I decided to tag along with a fellow from town heading to an exotic animal swap meet in Rushford in northeastern Fillmore county this morning, so I could work on a Minnesota list.
At the swap meet location, 2 miles north of Rushford, I heard/observed 57 species. Some highlights included 5 woodpeckers, Least Flycatcher, Great Crested Flycatcher, 5 swallows (no Bank), House Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, BG Gnatcatcher, Wood Thrush, 10 warblers (Tennessee, Orange-crowned, Nashville, Parula, Yellow, Yellow-rumped, Palm, Redstart, Northern Waterthrush, and Common Yellowthroat), and Baltimore Oriole. Of other interest, 2 Eurasian Collared-Doves were perched on a fence 1 mile north of Caledonia along Highway 76. Also of interest, a late (?) Rough-legged Hawk was not willing to share a thermal with a Red-tailed Hawk at the intersection of Highways 44 and 76, south of Caledonia. Had prolonged views of the Rough-leg for several minutes as it thermaled up and floated to the west. Good birding, Danny Akers Garnavillo, Clayton Co., Iowa [email protected] _________________________________________________________________ On the road to retirement? Check out MSN Life Events for advice on how to get there! http://lifeevents.msn.com/category.aspx?cid=Retirement
