Field Trip Report: Birding in Paradise

Report by Jason Bojczyk

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.

[su_slider source=”media: 476,475,474,473,472″ limit=”0″ width=”300″ height=”200″ responsive=”no” centered=”no”]

 

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