This afternoon I birded both Nicolett and Blue Earth counties. At Swan Lake in Nicolett County, I birded from the southeast side of the lake at the Conservation Club access/parking lot. From here I walked out onto the grassy point and scanned the lake. Present were:
-probably over a thousand American Coots -a Horned Grebe in nonbreeding plumage -a single, heard-only Black-bellied Plover--this bird was heard well for about a minute--the hard part is that there are no mudflats in the vicinity of this area, which makes me wonder if there is shorebird habitat somewhere in the middle of the lake--last week I had a flock of unidentified sandpipers flying around as well In Blue Earth County, I birded the Mapleton sewage ponds and found a large, mixed flock of Canada Geese and Cackling Geese. The Canadas slightly outnumbered the Cackling--my impressions were that the flock contained just under 60% Canada and a little over 40% Cackling, with a few Lesser Canadas mixed in as well. There were no shorebirds present other than a Wilson's Snipe that was feeding on the grass at the edge of the ponds. Bob Dunlap, Nicolett County
