The 170th St. Gyrfalcon put on a good show this afternoon. It was in view nearly continuously from 3-5 p.m., mostly perched on the irrigation pipe about 1/2 mi. S of 170th St. E and 100-200 yards E of U.S. 52. In 2 hr, I watched it make at least 8 separate passes through the large (~10,000) flock of Mallards and Canada Geese, although it did not make a kill. The falcon also perched for about 15 minutes in a tree along 170th St. (farm house yard 1/4 mi. E of 52), and on a phone pole about 3/4 mi. SE of the farm houses. I added a digiscoped photo to the MOU photo gallery. Despite careful searching I could not find any Cackling Geese in this goose flock. Prior to the cold snap (as recently as 28 January) I usually could find some (up to 15 counted, but certainly more) CACG mixed in with the Canadas (then a mile S, at 180th and Donnelly). In the cornfields with the geese and ducks this afternoon were several flocks of Lapland Longspurs totaling about 200.
Bruce A. Fall Minneapolis
