I made a week-end trip to Rock County and found some interesting birds despite the cold weather.
At Blue Mounds State Park, 2 Long-eared Owls were found in a cedar tree at the cart-in campground east of the park office. Three Ross Geese were found at the Hills sewage pond in southern Rock County. On my way back to St. Cloud today, I spotted a Shrike along the northwest side of Hwy 23 in Chippewa County. When I turned around and pulled off on a farm-field access, the bird flew to a bush to the left of the access, giving me an excellent view of a Loggerhead Shrike. The Shrike was about 3 miles southwest of Raymond (Kandiyohi County line), between Chippewa CR 1 North and CR 1 South. There is a stop sign for the field access road as it crosses the railroad tracks, and the Shrike was working just to the southwest of it. Other birds seen this weekend: Snow Goose - Luverne and Hills sewage ponds (Rock County) Snow Goose - Edgerton sewage ponds (Pipestone County) Greater White-fronted Goose - Luverne sewage ponds L. Yellowlegs, G. Yellowlegs, Pectoral Sandpiper - Luverne sewage ponds Eurasian-collared Dove - Renville (Renville County) Eurasian-collared Dove - Russell (Lyon County) Hermit Thrush - Blue Mounds State Park (Rock County) Herb Dingmann St. Cloud
