Snowy Owl

Scientific Name: Nyctea scandiaca

Population Estimate: Unknown but Least Concern status. Not globally threatened, but uncommon to scarce.

Range / Habitat: Summers in open Arctic tundra from near tree-line to edge of polar seas. Winter irruptions to lower latitudes were found in marshes and dunes.

Field Notes: Large white owl with small yellow eyes, rudimentary ear-tufts normally invisible. Male entirely white, female and juveniles with brown barring above and below.

Personal Notes: A bird that eluded us for over four years. Finally on a winter walk in Acadia National Park (during a extensive East Coast irruption year, after we looked unsuccessfully the weekend before) I said "wouldn't it be funny if that log were a Snowy Owl….." Thankfully, Richard thought to actually look through the binoculars!

Buff-bellied Pipit

Scientific Name: Anthus rubescens

Population Estimate: 20M

Range / Habitat: Prefers open, rocky areas. During summer / breeding season found in tundra of northern Canada, most of Alaska, and into a portion of the most elevated regions of the American west. In winter, migrates to the southern US and all of Mexico.

Field Notes: Slender, drab bird. Appears similar to sparrows but thinner bill and longer tail. Has habit of bobbing head like a pigeon. Pale supercilium and lateral throat stripe. Light streaking on the breast. Dark legs compared to other pipits.

Personal Notes: Fortuitous sighting at Beartooth Pass (on the Wyoming / Montana border) on the Fourth of July. Seen again at Acadia NP, ME. Also known as American Pipit.

Harlequin Duck

Scientific Name: Histrionicus histrionicus

Population Estimate: 190-380K, Least Concern status

Range / Habitat: Breeds in cold fast moving streams in northwestern and northeastern North America, Greenland, Iceland and western Russia. Winters are spent in rocky shorelines near breeding grounds. Rare migrant to northern Europe.

Field Notes: Medium-sized diving duck. White patch in front of eyes and round white ear spot in both sexes which make it unmistakable in range. Male as above.

Personal Notes: Seen at Anacortes in Washington but not photographed. Later seen on Vancouver Island, where these ducks were plentiful and beautiful. Most recently seen in the Lake Myvatn area of Iceland. As psychiatrists we love the scientific name....

Common Eider

Scientific Name: Somateria mollissima

Population Estimate: 3.5M, Least Concern status

Range / Habitat: Marine bird breeding in circumpolar Arctic costal areas. Winters extending only slightly south of breeding grounds. 

Field Notes: Large duck with prominent wedge-shaped bill in both sexes. Breeding male unmistakable as above. Female dark brown with heavy black barring. 

Personal Notes: Our first view of an eider duck was while walking around Sachuest Point NWR, Rhode Island with Ted and Joanna Rolfes. Later seen at Acadia National Park. Finally, seen in huge rafts of birds in Iceland during breeding season. 

Song Sparrow

Scientific Name: Melospiza melodia

Population Estimate: 54M, Least Concern status

Range / Habitat: Found in open habitats in the southern United States in winter and northern United States throughout Canada in summer.

Field Notes: Sparrow with a streaky breast, and often with a central breast spot, that favors open, shrubby, wet areas. Will commonly sing from prominent perch. Face markings can vary considerably by region, but in general there is a russet cap and eye stripe on a grey head along with white and russet stripes along the jaw. Compared to other sparrows with streaky breasts, the Song Sparrow has more distinct facial markings and lacks the white eye ring of the Vesper Sparrow, whose range is nearly identical. The Song Sparrow has a slightly more restricted range than the Savannah Sparrow, and lacks its yellow eyebrow. Also similar to the American Tree Sparrow, the Song Sparrow's range is more southern and the streaky breast and jaw stripes are distinguishing.

Personal Notes: One of the first birds of spring in Minnesota, and most welcome!

Bald Eagle

Scientific Name: Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Population Estimate: 300K

Range / Habitat: Found in wooded areas near water, breeding in Alaska, Canada, and parts of the upper midwest. Winters throughout the rest of the US, down into Mexico.

Field Notes: Large bird with hooked bill often seen soaring. Adults unmistakable with white head and tail. Juveniles are as large but mottled brown and white. In years two and three they develop an eyestripe as in the top photos. Adult plumage attained in the fourth year. Golden Eagle similar size and coloration as a juvenile Bald Eagle but with wrist spots in the juvenile and pale trailing edge in the adult.

Personal Notes: A dramatic and imposing bird, we saw a Bald Eagle feasting on the same carcass as several Common Raven in northern Minnesota and the eagle was easily twice as large. We are fortunate to see many of these birds Minnesota as it has the largest population of Bald Eagles of any state after Alaska.

Double-crested Cormorant

Scientific Name: Phalacrocorax auritus

Population Estimate: 1.5M, Least Concern status

Range: Winters in the southern US interior, and more extensively on the coasts. In summer it is widespread throughout North America.

Field Notes: Most common cormorant in North America, found along coasts but also inland. All black bird with hooked bill that is yellow at the base. Juveniles more pale, as in top photo. Often found in groups, these are heavy fliers that cruise just above the water. Great Cormorant and Brant's Cormorant have very limited overlap. The Neotropic Cormorant has a shared range along the Gulf Coast in Mexico, but the Double-crested Cormorant is larger with brighter yellow bill base, and relatively shorter tail.

Personal Notes: The drying of feathers is my favorite pose.

Hairy Woodpecker

Scientific Name: Picoides villosus

Population Estimate: 9M, Least Concern status

Range / Habitat: Year-round in deciduous forests throughout North America and into Mexico.

Field Notes: Smallish woodpecker with black and white upperparts with white stripe running down the length of the back. White underparts. Red hindcrown patch in male, absent in female. Black bill the same length as depth of head, compared to Downy Woodpecker.

Personal Notes: We are always thrilled to see woodpeckers on return to the US from New Zealand. 

Great Northern Diver

Scientific Name: Gavia immer

Population Estimate: 600-650K, Least Concern status.

Range / Habitat: Breeds in tundra wetlands and freshwater lakes of much of Canada and Alaska, southern parts of Greenland, and Iceland. Winters on sea coasts or on larger lakes from Atlantic coast of Europe, to the western Mediterranean, Atlantic coast of North America down to northern Mexico, and Pacific coast of North America down to northern Mexico.

Field Notes: Large waterbird with long body that slopes to rear and sits low on water. Long, pointed bill. Breeding plumage unmistakable as in top photo. Non-breeding and juvenile with grey head and back, white chin, throat and chest as in bottom photo. Usually solitary but will be found close together in winter. Yellow-billed Loon similar coloration but with prominent yellow bill. Pacific Loon and Red-throated Loon are overall more grey, not black.

Personal Notes: We watched a mother teaching it's young how to dive in Iceland. Also known as Great Northern Loon and Common Loon. Eerie call is hallmark of the Great North Woods. 

Goosander

Scientific Name: Mergus merganser

Population Estimate: 2M, Least Concern status

Range: Winters throughout much of US, excluding the Southeast. Summers throughout Canada. There is a year-round population in the western US, extending up the coast to Alaska.

Field Notes: A large, diving duck with a long, thin bill. Male breeding plumage is distinct with iridescent green / black head, white neck and sides, and black back. Females have rust-colored head and crest, white chest and brown / grey back. The white chin of the female Common Merganser can be used to differentiated it from the female Hooded Merganser or female Red-breasted Merganser. Juveniles look like females. Adult females will end up raising other broods so they form large groups in the summer.

Personal Notes: Formerly known as Common Merganser. 

Great Black-backed Gull

Scientific Name: Larus marinus

Population Estimate: 500K-750K, Least Concern status

Range: Year-round in coastal regions on both sides of the North Atlantic, though somewhat migratory.

Field Notes: Largest gull in the world. Overall white with dark-grey to black mantle. Yellow bill with red spot on the lower mandible. Legs pale. Lesser Black-backed Gull more dainty with yellow legs.

Personal Notes: Different than the New Zealand black-backed gull.