June 14, 2020 - Notable Bird Sightings

Here are some notable bird sightings from this spring. On May 10, these Bonaparte’s Gulls were at the Trout Lake boat landing in Coleraine, MN. This was only a stopover point for them because they nest in Canada and Alaska. Unlike most gulls, these birds build their nests in trees. At 13.5 inches, Bonaparte’s Gulls are one of the smallest gull species found in North America.

GullBonapartesTroutLakeItascaCounty20200510

Here’s a close up of a Bonaparte’s Gull landing on a buoy. We see them in winter plumage when we are in Florida during January and February. At that time, they do not have the black hood, just a small dark spot behind the ear.

GullBonapartesflightTroutLakeItascaCounty20200510

Five days later, a Common Tern was sitting on that same buoy. Some Common Terns nest in far northern Minnesota, but most continue on to nesting grounds in Canada.

TernCommonTroutLakeItascaCounty20200515

This White-crowned Sparrow was also just passing through. We usually see one or two of them in our yard as they migrate to the far northern reaches of Canada. I think this is an elegant looking sparrow with its black and white striped head; gray face, neck, and chest; and black-tipped beak.

SparrowWhitecrownedDunningLakeItascaCounty20200515

I have been waiting for years to get a good photo of a breeding plumaged Harris’s Sparrow. They usually don’t stop in our yard during their migration, but this year I got lucky! The Sibley Bird Guide says this is our largest sparrow. It is 7.5 inches long. I think it is also our best-looking sparrow when it’s in breeding plumage like this one. Birds of North America says this was the last of our songbirds to have its breeding territory documented. I can see why; a breeding territory map shows it to be a relatively small area in far north central Canada.

SparrowHarris'sDunningLakeItascaCounty20200515

A real rarity for our yard, this male Indigo Bunting made a very brief appearance on May 26.

BuntingIndigoDunningLakeItascaCounty20200526

In the 25 years that I have been keeping records, this is only the third time I’ve recorded an Indigo Bunting in our yard. The last time we had one was in 1999.

BuntingIndigoDunningLakeItascaCounty20200526