Hey birders! Ben Inniger and I attempted a big day to celebrate IMBD on Saturday. I was amazed at the number of new arrivals, or at least birds new to my list for the year. I added 46 species to my 2003 list!
Here's the day in a nutshell: 135 species seen between 2 a.m. and 9 p.m. All species seen in Nicollet, Le Sueur, and Blue Earth Counties except for a lone Green Heron seen in the Henderson backwaters. 4 grebes 5 herons 9 ducks 4 hawks 8 shorebirds 6 woodpeckers 6 swallows 6 thrushes 4 vireos 19 warblers 10 sparrows 9 blackbirds Here are the highlights: The 2nd bird of the day was the first surprise of the day. Two Whip-poor-will's were calling near the Stonehenge subdivision north of Mankato. This species is very uncommon in this part of Minnesota. Swan Lake in Nicollet County was great for Pied-billed, Eared, Red-necked, and Western Grebes. In the late afternoon we watched while literally 100 Black-crowned Night-Herons soared in circles over the middle of the lake in the rain. This is a behavior I had never seen before. Seven-mile Creek County Park off of 169 had a wonderful assortment of warblers including a Cerulean. There were also Least and Great Crested Flycatchers, tanager, and Baltimore Oriole. Our second surprise came around 3pm when we encountered a single Cattle Egret in breeding plumage hunting earthworms on a lawn on Blue Earth CR 186 just south of Hwy 26. This bird did flush to a nearby tree when we stopped to take its picture and was not there when we checked back later. The third surprise came shortly after that. Just east of the boat landing on the north side of Eagle Lake (on Hwy 26) there is a flooded farm field on the south side of the road. A single Willet was holding court there with a small flock of Least Sandpipers. This bird was very cooperative and even flushed briefly to show off its wing pattern before landing and giving its distinctive call. There were a few notable misses including Indigo Bunting and Ruby-throated Hummingbird. It was a great day for birding though, albeit a bit cold and wet at the end. Happy Birding! Chad Heins Mankato, MN __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? The New Yahoo! Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo. http://search.yahoo.com
