Yesterday afternoon, Feb. 21, I decided to drive to Rothsay. On my way I found 2 Robins and 3 Mourning Doves in Long Prairie. I got to Rothsay around 2, and I drove to the traditional lek west of town. I found 3 Red-winged blackbirds in a flock of Starlings, they were streaked, which I assumed meant females, but don't they come later than males?? At the lek were several Prairie Chickens, which turned out to be very numerous as I drove around. I had them in 8 different locations from the lek northward to Lawndale. Also spotted in the Rothsay vicinity was 2 Northern Shrikes, 3 Rough-legged Hawks, several Horned Larks, Snow Buntings and 2 Lapland Longspurs. I returned to the lek at around 4:30 and I walked the field road going north. At about 5 P.M. I was at the first bend in the farm road, when a SE Owl flushed and flew off to the east. As I walked back to my car, 3 more SE Owls were hunting along the road. One flew north to hunt, but 2 of them stayed in the vicinity of the open-sided shed until dusk. They would fly around and several times landed on the road in front of me, or on posts south of the road. I eventually saw one grab some type of rodent and eat it. The best part was that the 2 that stuck around kept swooping at each other, and each time they would give out a "yelp." Something I've never heard from a SE Owl. It was really neat hearing them vocalize. Also yesterday, a flock of White-winged Crossbills showed up at a feeder in Long Prairie.
Ben Fritchman Long Prairie, MN _________________________________________________________________ Click, drag and drop. My MSN is the simple way to design your homepage. http://click.atdmt.com/AVE/go/onm00200364ave/direct/01/
