Here are some new field trips for May that are being added to the schedule:
May 3rd - St. Cloud Area(Stearns, Sherburne & Benton Counties) Birders will meet for breakfast 6:30-7:30am at the Clearwater Travel Plaza on Hwy 24 1 block north of I-94. Meet at the back, south-facing windows of the restaurant. Locations will include Warner Nature Preserve, Riverside Park, Beaver Island Bike Trail, Sauk river floodplain at the Boy Scout Bridge, Quarry Park($4 per car for day use) and more. There will be some hiking. Contact Milt Blomberg at 320-656-5272 or mjbflwrmt at msn.com. This event is free and open to the public. May 10th - Wild River State Park(Chisago County) Birders will meet at 8am at the boat landing in the main park(There is an entrance fee for the state park if you don't have an annual pass). Birders will hike the area until noon. Bring a picnic lunch and eat on the elevated picnic deck. The focus will be on songbirds and particularly warblers. Contact Joe Sausen at jcsausen at earthlink.net. This event is free and open to the public. May 17th - Avon Hills Area(Stearns County) Birders will meet for coffee 7-7:30am at the Village Bean Coffee Shop(Take Co. Rd. 9 at the Avon exit off I-94 and go north 4 blocks. The coffee shop is on your right 1 block before the Lake Wobegon Bike Trail Pavillion). Birders will visit the St. John's-Collegeville Arboretum, Watab Lake region, Spunk Lakes and Tower Road SNA and possibly portions of Lake Wobegon Trail, Pelican Lake, Two-River Lake and the Albany Sewage Ponds. Contact Milt Blomberg at 320-656-5272 or mjbflwrmt at msn.com. This even is free and open to the public. Finally, I want to encourage everyone to attend the annual Salt Lake Weekend April 26th-27th in Lac Qui Parle and Big Stone Counties. This event began in 1975 and has a rich tradition of turning up some really good species. Last year 136 species were counted but the highlight was on Sunday when a flock of 22 White-faced Ibis and 1 Glossy Ibis were found SW of Madison. Birders will meet for breakfast on Saturday morning at 7am at the Marietta American Legion located one block west of Co. Rd. 7 on Hwy 40. They will then form into groups and bird all morning. At noon they stop back at the Marietta American Legion for lunch. After more birding in the afternoon there is a dinner at 7:30pm at the Sons of Norway Hall on Hwy 75 in Madison, eleven miles east of Marietta. Reservations are required and there is a charge of $10 for the dinner. Contact Becky Skallerud at 320-598-3797 or beckaberk at yahoo.com. Lodging is available in area motels and camping is available at Prairie Marsh Farm in Marietta. Contact Ken Larson at prairiemarshfarm at comcast.net for more information. This event is free and open to the public. Bob Williams MOU Field Trip Coordinator
