Merry Christmas!
A great trial run for the Redwood Falls Christmas Bird Count. Matt
Mickelson and I tallied quite a few birds this morning. Matt had to leave
at noon and I added a few more species cruising the Minnesota River valley
roads near Redwood Falls in the afternoon.
Highlights for the day were the northern goshawk, white-throated sparrow,
and Harriss sparrow.
Here is the full count:
Temp a.m.: 35F, Temp p.m.: 38F
Sky: Overcast all day
Wind: NW 5-10 all day
Snow cover: 2-4
No. participants: 2
Habitats covered and % time spent in each:
Agricultural (15%)
Residential (20%)
Riparian deciduous (65%)
Canada Goose 6
Mallard 2
Coopers Hawk 1
Northern Goshawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 11
Red-tailed Hawk (dark) 1
Rough-legged Hawk 5
Rough-legged Hawk (dark) 1
Bald Eagle 1
American Kestrel 1
Ring-necked Pheasant 10
Wild Turkey 6
Mourning Dove 2
Rock Pigeon 56
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2
Downy Woodpecker 16
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Pileated Woodpecker 2
Blue Jay 7
American Crow 152
Horned Lark 30
Black-capped Chickadee 22
White-breasted Nuthatch 12
Brown Creeper 3
European Starling 70
Northern Cardinal 7
American Tree Sparrow 12
Harriss Sparrow 1
White-throated Sparrow 1
Dark-eyed Junco 95
Purple Finch 2
House Finch 3
Pine Siskin 4
American Goldfinch 7
House Sparrow 55
Falcon sp. 1 (either merlin or kestrel, but too
far away and too brief a view to tell)
Total Species 33
Total Individuals 608
We couldn't find the varied thrush that has been in the Cedar Point
neighborhood, but I talked to a neighbor who watched the bird for a while
last Sunday (December 18th).
Thanks again to Matt Mickelson for his participation and to Roger
Schroeder for his work with the MN CBCs. Im looking forward to doing
this again next year!
Good Birding and Happy Holidays!
Pat
Patrick Beauzay
Department of Entomology
217 Hultz Hall, Bolley Drive
North Dakota State University
Fargo, ND 58105
701-231-9491
[email protected]
http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/entomology/
http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/ndsu/beauzay/tigerbeetles/index.htm
