At 8 pm on Wednesday evening (8/31), a spectacular example of an adult male Least Bittern posed for my spotting scope for 20 minutes just 30 feet directly off the end of the boardwalk that is 0.25 mile Southwest of the Old Cedar Ave Bridge at Long Meadow Lake in Bloomington MN, on the Hennepin County side of the Hennepin and Dakota County border created by the Minnesota River. The bird was perched on a reed 12 inches above the water, patiently waiting for dinner to swim by. His patience went unrewarded, and he finally flew Southeast about 200 feet into the reeds with a loud squawk.
I also saw 8-10 very noisy Common Yellowthroat working the reeds along the sides of the boardwalk, a lone Common Nighthawk flying overhead, and 12-15 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, mostly juveniles, feeding from the numerous Spotted Touch-me-not (Jewelweed) growing along Bluff Trail about 450 feet beyond (Southwest of) the turnoff to the boardwalk. One curious youngster wanted a closer look at me and perched two feet from my face, examining me for a full minute before flying off to continue feeding nearby. Also on the boardwalk was a gentleman who said he grew up on the apple farm that Bloomington's Appletree Square business area at the North end of Long Meadow Lake is named for, and he told stories of waterfowl migrations on the lake that darkened the sky for hours at a time in the 1940's and early 50's prior to the area's sewer system creation. The trailhead of the portion of Bluff Trail that leads to the boardwalk at Old Cedar Ave Bridge is located at the Southeast corner of the parking lot at the Southern end of Old Cedar Ave in Bloomington MN. The turnoff to the boardwalk is to the left about 150 feet Southwest of the trailhead. Bluff Trail is part of the Long Meadow Lake Unit of the Minnesota Valley NWR. Additional information, directions and a trail map of the area is available at http://www.fws.gov/midwest/minnesotavalley/long_meadow.html Here are some Lat/Lon waypoints from my GPS: Bluff Trail trailhead N44.83010 W93.24495 Far End of Boardwalk N44.82797 W93.24494 Spotted Touch-me-not area of Bluff Trail N44.82946 W93.24664 Regards, Hans Koch Minneapolis MN Hennepin County [email protected]
