The river has risen considerably, even since yesterday, overflowing part of the trail just west of the 35E bridge. In low-lying areas, many stumps and trunks are completely surrounded by water. One such tree, seen to have sheltered a pileated woodpecker in the past, appeared to be harboring a barred owl; binoculars allowed me to make out just one upper quadrant of its head, with one eye visible. Since there's no way to tell if it's a day-roost or a nest cavity, it will bear re-visiting.
On the river itself, by the tip of Pike Island, the flock of tree swallows---around 50---were valiantly skimming the water in search of food. Two eagles soared above, but made no attempt at fishing; they may have been two of the three seen later, eating on the ice of the larger lake. There were almost no gulls today, and only one pair of bufflehead on the lake. Aside from one nuthatch, one red-winged blackbird, few chickadees here and there, and a pileated on the west end, very few birds were even vocalizing. It seems the dropping temperature and cloudy weather have them all conserving energy. Linda Whyte ---- Join or Leave mou-net:http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives:http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
