Dickcissel in St. Louis County
2012-07-08

Uncommon in St. Louis County in the Summer season

On July 8 Peder Svingen and I spotted 6 Dickcissels along the Homestead Road just NE of Duluth in the Duluth Township Area in St. Louis County. While observing a pair of Dickcissels we spotted a female Dickcissel fly off with a fecal sac in her bill. So we searched the area where we spotted the female and I found the nest about 2 feet off the ground in a small bush. Peder was able to count 4 young in the nest while I took some photos of the first confirm nesting of Dickcissel in St. Louis County. We then observed a second pair along the Homestead Rd and found another probable nest site where we observed both male and females bring food to another nest site. On July 7 Peder and I observed and heard 11 Dickcissels in the Sax-Zim Bog area and we also found a partial nest that was not yet completed. On my way home I checked out another area along Industrial Blvd near the paper mill / Grassy Point in Duluth where Peder found a single male Dickcissel singing last week. This afternoon there were two males and a female in this area.

Mike L. Hendrickson