Sorry for late post: I re-found the Kentucky Warbler Saturday PM, on the advice of Al, the original finder, and also some very helpful folks on the trail. I hope Ben, the next person along, was able to see it, too! It was singing loudly and very often, 1:15-2:00 PM. As I came close to the place where folks had said it would be, I wondered how I would know if I was hearing it.
I began to hear a very loud and 'perky,' a two-noted tuwee, tuwee, tuweee song. At one point I may even have heard 2, so wonder if the female also sings at times. The B. Oriole nearby would often sing in tandem. The Kentucky's musical whistle seems very similar to the short burbling notes of the oriole. After I found it, it sat quite still when not singing. I was able to find it about 25 ft up on a horizontal branch. It threw its head back and sang with all its might, so look for small movements in the brush as it sings (frequently, probably average of 6x a minute.) I know of no other bird that lives in SE Minn. that makes a loud, consistent song of this nature. Since I had talked to some folks who had just heard it, I waited for quite a while since it seemed to be maybe less than 50 ft into the brush. I was rewarded for the wait! I noticed a bird flying by at about waist level, then it flew up and perched at about 10ft. I could not find it there, but then it sang from what seemed higher. I was thinking about how many of the forest floor skulkers seem to be "ventriloquists" (can shoot their voices out so seem to be coming from higher), but was finally able to find it at about 20-25 ft. >From the parking lot for Louisville Swamp section of MN Valley NWR (good location for bird of this name.), go out on path to Right. It's billed as a horse path, looks like a jeep rd. Continue on this until you reach a split, take the left path. About 150 ft further, the path begins a trend downhill and becomes quite rocky, more like a path than a road. Continue for another 50-75 yards. There are no distinguishing trees or markings, but you will soon begin to hear the bird singing if it's there. Postings have shown that it sings most of the day, at least until it finds a mate and begins the nesting cycle. Thank you to all who have posted this bird. I hope this post helps someone else see it. This was my first "lifer" in MN for some time. I wouldn't normally have spent my ($3.92) gas money to go see it from where I live near Forest Lake, but I had just been on an AM field trip to Murphy-Hanrehan with Saint Paul Audubon Society. Holly Peirson Columbus, Anoka Co. Wear bug juice if you want to wait for a while to try to see it, otherwise unless you are immune, you'll want to be content with hearing it! Other birds in the area: Brown Thrasher, Orchard and Baltimore Oriole, Yellow Warbler, Am. Redstart, Co. Yellowthroat, Blue-winged Warbler, H. Wren, Eastern Towhee, Field and Song Sparrow, Red-eyed, Yellow-throated, and Blue-headed Vireo, Am. Goldfinch, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Hairy, Downy, Red-bellied, and Pileated Woodpecker, No. Flicker, Am. Robin, Ea. Bluebird, Pheasant, Ea. Wood Pewee, Alder and Great-crested Flycatcher, Tree and Barn Swallows, Black and Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Chickadee, Wh-breasted Nuthatch, Blue Jay, Crow, Turkey Vulture. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://moumn.org/pipermail/mou-net_moumn.org/attachments/20080601/09bfb437/attachment.html
