We have these migrating cattail islands happen on Westwood Lake from time to time especially during times of extended high winds. It is definitely an odd sight to see.
Mark Oestreich Manager - Westwood Hills Nature Center City of St. Louis Park 8300 West Franklin Avenue St. Louis Park, MN 55426 952-924-2543 952-292-2808 Cell [email protected] -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Alt, Mark Sent: Tuesday, May 02, 2006 1:31 PM To: MOU-net Subject: FW: [mou] Wood Lake Today - more birds I hit Wood Lake today on my lunch hour. I didn't see any warblers but Yellow-rumpeds, but did see the following birds in addition to what was listed: *Great Egret *7 Hermit thrushes *LeConte's Sparrow (photographed by the Pioneer Press "Spottings" photographer - Scott Goihl) *Sora (photo by S.G.) *Broad-winged Hawk (Photo by S.G.) *Barn Swallow *Tree Swallow I saw two very interesting things today and was fortunate enough to capture them both on film.. The water in the cattails is getting quite high and the dryness of the cattails prior to the rains of the weekend has created a buoyancy to the tightly tangled roots, so rafts of cattails and sedge are free-floating in the lake areas of the preserve. There is one large raft that is about 20 feet by 40 feet and was blowing back and forth just north of the boardwalks on the west side of the marshy area. I saw two other smaller cattail islands floating about. I had not noticed this event before and do not know if it is a common occurrence, but it was really cool to see it firsthand. Duck hunters and photographers would love this big island, it would probably hold a hunter and his dog! I filmed the big one floating back and forth for about 10 minutes. The other was a basic Green Heron shot, one standing on a log with a painted turtle next to it, I was about 35 feet away. The Green Heron then leaned down to the water, seeming to tip forward slowly, then extended his beak in a lightning flash, something I have seen hundreds of times, but what was different this time was the extended beak wasn't long enough, so the heron dove forward like a Kingfisher, stabbing the minnow about two feet from the log and 3 inches underwater. The heron then floundered about, swimming with its wings on the surface, its body, legs and head submerged, it swam in a quick turn around motion, then back a foot or so to where it had launched itself. It climbed up on the log, shook itself like a dog, which startled the turtle, which dove off the log like a beaver tail slap. The heron then jerked its head a few times to position the 2" minnow and swallowed lunch. I had seen Great Blue Herons swim before but never Greens. Pretty cool stuff. The video shows it perfectly. The Green Heron went right back to its perch, ready to do it again. Good Birding, Mark Alt Brooklyn Center, MN Wood Lake Today Despite the beautiful weather, there was not a large quantity of birds=20 at Wood Lake this morning. *Quality*, however, was high. Highlights=20 included: Forster's Tern Belted Kingfisher Pied-billed Grebe Hooded Merganser Wood Duck Great Blue Heron Green Heron Yellow-rumped Warbler Palm Warbler Black-and-White Warbler Northern Waterthrush 3 Ovenbirds! Warbling Vireo Swamp Sparrow White-throated Sparrow Chipping Sparrow Song Sparrow Savannah Sparrow Field Sparrow Clay-colored Sparrow Bobolink! (female in the marsh, near the prairie) Swainson's Thrush Ruby-crowned Kinglet and all the "usual suspects"... --=20 ________________________ Matthew Bribitzer-Stull Asst. Prof. of Music Theory University of Minnesota _______________________________________________ mou-net mailing list [email protected] http://cbs.umn.edu/mailman/listinfo/mou-net
