"Southwest Marsh" at Murphy-Hanrehan Park, Scott Co., has rather good shorebird habitat and although diversity is modest, numbers have been steadily increasing over the past 10 days. This morning (7-27) there were: Killdeer - 40, Lesser Yellowlegs - 8, Solitary Sandpiper - 48, Spotted Sandpiper - 2, Semipalmated Sandpiper - 2, Least Sandpiper-35, Pectoral Sandpiper - 6, Stilt Sandpiper - 1. The marsh, in the SW part of the park, is N of 175th St. E, between Murphy Lake Blvd. and Natchez Ave., but is not visible from the road. The best shorebird habitat is in the far west pool, E of horse trail marker 34. Although I did not record them today, all summer there has been a pair of Sandhill Cranes in this marsh; I suspect breeding but haven't confirmed it. A map (PDF) of the park can be found at: http:// www.threeriversparkdistrict.org/parks/maps/Murphy_summer.pdf
Bruce A. Fall Minneapolis
