There were 30-40 sandhill cranes in a field just west and north of our Sherburne NWR maintenance facility this afternoon. I pulled to the side of Sherburne CR 3 and watched for a bit. Some were "dancing" - jumping around, throwing their heads back and calling. Was a pretty good show. There's a wetland/marsh at the intersection of Sherburne CR's 3 and 23. Yesterday and today - late afternoon - there was a single white-fronted goose among the many Canada geese there. Also ring-necked, lesser scaup and buffleheads among the mallards and gadwall. There seems to be a number of northern shrikes moving through Sherburne and Benton Counties the last couple of days - I've seen several perched on wires along county roads on my way home in the afternoons. I saw my first swamp sparrows of the year along Sherburne County Road 62 today, along with many song sparrows and eastern meadowlarks. Question: When did rock pigeons become a "wetland" bird? There were several pigeons among the killdeer and roosting/preening ducks and geese at the Sherburne CR 23/3 intersection. I noticed many pigeons last year and this year at the Albany sewage ponds in Stearns County as well. Betsy Beneke Sherburne & Benton Counties.
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