Hey birders,
Today was the last day of a very quickly passing Big Year in Blue Earth County.
The final count was 240 species, more species than I had seen in the county
heading into the year and the exact number I had targeted (though I imagined
different species comprising that list).
Special thanks to the following people who located interesting birds for me,
suggested locations, invited me into their home to watch feeders, shared in
transportation costs, etc. In no particular order: Ben Inniger, John Nelson,
Bob Dunlap, Tom Dahlen, Karen and Merrill Frydendall, Denny and Barb Martin,
Cal and Delores Paulson, Dave Johnson, and of course my wonderful wife Jenni
and our kids (Isaiah, Gideon, and Tilly) who put up with my extra birding for a
whole year.
Today's Highlights:
Eurasian Collared-Dove (15+) at a farm just north of Mapleton, MN on the east
side of Highway 22. First farm north on the east side of 22 with a blue silo.
There was much spilled grain and doves in the trees and feeding on the ground.
Great Horned Owl apparently hunting from a fencepost just north of Maple River
WMA at 3:15 in the afternoon. Has anyone else seen this species hunting in
daylight this winter? We flushed another Great Horned Owl from a willow shrub
in the middle of corn fields--what I would consider an atypical roost site
right next to the road.
Happy Birding in the New Year!
Chad Heins
Mankato, MN
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