Last Saturday I had a chevron of about 20 to 30 Tundra Swans high overhead flying SSE over my yard. I have seen Trumpeters most times I cross the Minnesota River, including one group of 12 that probably represented two or three family groups. I also found a group of three Trumpeters on a small pond a mile or so east of Waconia. A fast and dirty way to differentiate Tundras from Trumpeters is that Tundras migrate in flocks of 30 to 50, whereas Trumpeters migrate in family groups of two to six or so. that is not to say that family group of Trumpeters might not be in the same area with a flock of Tundras. And, a single bird could be anything. PS.... not all the swans have read this yet.
I also found three Mute Swans hanging around the Treasure Island casino on Wednesday. I would not be surprised if they were not the decision makes on that location. I had a brief look at a Shrike that streaked across the road in front of my pick-up a few miles this side of the casino. I am fairly confident that it was a Northern. I got a better look at a Northern Shrike that afternoon on the south side of Flying Cloud Airport in Eden Prairie. Driving around this time of year, I am disheartened by the extend of proliferation of Eurasian Buckthorn. these invasives stick out with their green leaves contrasting to our bare or brown-leafed native plants. All that green understory in the forest and brush is buckthorn. If you see any green plant this time of year, it is probably not native to the Americas. About a week ago I found an awesome "plant" growing profusely near Stillwater along the St. Croix: lungwort (Lobaria pulmonaria). It is classified as lichen, and is actually composed of three symbotic participants: a fungus, an algae, an a cyanobacterium. Because it is sensative to sulphur dioxide pollution it is an excellant indicator of prime ecosystem health. Steve Weston on Quiggley Lake in Eagan, MN [email protected] ---- Join or Leave mou-net:http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives:http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
