During what was supposed to be a fast, honest power-walk around Snelling Lake, birds proved once again to be a hopeless distraction. Along the road leading from the office building at the gate, there came a whiny, scolding, distress call reminiscent of Gnatcatcher, House Wren and Vireo complaint all at once. It was made by two or three different voices, first on the lake side by the boat ramp parking lot, and then across the road from there. It turned out to belong to some Yellow-throated Vireos, perching fairly low in the trees beside the road. There was no evidence of birds being fed by others, so it's hard to say if the calls were warnings or begging. The birds moved toward the office building before I could follow.
Meanwhile, foraging among the vireos, another bird had appeared; a warbler, flashing deep yellow from throat to lower belly. The vent area was white. The wings and tail were a deep, solid gray. The rest of the uppers were gray-green, with some yellow appearing on the head. The bird sported no eye-ring or eye-stripe, just a handsome black eye. It seems to be a match for a young Prothonotary Warbler, female---perhaps bred just to the east. The other "fun" find was the brown thrasher on the north side of the lake. Linda Whyte ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
