Brother-in-law reported observing 3 Cattle Egrets at the edge of his small marsh adjoining plowed field, east of Lura Lake in Blue Earth Co. Watched for an hour and saw them catch and eat 5 mice! They winter in south Texas and see them in numbers, but had no idea they travel morth. I had 2 PAIR of Orchard Orioles at the grape jelly yesterday along with the RBG,Northern Orioles, 3Indigo Buntings, 38 Goldfinches, and a Tennesee Warbler (grape jelly), a first for me. A note about the grape jelly. The Orioles are fruit and nectar feeders by nature, and while there are some nectar flowers appearing, fruit will be hard to come by for some time. Protein from insects is quite available and based on the their numbers and appetites I shudder to think of the cost of feeding mealrooms in quantity. The scooped out oranges are geat jelly feeders and can last a surprisingly long time. On their side Frito-Lay dip jars are perfect and I've mounted several on top of upside-down suet feeders-both OO and NO used them immediatly. What a great spring it's turning out to be! John Nelson Near Beauford MN
