In the east field at Rachel Lily Preserve, a pair of bluebirds were hanging out in the trees along the stream bed. Meanwhile, over in the west field, a kestrel was surveying for food, first from the top of a tree, then from a mid-air hover. It disappeared for awhile, but returned to the scene later, with a bold feint toward a red-tailed hawk that was also searching the area extensively. The kestrel departed, but the hawk continued to frequent the area, moving south over the open marsh.
The lake attracted its share of waterfowl: great blue heron, mallards, Canadas, wood duck, bufflehead pair, pairs of ring-necked ducks, and a few mergansers. These last were either females or non-breeding males. I questioned whether they were common or red-breasted; the crests looked ragged, and the chin area was not a clean white, but the feathers around the lores seemed a bit dark for red-breasted. The neck feathers did not have a sharp de-marcation between colors, either. I wish I had paid attention to the bills and eye-color. On the far end of the lake, near the cabins, there was a hermit thrush. Kinglets were calling close by, too, over the sound of the many chickadees. The nicest surprise of all, however, was the bird that flushed up twice with a soft whistling, from the grasses at the side of the stream feeding the lake: a snipe, or so I took it to be, from views of the back in flight. Along with the many finch songs, it made a nice ending to a pleasant hike. Linda Whyte, with Curt Rawn ---- Join or Leave mou-net:http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives:http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
