While my shorebird list is not comparable to Jim Mattsson's for Lake Byllesby today, I had only about five minutes to look at Purgatory Creek (Eden Prairie, Hennepin Co.) and this is what I found:
-Caspian Tern--many (wish I could have counted them) -Forster's Tern--1 -Stilt Sandpiper--15 -L. Yellowlegs--3, likely more -Wilson's Phalarope--3; two males, one female The shorebirds were pretty close to the blind and in good lighting, which provided for some excellent viewing. I wish I could have spent a lot more time there to pick out other neat species, which there probably were some, but I was short on time. I think I'll check it again on Friday afternoon. 6-8 Swainson's Thrushes were concentrated solely on the woodchip trail leading up to the blind, which is one of the highest concentrations of this species I've seen. I heard a pair of Sandhill Cranes calling from the ground at Louisville Swamp (near Jordan, Scott Co.) today. I'm assuming that they're nesting. Among a list of 11 warbler species yesterday in Minnetonka (Hennepin Co.), there was nothing of particular interest. I did see a White-crowned Sparrow, and a Philedalphia Vireo singing (what are the chances of that?) Good Spring birding! Alyssa DeRubeis Golden Valley, Hennepin Co. ---- Join or Leave mou-net:http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives:http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
