Indigo Bunting in Marathon & rarities around Lake Superior

We had a very drab looking Indigo Bunting show up in our Marathon yard today - late-ish but not the latest autumn record in the Thunder Bay District for this neotropical migrant.

Also in our yard were all of the regular winter finches: Pine and Evening Grosbeak, Pine Siskin, Common and Hoary Redpoll, White-winged Crossbill and Purple Finch.

Indigo Bunting in Marathon, Oct. 27, 2012.

Of late some true rarities have been reported from the Lake Superior basin. At Grand Marais (MN), only 128 km from Thunder Bay, a Cassin's Kingbird was photographed today.

Photo here:

http://moumn.org/cgi-bin/recent.pl?op=rare.

In Alger Co., Michigan, only a few hundred open water kms south of Terrace Bay, a Vermilion Flycatcher was seen today.

Report here:

http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Mail/Michigan_Listers/1280467?

photo here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/guitarmom/8129162469/

On October 25, a Cave Swallow was photographed at the Whitefish Point Bird Observatory in MI.

Photo here:

http://www.wpbo.org/node/26807

East of Minneapolis, in Eau Claire, Minnesota, a Bewick's Wren showed up at a feeder today.

Photos here:

https://picasaweb.google.com/ageraghty83/BackyardWrenOctober272012?authkey=Gv1sRgCPeQ1Zz7gqWReA

So...it's that time of year when just about anything can show up in the western Great Lakes. Keep your eyes peeled!