Last night as I was looking over my Aitkin County list, noted that I had seen all nine normally occuring woodpeckers in that county. (Frankly, this says more about the county than my skills - and Kim Risen is responsible for the Three-toed).
This morning, as the mosquitoes and deerflies were hurrying me on my way along Mahnomen Trail (Sherburne NWR, best birds Lark Sparrow and Ruffed Grouse), started wondering about other birders' experiences with county birding/listing - bet some of you have some unique aberrations or interesting stories to share (eg, 34 warbler species in Houston County, or five loons in St. Louis County). I propose a light-hearted contest with three prize categories: 1) Wow! That's incredible! Our admiration for you knows no bounds! 2) Excellent! Lot of work there, how long did that take? 3) Pretty good, pretty good. Thanks for sharing. I don't have any real prizes to give out, unless it's a spot on the MOU Mille Lacs Fall Trip. Bob Janssen, Kim Eckert and Peder Svingen and a few others should probably be "grandfathered" (not an age statement) in with 1's - although we'd still like to hear your stories. Will be happy to compile them (with permission). Al Schirmacher Princeton, MN Mille Lacs & Sherburne Counties
