In the past 2 days, in the areas around Big Stone NWR (near Odessa), the Minnesota River Headwaters, Lakeside Park, the southern tip of Big Stone Lake in Ortonville, and along Dike Road between Ortonville and Big Stone City SD, the following waterfowl are currently present:
Several thousand Greater White-fronted Geese Mallard (many stay the winter) Gadwall Redhead Common Goldeneye Ring-necked Duck Ruddy Duck Bufflehead One of the best viewing areas is along Dike Road, from the bridge, where the Whetstone River enters Big Stone Lake. (The Whetstone was diverted to flow into the lake after the 1930s drought). The water is wide open and is a popular feeding area for waterfowl, especially divers. You can either view from the bridge, or from the shoreline in the city-run campground. If you use eBird, look for reports by Brandon Semel and Douglas Pierzina. They will be filing reports nearly every day through Migration Season, and they are two of the area’s best birders. I’ll be posting regular updates on migratory and nesting species, road and habitat conditions, and noteworthy numbers or concentrations of birds here on MOU-net. Jason Frank Ortonville On Fri, Feb 23, 2024 at 4:47 PM Jim Williams <woodduc...@gmail.com> wrote: > From a birder who lives in SE SD, sent today: > "There is an open pond by my nieces in southern sanborn country. Last > night and today I saw redhead, lesser scaup, green-winged teal, mallard, > wigeon, ring necked, Goldeneye. Along with Canada, cackling, white-fronted > goose. > > Jim Williams > Birding columnist > Minneapolis StarTribune > startribune.com/variety/homeandgarden > > ---- > General information and guidelines for posting: > https://moumn.org/listservice.html > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social > distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. > ---- General information and guidelines for posting: https://moumn.org/listservice.html Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
