Sax-Zim was full of birds on Saturday, with a couple of them being very special for me. Here are the highlights:
I ran into Doug Kieser and Mark Ochs (I believe) at around 10:30 on Owl Ave. They informed me that they had gotten great views of singing Connecticut Warbler at the intersection of Zim and McDavitt Roads. I explained that this bird would be a "lifer" for me and they let me hear the taped song so I could have it fresh in my head. They also told me that I better hurry because Connecticut Warblers stop singing at 11:00am. I heeded their advice and started to drive to the location as fast as was safe on these dirt roads. I arrived at the location at 10:50 and immediately heard the bird calling very loud north of the road. I hiked through this perfect bog habitat heading about 50 yards north and a little east. The bird was singing from a tamarack and then switched perches to a dead spruce branch that left him fully exposed. I was mesmerized by the bird's beautiful call and plumage and was staring for a long time. The warbler kept looking down at me but did not appear to be particularly disturbed. I lost track of time and was beginning to think this warbler would sing on forever when it suddenly stopped and chased off another bird to a nearby tree and did not utter another note. I checked my watch, it was 11:01am, the bird was right on queue. I have to say that some "lifers" are just more satisfying than others and the Connecticut Warbler ranks up with the best of them in my mind. I couldn't have done it without the help of these two other birders who took the time to give me precise directions and a fresh sound in my head that I kept repeating until I was at the location. The rest of my time was not wasted. I found a female Black-backed Woodpecker on the east side of the McDavitt Rd. towards the north end of the most extensive spruce forest. Further down, near the intersection of Mcdavitt and Sax Rd., there is a small marsh with a bridge over running water. Here I found my second "lifer" of the day that had been a nemesis bird for me. There was an American Bittern feeding at the water edge on the west side of the road. It can be seen from the small bridge. Overall it was a great day, with 78 bird species being seen/heard including 16 warblers. Good Birding, Jason Caddy Minneapolis [email protected] _________________________________________________________________ Insert movie times and more without leaving Hotmail®. http://windowslive.com/Tutorial/Hotmail/QuickAdd?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_HM_Tutorial_QuickAdd1_052009 ---- Join or Leave mou-net:http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives:http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
