Around 3:30 this afternoon I noticed what I thought was a kinglet hopping around in the cranberry bushes 20 feet outside my office window at the Interpretive Center of Gustavus Adolphus College's Linnaeus Arboretum in St. Peter. As I focused my binoculars on the bird, I was shocked to see a juvenile White-eyed Vireo! I quickly grabbed my camera and got one photo of the bird (through the window) before it flew off. The bird seemed to be socializing with a small group of Black-capped Chickadees.
Directions: From Hwy. 169 in St. Peter, go west on College Ave. Follow College Ave. up the hill to where it ends at a T; take a left at this T. Follow this up the hill to the first stop sign (you will pass dorms on your left). Go straight past the stop sign and then take your first left into the parking lot of the Interpretive Center (parking is free in any of the lots on weekends). Walk to the left of the building to the "backyard" and then look back toward the building.. There is a clump of Highbush Cranberry (with abundant red berries) adjacent to a wooden garden structure. This is where the bird was. I will post a photo soon on the "Recently Seen" page. Bob Dunlap, Nicollet County
