Below is a description of my birding yesterday (saturday) in Dakota County. You can skip the next paragraph if you don't want to know why.
I birded the day dedicated to the MRVAC Birdathon, which is a low-keded annual fund raiser for MRVAC to rause money for environmental education. This year we are raising money for providing Audubon Adventures free to elementary schools (if you know of any 4th grade classrooms that would like it in our area let me know), to fulfill our matching funds for a couple of grants we landed to provide funding for busing school groups to the Minnesota Valley Wildlife Refuge and the purchase of 50 pairs of waterproof binoculars once they get there, and some other programs. Donations are stil being accepted. Please, contact me. I started out by joining a Friends of the Mississippi River birding walk at Pine Bend Bluffs, an oak savanna natural restoration area that is part of the high security domain of the Flint Hills oil refinery. Highlights included a displaying tom Turkey, a Scarlet Tanager, an Eastern Towhee, a Brown Thrsher, and a small number of warblers, including a male Blackburnian, and a Northern Parula (which I missed). This was a rare opportunity to visit a gourgous but unavailable natural area that has some pristine preserved bluff top prairie pockets. I then stopped at 140th Street marsh which is little more than a mud puddle. There was little there besides a few ducks eeking out an existance in the reduced habitat and a small flock of shorebirds including 6 Spotted Sandpipers, about three times that of Least Sandpipers, and a Semi-palmated Plover. The woods to the east held a small warbler wave that included a Magnolia Warbler and a Black and White, and also several Least Flycatchers. I then headed to Schaar's Bluff to find more warblers and vireos. There I encounted Rick and Jeanne Specht who were leading a MRVAC trip in Spring Lake Park. After a lunch (thanks Richard and Jill) and a beautiful Red-headed Woodpecker, we headed to the lower part of the park off of Pine Bend Trail. On the way Rick saw a pair of Swainsons Hawks flying overhead. The star of the walk was unquestionably the cooperative singing Wood Thrush. We also found a couple of small warbler waves that included Wilson's (another miss), Palm, and Tennessee. We also found a singing Eastern Wood Pewee and Yellow-billied Flycatcher. After the group left me still working a birdy corner of the park, I added Chestnut-sided Warbler, Canada Warbler, and a Gray-cheeked Thrush. A stop at 180th Street Marsh was unproductive, except for the Ring-neck Duck out a ways. I then headed over to the coulee on the south side of Hastings. The walk was too long, but I found several Eastern Towhees, a Brown Trasher, lots of Field Sparrows, a Grasshopper Sparrow, and a Lark Sparrow. I was unsuccessful in my search for Orchard Orioles that are reported from there. My last major stop was Lake Byllesby, which is in prime condition to attract shorebirds. A good number of shorebirds were present including at least 18 Semi-palmated Plovers, Semi-palmated Sandpipers, Lesser Yellowlegs, a couple of Pectoral Sandpipers, and a Dunlin. I missed a Black-bellied Plover, also reported to be there. In all, I found 103 species, including 7 species of waterfowl, 6 species of Flycatchers, all the swallows, 6 species of thrush, 14 species of Wablers, and ten species of Towhee and Sparrows. FOY species included Short-billed Dowitchers, Red-headed Woodpecker, Least and Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Purple Martin, Sedge Wren, Grey-cheek Thrush, Wood Trush, Blue-headed Vireo, Blackpoll Warbler, Canada Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Magnolia Wabler, Northern Waterthrush, Grasshopper Sparrow, and Lark Sparrow. Warblers were hard to find and single birds except the nesting species of Redstarts and Common Yellow-throat, and the singing Tennessee, and the Yellow-rumps. For me the arrival of the Canada Warbler marks the end of the warbler migration. The Yellow-rumps are usually gone before they arrive, but this year plenty are still around. I suspect that the strong winds, especially the strong south winds of last weekend, may have been a factor in disrupting an orderly migration. Missed birds that others found or calls I heard but did not accept included: Northern Parula, Wilsons Warbler, Black-bellied Plover, and Yellow Warbler. Others I was at the right place, but didn't find the bird: Horned Lark and Orchard Oriole. And lastly, I thought I saw a Black Tern at Lake Byllesby, but changed optics to check, and could not find it. Flowers in bloom included narrow-leafed and hairy puccoon, columbine, some type of wild onion, and Blue-eyed Grass. The only butterfly I noticed is a mystery. It was similar in coloration to a Red Admiral, but sized and shaped like a skipper. I have found nothing like in my field guides. Steve Weston on Quiggley Lake in Eagan, MN sweston2 at comcast.net
