Our pre-Spring Fling tour April 25th began with two feet of snow on the ground in most areas around Paradise, a Lake Superior that was mostly frozen, and a forecast that was predicted to be very windy with rain off and on throughout the day.  There was a notable lack of migration prior to this point in the season and we would need a bit of luck to be able to have a decent day of birding.  Fortunately, we did and that began with a day that was not nearly as windy as the 18 mph forecast and a lack of rain throughout the day.

We started off at the feeders behind the Owl’s Roost which had a remarkable diversity of birds.  Lots of Flickers were flying overhead along with a Greater Yellowlegs calling and Rusty Blackbirds.  Six species of sparrows were present at the feeders, including Fox, and a few other birds crept in the woods behind the feeders like Cedar Waxwings, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers and Yellow-rumped Warblers.  After this great start we headed over to the beach to try and pick up some waterbirds.  We had several Common Loons fly close overhead as well as Common Goldeneye and Long-tailed Ducks.

The woods by the beach entertained us during the slower parts with Brown Creepers and Kinglets.  From here we started to work our way down the road, given that the woods would be too hard to navigate in the snow.  We had luck with a few things including a Hermit Thrush perched nicely and a male American Kestrel on the lighthouse.  Further down the road both Ruby and Golden-crowned Kinglets were feeding close to the ground, providing close views.  At this point we started working our way towards town and decided to try for Red Crossbill along the way.  Luck was again on our side as we had a single bird come in and land briefly before flying off.  This was a lifer for at least a few in the group.  From here we headed on down to the Rivermouth which was pretty outstanding, given the recent lack of migration.  In fact, it was so good that we spent an hour and a half here.  Wood Ducks were constantly flying overhead along with other waterfowl present such as Tundra Swans, Pintail, Black Ducks, and Green-winged Teal to name a few.  Bald Eagles and Merlin flew around calling along with Red-winged Blackbirds and Song Sparrows singing.  A few, small Bonaparte’s Gulls flew around the ice along with a Caspian Tern.  Although all of these birds were great the most notable event here was the stream of Yellow-rumped Warblers crossing from the north side of the river to the south.  In a 10 minute span 350+ ‘butterbutts’ streamed by which was pretty amazing.  The Rivermouth was satisfying but now we needed to satisfy our hunger at the Berry Patch.  The many Lumberjacks and Lumberjills we ordered there did a good job of that.  We then made our way up to the last spot on our tour, the hawk platform.  Once again we were in for a show with 10 species of raptors seen from there, including Harriers, Red-shouldered Hawk, Broad-winged Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, and, of course, Sharpies.

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For those of us that remained up there a bit longer we were treated to one final show when multiple Red Crossbills of both sexes landed on some Jack Pines right behind the hawk shack for a few minutes.  Overall it was a fantastic day with 67 species seen.

Trip List – 67 Species:

1. Canada Goose
2. Tundra Swan
3. Wood Duck
4. American Black Duck
5. Mallard
6. Northern Pintail
7. Green-winged Teal
8. Scaup Species
9. Long-tailed Duck
10. Bufflehead
11. Common Goldeneye
12. Hooded Merganser
13. Common Merganser
14. Common Loon
15. Pied-billed Grebe
16. Double-crested Cormorant
17. Turkey Vulture
18. Osprey
19. Bald Eagle
20. Northern Harrier
21. Sharp-shinned Hawk
22. Red-shouldered Hawk
23. Broad-winged Hawk
24. Red-tailed Hawk
25. Rough-legged Hawk
26. American Kestrel
27. Merlin
28. Sandhill Crane
29. Killdeer
30. Greater Yellowlegs
31. American Woodcock
32. Bonaparte’s Gull
33. Ring-billed Gull
34. Herring Gull
35. Caspian Tern
36. Belted Kingfisher
37. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
38. Downy Woodpecker
39. Northern Flicker
40. Pileated Woodpecker
41. Eastern Phoebe
42. American Crow
43. Common Raven
44. Black-capped Chickadee
45. Red-breasted Nuthatch
46. Brown Creeper
47. Golden-crowned Kinglet
48. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
49. Hermit Thrush
50. American Robin
51. Cedar Waxwing
52. Yellow-rumped Warbler
53. American Tree Sparrow
54. Chipping Sparrow
55. Vesper Sparrow
56. Fox Sparrow
57. Song Sparrow
58. White-throated Sparrow
59. Dark-eyed Junco
60. Red-winged Blackbird
61. Rusty Blackbird
62. Common Grackle
63. Brown-headed Cowbird
64. Purple Finch
65. Red Crossbill
66. Pine Siskin
67. American Goldfinch