Highlights: Boreal Owl (above), &

Harris's Sparrow (below)

Given the fact that Keith and Wendy banded 6 Boreal Owls last night it seemed worth a little extra searching today. We were fortunate enough to find one, and several visitors were treated to their life Boreal Owl. Keith and Wendy also put a video of a Boreal from last night up on the owl blog, very cool. The first Harris's Sparrow of the season arrived, and Black-backed Woodpeckers continue to be fairly regular with a male being seen today. Other sightings included; Northern Goshawk, Winter Wren, both Kinglets, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Hermit Thrush, Nashville, Magnolia, Yellow-rumped, & Palm Warblers, Northern Parula, American Redstart, & Lapland Longspur.

Highlights: White-winged Crossbill, &

Rough-legged Hawk

The season's first Rough-legged Hawks and American Tree Sparrow arrived yesterday. The first White-winged Crossbills since early in the season were also seen yesterday. The weather pattern today brought migration to a virtual standstill. However, there were still a few birds to be found. Sightings today included; Dunlin, Rough-legged Hawk, Merlin, Lincoln's Sparrow, and Lapland Longspur

American Tree Sparrow

Rough-legged Hawk

(photo from this spring)

Highlights: jaegers

At least 2 jaegers were present yesterday. There were several sightings of a juvenile Parasitic, but another bird is posing some identification issues. Jaeger identification is often extremely difficult, and drives us nuts at times. The bird in question is pictured in the photos below. In the shot where it is profiled it shows several traits which are good for Long-tailed Jaeger. In the shot where it is angling away it seems harder to eliminate Parasitic. I've sent the photos to several people who have more jaeger experience than I do. Hopefully the shots will prove to show enough detail to make a positive ID on this bird.

Songbird sightings have remained consistent the last several days. Some of the regular species these days are Bald Eagle, Merlin, Downy and Hairy Woodpecker, Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Winter Wren, Brown Creeper, Cedar Waxwing, Yellow-rumped and Palm Warbler, White-crowned and White-throated Sparrow, Horned Lark, American Pipit, Lapland Longspur, and Snow Bunting.

Bald Eagle

Highlights: Red Phalarope (photo above),

Sabine's Gull, and Parasitic Jaeger

The best birds of the day were once again out at the tip. The Red Phalarope spent about 2 hours feeding within feet of the shoreline. The Sabine's Gull also spent a lot of time around the tip, and even landed on the beach briefly. We continue being treated to great shows by what we believe to be the same jaeger that has been around for three days now.

Highlights: Long-eared Owl (photo above),

Parasitic Jaeger (photo below), and

multiple Black-backed Woodpeckers

A Long-eared Owl flew in off of the lake in the mid-morning. We were able to find it, and get it in a scope for many people to see. A Parasitic Jaeger, very possibly the same bird as yesterday, made several good showings. The above photo has not been cropped and was taken right from the waterbird shack. There were at least 3 Black-backed Woodpeckers seen today. A female was seen earlier in the day, then the two males pictured to the left were on the Merlin pole in the afternoon. There wasn't much change in the woods today. There were a few Hermit Thrushes around, and we continue seeing decent numbers of Robins, Golden-crowned Kinglets, White-crowned Sparrows, and Pine Siskins.

Highlights: Little Gull (photo above), Pacific Loon,

Parasitic Jaeger (photo below)

Tim had a Little Gull and a Pacific Loon during the waterbird count today. The Little Gull foraged around the tip for a while before disappearing. The Parasitic Jaeger made several showings, and landed on the water not far offshore several times. The season's first Northern Shrike and Snow Buntings arrived this afternoon. The woods were fairly productive with decent numbers of the usual suspects being seen.

Snow Bunting

Common Goldeneye
&
Red-breasted merganser

Highlights: Black-backed Woodpecker &

Orange-crowned Warbler

With strong north winds and temperatures in the 40's, fall has definitely hit over the last two days. Any warblers besides Yellow-rumped or Palm have become hard to find. A Nashville yesterday, and an Orange-crowned today were the only additional species. The first Fox Sparrow of the season was seen today. Other recent sightings in the woods include; Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Red-eyed Vireo, Brown Creeper, Winter Wren, both Kinglets, Rusty Blackbird, and Lincoln's and Swamp Sparrows

Palm Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Fox Sparrow