Seven birders enjoyed the day together in the Avon Hills, now one of the most
recently charted
IBA's of the nation. We made a circuit route north of the I94 freeway, birding
such spots
as the Avon Hills Forest SNA, to Albany wasterwater ponds, to more of this the
St. Croix
moraine system around Collegeville S of the I94. We totaled 107 species, upon
first talley.
Incredible highlights include:
1. Summer Tanager (female) (feeding on the edge of a disced field along a
spring-fed draw,
movements and tail erect like an miniature olive-green catbird) Anyone
with more
experience on the feeding behavior or antics of this species, please let
us know as to help
us determine documentation. A field sketch was made prior to consulting
field guides.
(Location: North side of Avon Hills Forest SNA-north unit west of Tower
Road).
2. American Avocets (2) at the Albany drawdown pond.
3. Red-necked Phalaropes (~3) at the drawdown pond and the upper large pond
with Wilson's
very close to the roadside!
4. Peregrine Falcon in stoop dives at the Albany ponds, raising up the flocks
of shorebirds, watched
this for a near five minutes.
5. Ruffed Grouse and a couple of drummers off in the woods--FOY of hearing
drumming (finally.... late?)
6. With strong NW winds this afternoon, picking up warblers in the deciduous
on the lee side of a
White Pine grove in SJU backwoods---where we got the Golden-winged and
a very suspect Brewster's.
7. Of note: all six Swallows; Vireos- Red eyed, Yellow throated, Blue headed;
16 warblers- many Wilson's!
Thrushes: Swainson's (many), Veery's, seven Sparrows, Sedge wren.
8. FOY for some of us (besides the ones highligted above): RubyT Hummingbirds,
Black Terns,
YH Blackbirds, Red-eyed Vireos, Bobolinks, eleven Shorebirds, one GC
Flycatcher and Scarlet Tanager.
9. some known to be in the area but missed: Sapsucker, Brown Thrasher,
Oriole, W.Snipe, Lincoln's Sparrow,
Savannah, Chestnut-sided, Palm W., Meadowlark,
10 some hopefuls but missed: Cerulean, Bay-Breasted, Gray-cheeked.
sincerely mjb
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