This past Saturday I had the opportunity to join a small group at a
Sharp-tailed Grouse lek north of Clearbrook. We spent 2 hours in the
blinds and enjoyed a great show. Some of the birds came in very
close, dance within 25-30 feet, making it well worth the discomfort
of intermittent snow squalls and brisk winds.
The weather improved later in the morning and I ended up birding a
full 10 hours on Saturday.
Among the areas covered were rice paddies in two Clearwater
locations, Erskine sewage ponds and the northern end of Oak Lake in
Polk county and Glacial Ridge. The Cinnamon Teal was AWOL.
75 species for the day
Highlights...
22 species of waterfowl
Sharp-tailed Grouse and Greater Prairie Chicken
Dozens of N. Harrier, 3 collecting and carrying nesting material, 2
males performing courtship displays.
9 Greater and 3 Lesser Yellowlegs, Polk county Oak Lake & Ersine
sewage ponds, and Clearwater rice paddies
Marbled Godwit, several locations, all three counties
Franklin's Gull, a couple nice size groups hanging out in flooded
fields in Glacial Ridge
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, only one...north of Clearbrook
Northern Flickers in great abundance
Black-billed Magpie, several locations in Polk and Clearwater, one
carrying nesting material
Tree Swallow, one pair claiming a snag at the Clearwater River
crossing in Bagley
Eastern Bluebirds, not as many as I had expected
Western Meadowlark
Yellow-headed Blackbird, Oak Lake
** NOTE: EMAIL CHANGE **
NEW ADDRESS ON APRIL 1ST
[email protected]
( old address dies on 4/25/09 )
Kelly Larson
The Bagley Farm -Clearwater
The Bemidji Loft -Beltrami
Minnesota
Eschew Obfuscation!
The middle of Nowhere is Somewhere!
----
Join or Leave mou-net:http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net
Archives:http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
