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.
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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:
- Canada Goose
- Tundra Swan
- Wood Duck
- American Black Duck
- Mallard
- Northern Pintail
- Green-winged Teal
- Scaup Species
- Long-tailed Duck
- Bufflehead
- Common Goldeneye
- Hooded Merganser
- Common Merganser
- Common Loon
- Pied-billed Grebe
- Double-crested Cormorant
- Turkey Vulture
- Osprey
- Bald Eagle
- Northern Harrier
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Red-shouldered Hawk
- Broad-winged Hawk
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Rough-legged Hawk
- American Kestrel
- Merlin
- Sandhill Crane
- Killdeer
- Greater Yellowlegs
- American Woodcock
- Bonaparte’s Gull
- Ring-billed Gull
- Herring Gull
- Caspian Tern
- Belted Kingfisher
- Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
- Downy Woodpecker
- Northern Flicker
- Pileated Woodpecker
- Eastern Phoebe
- American Crow
- Common Raven
- Black-capped Chickadee
- Red-breasted Nuthatch
- Brown Creeper
- Golden-crowned Kinglet
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
- Hermit Thrush
- American Robin
- Cedar Waxwing
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
- American Tree Sparrow
- Chipping Sparrow
- Vesper Sparrow
- Fox Sparrow
- Song Sparrow
- White-throated Sparrow
- Dark-eyed Junco
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Rusty Blackbird
- Common Grackle
- Brown-headed Cowbird
- Purple Finch
- Red Crossbill
- Pine Siskin
- American Goldfinch