I was about 1/2 hour behind Diana, and never saw any flocks---perhaps they were still spooked...or my car windows are too dirty! Linda Whyte
On Sun, Mar 8, 2009 at 7:38 PM, Diana Doyle <[email protected]> wrote: > This afternoon at ~12:35, on my way to the Carpenter Nature Center's Owl > Program, I passed a field with scores of snow buntings and longspurs. I > watched them briefly and then had to leave. I returned at 4:00 and spent > about a half-hour watching. There were literally hundreds of birds > (~500+?), looking like a swarm of locusts when a passing Cooper's Hawk sent > them into the air as one single huge elongated flock. > > Most interestingly, I saw at least 2 longspurs with bold "harlequin-like" > facial patterns, reminiscent of a lark sparrow. Other than the very bold > black facial pattern, the rest of the bird was relatively drab brown and > brownish-yellow (like the shortgrass area it was feeding in). I watched them > from ~50 feet away. A few females (plain drab brown) were also mixed in. > > The area is along 110th St. S, just east of 95 in Hastings. Just east of > 95/110 St S junction, there is a section with no houses and fields on both > sides of the road. The north side is tilled exposed soil. The south side is > wet shortgrass closer to the road, then a large flooded ice patch and corn > stubble farther from the road. > > The snow buntings were in the ice/corn stubble area. The lapland longspurs > (I did see some males with extensive black) were also further back, more > mixed with the snow buntings (and squabbling with them sometimes). What I > believe were Smith's longspurs were in the short bare grass area in front of > the ice patch (between the ice patch/corn stubble and the road). The grass > is sparse so I had great looks (but not of their bellies as they were in the > classic longspur horizontal skulk position). > > Sorry about the hasty email but I wanted to put out a heads-up in case > others are in the area. I waited a few minutes after the Cooper's flushed > them but then had to leave. This large flock may return since the habitat > seemed excellent. > > I'd love a confirmation of my sighting if anyone saw them this afternoon (I > told several people at CNC about the large flock I had spotted on the drive > in) or if anyone is in the vicinity in the next day or so. > > Thanks, > > Diana > > p.s. And a sight I've never seen: scores of snow buntings were perched in > the lone mature tree in the middle of the south field. In a tree?? But I saw > them as they commuted between the field and the lone tree perch! > > Diana Doyle > S. Minneapolis > > ---- > Join or Leave mou-net:http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net > Archives:http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > ---- Join or Leave mou-net:http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives:http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
