Hey birders! My wife and I had a little cabin fever so decided to do a "mini" big day from noon until 6 p.m. The birding was great; the weather was not with lots of drizzles and misting.
We ended up with 87 species and here are the highlights: 4 grebes (mostly on Swan Lake in Nicollet county) including a Horned Grebe on a small pond along Hwy 12 about a mile north of Hwy 14 in Nicollet county 16 ducks including Canvasbacks, all 3 mergansers, Redhead, and many dabblers (Lake Wita, Swan Lake, Oakleaf Lake, Gilfillin Lake) 4 gulls (Ring-billed, Bonaparte's, and Franklin's seen in the fields at the intersection of Hwys 26 and 27 in Blue Earth County and a lone 2nd summer Herring Gull along Hwy 22) Both species of yellowlegs and Wilson's Snipe were found at the boat launch on the east side of Swan Lake feeding in the grass. Greater Yellowlegs were also seen at the Horned Grebe location mentioned above. 6 hawks including multiple harriers and a Cooper's on a nest in Mankato. 9 sparrows were seen including my first Vesper of the year, White-throated and a single Lincoln's Sparrow. Lastly, we had a single Canada Goose with partial albinism that gave it the look of a blue-phase snow goose. This bird was seen just west of the entrance to the Lake Wita boat launch on the north side (located off of Hwy 2) Mankato Bird Club's waterfowl trip the day before also had Forster's Tern and Pectoral Sandpipers so migration is happening in spite of the weather. Happy birding! Chad Heins Mankato, MN __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? The New Yahoo! Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo http://search.yahoo.com
