Date: April 22, 2008
Number: 701-527-0730
To Report: 701-527-0730
Coverage: Statewide
Compiler: Ken Torkelson
Compiled: April 22, 2008
Transcriber: Jane Kostenko
mailto: tork02 AT juno.com

-Birds Mentioned 

WHOOPING CRANE 
Cedar Waxwing 
Bohemian Waxwing 
WHITE-FACED IBIS 
Cinnamon Teal 
Greater Yellowlegs 
Brown Creeper 
Fox Sparrow 
House Finch 
YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT HERON 
Marbled Godwit 
Lesser Yellowlegs 
Orange-crowned Warbler 
Cooper's Hawk 
American Kestrel 
Red-breasted Nuthatch 
Tree Swallow 
Yellow-rumped Warbler 
Turkey Vulture 
Spotted Towhee 
White-crowned Sparrow 
Franklin's Gull 
American White Pelican 
Eared Grebe 
Northern Shoveler 
Pied-billed Grebe 
Western Grebe 
Tundra Swan 
Bufflehead 
American Avocet 
Eastern Phoebe 
Sprague's Pipit 
Chipping Sparrow 
Forster's Tern 
Wilson's Phalarope 
CASPIAN TERN 
White-throated Sparrow 
Clark's Grebe 
Bonaparte's Gull 
Belted Kingfisher 
Red-winged Blackbird 
Common Grackle 
Mourning Dove 
Pine Siskin 
American Goldfinch 
Merlin 
Northern Cardinal 
Golden-crowned Kinglet 
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 
Northern Flicker 
Horned Grebe 
Greater Scaup 
Herring Gull 
Red-tailed Hawk 
Western Meadowlark 
Vesper Sparrow 
Wilson's Snipe 
Savannah Sparrow 
Brown-headed Cowbird 
American Wigeon 
Ross's Goose 
Loggerhead Shrike 
TRUMPETER SWAN 
Common Loon 
Baird's Sandpiper 
THAYER'S GULL 
Ring-billed Gull 
Lesser Scaup 
Hermit Thrush 
Double-crested Cormorant 
Greater White-fronted Geese 
Osprey 
Swamp Sparrow 
Lincoln's Sparrow 
Short-eared Owl 
Northern Harrier 
Swainson's Hawk 
Chestnut-collared Longspur 
Sharp-tailed Grouse 
Great Egrets 
Hudsonian Godwit 
Purple Finch 
Eastern Bluebird 
Purple Martin 
Peregrine Falcon 
Broad-winged Hawk 
Red-necked Grebe 
Red-breasted Merganser 
Dunlin 
Pectoral Sandpiper 
Sandhill Crane 
Yellow-headed Blackbird 
Greater Prairie-Chicken 
Lapland Longspur 
Great Blue Heron 
Snowy Owl 
Semipalmated Sandpiper 
Semipalmated Plover 
Willet 
Long-billed Dowitcher 
American Tree Sparrow 
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 
Bald Eagle 
Long-eared Owl 
Great Horned Owl 
EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE 
Least Sandpiper 
Lark Sparrow 
Canvasback 
Common Goldeneye 
Common Merganser 
Burrowing Owl 

Welcome to the North Dakota Rare Bird Alert compiled by the 
North Dakota Birding Society. This report was prepared on 
Tuesday, April 22, 2008. All phone numbers are area code 701 
unless otherwise noted. 

Transcriber's Note: Birds listed in ALL CAPS in the Birds Mentioned 
section signify that the Revised Checklist of North Dakota Birds 
lists them as Occasional, Accidental, Extirpated, or never having 
occurred before for the season being reported. 

The first whooper report of spring, many other seasonal firsts, and lots more. 

Wayne Easley passes along what he calls a "credible report" of three 
WHOOPING CRANES sighted four miles north of Bowdon on April 17. 
Sorry, no details. Wayne says fruit trees in Harvey have attracted a 
large flock of CEDAR WAXWINGS and a few BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS. 
You can reach him at easley57@yahoo.com 

Ryan Shively had two great finds on April 21. He saw a WHITE-FACED
IBIS on Johnson Lake WMD, which is located about seven miles south
of Martin. At Goose Lake near Harvey, he recorded a pair of CINNAMON
TEAL. You can reach Ryan at 442-5474 or ryan_shively@fws.gov 

New arrivals in Stutsman and Barnes counties include GREATER 
YELLOWLEGS at Ypsilanti, BROWN CREEPER and FOX SPARROW 
at Wimbledon on April 13 and a HOUSE FINCH building a nest in 
Jamestown on April 15. Larry Igl has more information at 253-5511. 

People are still seeing the YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT HERON in 
Valley City. It remained at the "little dam" on April 16, but Bob 
O'Connor found it at the Viking Drive bridge on April 19. He's at
robert.oconnor@NDSU.EDU 

Sherry Leslie saw the night heron in Valley City on April 17. She also 
found her season-first MARBLED GODWITS, along with GREATER 
YELLOWLEGS and LESSER YELLOWLEGS in Wells County. 
The following day brought Sherry to Sleepy Hollow Park in 
Bismarck, where she recorded an ORANGE-CROWNED 
WARBLER, two COOPER'S HAWKS, AMERICAN KESTREL 
and four RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES. Back home near 
Burlington on April 19, she saw her first TREE SWALLOWS 
of spring. Contact her at sherry_leslie@EXCITE.COM 

Ellin Lindee recorded several YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS in 
her northwest Minot backyard on April 20. But the strangest activity 
came on April 21, when two TURKEY VULTURES attempted to 
mate in and above their yard. For details, it's daveandellin@SRT.COM 

Charles J. Taft found an early SPOTTED TOWHEE in west Minot 
on April 21. A WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW took a drink in the 
Taft yard on April 22. Contact Charles at cjtaft@mac.com 

Ron Martin reports a big movement of birds into the Minot area 
on April 14-15. He saw many FRANKLIN'S GULLS and AMERICAN 
WHITE PELICANS on April 15, and saw the number of EARED 
GREBES grow from four to 150, FRANKLIN'S GULLS jumped 
from three to 550 in that time, and the number of NORTHERN 
SHOVELERS went from 200 to 1,300. New arrivals on April 15 
included PIED-BILLED GREBE, WESTERN GREBE, TUNDRA 
SWAN, BUFFLEHEAD, AMERICAN AVOCET, LESSER 
YELLOWLEGS, GREATER YELLOWLEGS, EASTERN PHOEBE 
and YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER. On April 20, Ron observed 
ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER and SPRAGUE'SPIPIT in 
McLean County, CHIPPING SPARROW, FORSTER'S TERN
in the Turtle Lake area, WILSON'S PHALAROPE and CASPIAN 
TERN at Lake Brekken-Holmes, and WHITE-THROATED SPARROW 
and CLARK'S GREBE at Nelson Lake. On April 19, Ron saw a 
BONAPARTE'S GULL at Goose Lake near Harvey. Contact 
him at jrmartin@srt.com 

Bob Peterson saw a BELTED KINGFISHER at the Harvey dam 
on April 16. He reports a "normal supply" on ducks in the Heimdal 
area. Try Bob at kq6af@GONDTC.COM 

Mo O'Mara saw a TURKEY VULTURE as she crossed the Missouri 
River bridge near Buford on April 17. Try Mo at mo1_omara@yahoo.com 

From Beach, Diane Bingeman is seeing RED-WINGED BLACKBIRDS, 
COMMON GRACKLES and MOURNING DOVES. She notes there are 
still 10-12 PINE SISKINS and a few AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES 
around the area. Contact Diane at bingeman@midstate.net 

Larry Nielsen believes MERLINS are nesting on the NDSU campus in 
Fargo. He saw two separate birds in nearby spruce trees on April 14. 
Contact Larry at 232-3855. 

Connie Norheim discovered a NORTHERN CARDINAL at the south 
end of Riverside Cemetery in Fargo on April 16. On April 19, she and 
Becky Oberlander saw COOPER'S HAWK, GOLDEN-CROWNED 
KINGLET and CHIPPING SPARROW at Trefoil Park, EASTERN 
PHOEBE, YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER and COOPER'S 
HAWK at Oak Grove Park, NORTHERN FLICKER, HORNED 
GREBE, EARED GREBE, TUNDRA SWANS, GREATER YELLOWLEGS 
and FRANKLIN'S GULLS at the Fargo lagoons, and GREATER SCAUP 
at the Harwood lagoon. In a field north of the Fargo dump, they added 
HERRING GULLS and FRANKLIN'S GULLS. Call Connie at 232-4386 
for details. 

Rick Shaw visited the Fargo, West Fargo and Harwood lagoons on 
April 16. He reported a good variety and good numbers of waterfowl 
plus AMERICAN KESTREL, RED-TAILED HAWK, WESTERN 
MEADOWLARK and VESPER SPARROW. Try Rick at 
ricknsu@cableone.net 

Keith Corliss saw a pair of WILSON'S SNIPE over the Fargo landfill 
on April 16. During a two-hour run with Mary Alice Bergen through 
Fargo and West Fargo parks and lagoons on April 18, they saw 
TREE SWALLOW, CHIPPING SPARROW, SAVANNAH SPARROW, 
VESPER SPARROW, BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD, HORNED 
GREBE, AMERICAN WIGEON, YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER 
and ROSS'S GOOSE. Two nights earlier, Dean Riemer joined Keith 
at the West Fargo lagoons, where they found LOGGERHEAD 
SHRIKE. On April 18, Dean saw a pair of TRUMPETER SWANS 
at the Fargo lagoons, and he discovered a COMMON LOON at 
the Harwood slough on April 19. His April 18 visit to the Fargo 
lagoons was highlighted by a WHITE-FACED IBIS, plus eight 
BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS. On April 19, a field north of the Fargo
landfill produced a first-cycle THAYER'S GULL, six HERRING 
GULLS, at least 100 RING-BILLED GULLS, a dozen FRANKLIN'S 
GULLS and two BONAPARTE'S GULLS. On a return visit the following 
day, Dean counted three HERRING GULLS, at least 100 RING-BILLED
GULLS and four FRANKLIN'S GULLS. The THAYER'S GULL was still 
present on April 21, as were six HERRING GULLS, 250 RING-BILLED
GULLS and four FRANKLIN'S GULLS. Dean is at driemer@KWH.COM 
You can find Keith at kcorliss@forumcomm.com 

Pat Beauzay and Jan Knodel visited some of those same spots on April 20. 
They saw a THAYER'S GULL fly into the Fargo landfill, and recorded a few 
GREATER SCAUP and many LESSER SCAUP at the West Fargo lagoons. 
They saw HORNED GREBES at Lake Bertha and other locations, 
AMERICAN AVOCET near Lake Bertha, MARBLED GODWITS near 
McLeod, several VESPER SPARROWS, as well as a Harlan's RED-TAILED 
HAWK northwest of McLeod. Call Pat at 231-7064. 

Dennis Wiesenborn says he has moved from north Fargo to north Moorhead, 
but still sees good birds on both sides of the river. He recorded his
earliest-ever
ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER on the Minnesota side on April 15, a 
HERMIT THRUSH in Trefoil Park on April 11, a TURKEY VULTURE over
the Red River on April 13, DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT and 200 
GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE on the river on April 14. In north 
Fargo on April 15, Dennis recorded OSPREY, SWAMP SPARROW, 
LINCOLN'S SPARROW,YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, BELTED 
KINGFISHER, PIED-BILLED GREBES and HERMIT THRUSH. 
Contact him at d.wiesenborn@NDSU.EDU 

Rick Holbrook spotted his spring-first WHITE-THROATED SPARROW 
on April 21 in Fargo. He's at fholbrook@cableone.net 

Mark Otnes birded Kidder, Stutsman and Barnes counties on April 18. 
He counted five SHORT-EARED OWLS, good numbers of NORTHERN 
HARRIERS, SWAINSON'S HAWKS and RED-TAILED HAWKS, a few 
VESPER SPARROWS, some possible SAVANNAH SPARROWS, a 
single CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPUR and LOGGERHEAD 
SHRIKE. He notes that SHARP-TAILED GROUSE were common 
and active. Mark says Chase Lake was mostly open, and held 
PIED-BILLED GREBE, EARED GREBE, HORNED GREBE and 
WESTERN GREBE as well as a COMMON LOON. He also counted 
two GREAT EGRETS and a single HUDSONIAN GODWIT. Try him at 
markotnes@cableone.net 

From Horace, Linda Gregg recorded her first-of-the-year WHITE-THROATED 
SPARROWS on April 21, and says she is seeing more male PURPLE 
FINCHES these days. You can reach Linda at lgregg@wah.midco.net 

Sharon Watson's backyard near Buxton attracted some seasonal-firsts 
on April 17. She saw three TREE SWALLOWS, a male EASTERN BLUEBIRD 
and NORTHERN FLICKER. On April 21 she added a PURPLE MARTIN scout. 
Contact Sharon at alanwat@infionline.net 

The returning male PEREGRINE FALCON at Grand Forks may have attracted 
a mate. Wick Corwin says the female is Terminator, a 2006 hatch from 
Brandon, Manitoba, whose mother was raised in Fargo in 2003. 

Lots of spring firsts for Dave Lambeth in and around Grand Forks. On 
April 16, he recorded BROAD-WINGED HAWK, RED-NECKED GREBE, 
three RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS, DUNLIN, PECTORAL SANDPIPER 
and BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD. On April 20, Magnus Elfwing joined 
Dave to bird Kelly's Slough refuge and the surrounding area. Among the 
52 species they found were 225 SANDHILL CRANES, two HUDSONIAN 
GODWITS, SAVANNAH SPARROW and YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD. 
They were surprised to see three male and one female GREATER 
PRAIRIE- CHICKENS on a small island, and the males were displaying. 
Earlier that day, Magnus recorded YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER, 
CHIPPING SPARROW and VESPER SPARROW. For details, it's 
davidlambeth58201@@yahoo.com 

Betsy Batstone-Cunningham estimated more than 1,000 LAPLAND LONGSPURS 
in a field in Grand Forks County on April 16. At Kelly's Slough refuge, she 
recorded AMERICAN AVOCET, four MARBLED GODWITS, a GREAT BLUE 
HERON and a number of AMERICAN KESTRELS, as well as a flock of 
yellow-shafted NORTHERN FLICKERS just north of the refuge. Betsy 
learned that Russ and Pat Wilber had a MERLIN and a COOPER'S 
HAWK in their yard in Grand Forks, and they saw a BELTED 
KINGFISHER along the Greenway. Contact Betsy at batsham@gra.midco.net 

Eve Freeberg birded Grand Forks County several times in the past week or 
so. On April 16, she recorded BROAD-WINGED HAWK, a late immature 
SNOWY OWL, PECTORAL SANDPIPER, MARBLED GODWIT, DUNLIN, 
SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER, BAIRD'S SANDPIPER, EARED GREBE, 
RED-BREASTED MERGANSER and 74 RED-NECKED GREBES. On 
the following day, she added VESPER SPARROW, SAVANNAH 
SPARROW, BONAPARTE'S GULL, YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD 
and WILSON'S SNIPE. April 20 added SWAMP SPARROW and 
HUDSONIAN GODWIT to her list, and on April 21, she found 
WHITE-THROATED SPARROW, SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, 
WILLET and a hybrid cinnamon teal. Contact Eve at 741-8105. 

Todd Larson has twice seen a possible TRUMPETER SWAN at the 
site in Grand Forks County where a pair successfully nested last year. 
He birded Nelson County on April 19-20, finding PIED-BILLED GREBES, 
HORNED GREBES, EARED GREBES and three RED-NECKED GREBES, 
several AMERICAN AVOCETS, MARBLED GODWITS, LESSER 
YELLOWLEGS and a likely LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER in the Aneta 
and Kloten areas, AMERICAN TREE SPARROW, CHIPPING SPARROW, 
YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET and 
immature BALD EAGLE near Petersburg, about 10 GREATER 
PRAIRIE-CHICKENS near Dahlen, some 200 AMERICAN WHITE 
PELICANS and 100 DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS at Lake
Laretta near Michigan, plus SAVANNAH SPARROW, SWAMP 
SPARROW, SONG SPARROW and VESPER SPARROWS. 
Todd added two FOX SPARROWS near Larimore on April 20, 
and an April 21 trip to Kelly's Slough refuge yielded MARBLED 
GODWIT, HUDSONIAN GODWIT and WHITE-THROATED 
SPARROW, while Turtle River State Park held 10 YELLOW-RUMPED 
WARBLERS. Contact Todd at i81.ou812@yahoo.com 

Corey Ellingson's recent trips to Sleepy Hollow Park in Bismarck 
resulted only in EASTERN PHOEBE and GOLDEN-CROWNED 
KINGLET until April 15 when he saw two LONG-EARED OWLS. 
A FOX SPARROW visited Corey's yard from April 10-12, and he 
saw a YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER on April 15. He's at tcellingson@juno.com 

Bob Neugebauer found one or more SHORT-EARED OWLS north of 
Hurdsfield on April 19, and a few GREAT HORNED OWLS on nests 
in Wells County. At the Steele elevator, he saw EURASIAN 
COLLARED-DOVES that had been there since last summer. On 
April 20, a trip to McDowell Dam near Bismarck turned up a COMMON 
LOON. Try Bob at bobneugebauer@yahoo.com 

Clark Talkington hit some of the hot spots in Emmons, Burleigh and 
Kidder counties on April 18. He discovered 17 WHITE-FACED IBIS 
between Napoleon and Dawson, SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, WILLET 
and seven LEAST SANDPIPERS at McKenzie Slough, five HUDSONIAN 
GODWITS at Long Lake refuge and 110 MARBLED GODWITS, along 
with THAYER'S GULL and BELTED KINGFISHER at Lake Etta, 
FORSTER'S TERN at Lake Isabella, an EASTERN PHOEBE singing 
on territory at Linton, a SAVANNAH SPARROW near Linton, LARK 
SPARROW between Linton and Beaver Bay, and a YELLOW-HEADED 
BLACKBIRD at Horsehead Lake. On April 19, Clark saw a COOPER'S 
HAWK in Bismarck and a TREE SWALLOW at Tesoro Refinery in 
Mandan. Two days earlier, he found a VESPER SPARROW in the 
Linton area. That was preceded on April 16 by five WESTERN GREBES 
and LESSER YELLOWLEGS at Long Lake refuge. Oliver County revealed 
a CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPUR on April 15, while April 13 
brought sightings of CANVASBACK, COMMON GOLDENEYE, 
COMMON MERGANSER and RED-BREASTED MERGANSER 
at Long Lake refuge, and two BURROWING OWLS in southeastern 
Morton County. Between Long Lake refuge and McKenzie Slough 
on April 11, Clark counted HORNED GREBE, GREATER YELLOWLEGS, 
MARBLED GODWIT and seven BONAPARTE'S GULLS. You can 
reach Clark at ctalkington@bis.midco.net 

That concludes this week’s report from the North Dakota Birding Society. 

-end transcript



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