International Migratory Bird Day Otter Tail County, May 8, 2004 A very respectable 124 species were id'ed by our IMBD team (the team: Eddy and Judy Edwards, Jeff Schultz, Tom Egeberg, Dan & Sandy Thimgan) as we birded across Otter Tail County on Saturday. The food was great, too.
Primary birding spots were Black's Grove Park (on the eastern county line near Wadena), Glendalough State Park (in the center of the county), and Western Township (in the extreme southwest corner of the county), and all spots in between. Warblers were still somewhat scarce (9 species). 6 raptors. 12 species of sparrows. 12 ducks/geese. In Western Township, we saw 14 sandpiper species (notably, 2 Hudsonian Godwits, 23 Marbled Godwits, 10 Dunlin, 1 Willet, and 12 Wilson's Phalaropes). For birders interested in seeing Black-crowned Night-Heron, a tiny island in tiny Grotto Lake in southeast residential Fergus Falls (not to be confused with the Lake Alice rookery) has been colonized this year. You can observe the birds well even without binoculars. We saw 20 packed into nesting places in evergreen trees. Turn into the small city park off of Pebble Lake Road/Vernon Avenue next to the Salvation Army Bldg, across the street from the Casey's and Burger King. PS: If you'd like a more complete list, let us know. PPS: Since our group pays a great deal of attention to the eating aspect of birding, our food theme this year was: Any food that birds themselves would eat (Best-in-Show this year: Toucan Fruit Boat). PPPS: Last year's food theme: Dead Birds (example: deviled Eggs, smoked Duck, Chicken enchiladas). Bird on! -- Dan & Sandy Thimgan Battle Lake, MN Otter Tail Co.
