Spring has surely arrived in St. Paul, with 5 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker sightings in one day--one on a dog-walk in Merriam Park (near the RR tracks west of Snelling) and 4 others on the bluff-top in Cherokee Heights Park. Yesterday's diversion from taxes was courtesy of a FOY Broad-winged Hawk that flew high over our Randolph Heights backyard while the feeders were getting filled; heard the calls before spotting it. This morning, a pair of Red-winged blackbirds were hanging around the yard, to feed on the unshelled peanuts. There are also many juncos passing through. If anyone is hiking the sidewalk along Shepard Road, you may want to check on the eagle(s) in the nest that's on the south side of Crosby Lake. It's not easy to see, but if you stand at the edge of the bluff top, just slightly west of where the substation is, you might spot the bird's white head across the lake. Further east toward downtown, along the RR track right-of-way, there were at least two Red-tailed Hawks, a Shrike, and a Kestrel on the look-out at the end of last week.The hawks and kestrel have frequented the area before, but it was the first time I'd seen shrike in there. It only caught my eye because it was doing a repertoire of credible imitations of other species. While the mimicry didn't lure any prey, it was certainly interesting to witness. Linda Whyte
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