Winter today in the coniferous section of Blue Hill Trail: * White-winged Crossbill (seen & heard)
* Pine Siskins (flyover calls followed by ziiiiiip) * Golden-crowned Kinglet (not as unusual, seen & heard 11 out of 12 months there over last five years) * Red-breasted Nuthatches (not unusual at all, but added to the winter feel). While summer was present on the rest of the trail: * Blue-winged and Golden-winged Warblers, Eastern Towhees, Grasshopper Sparrows and other normal residents. 95 species in Sherburne & Mille Lacs area this week (did not include visit to lake area), including a juvenile Peregrine that Nathan photographed along CR 5 in Mille Lacs County last night - perhaps a Monticello power plant wanderer? Good birding to all! Al Schirmacher Princeton, MN Mille Lacs & Sherburne Counties
