Finally got over to the Albany treatment ponds to look for shorebirds on Saturday. There weren't very many birds, either in variety or number. greater yellowlegs lesser yellowlegs solitary sandpiper spotted sandpiper pectoral sandpiper semipalmated sandpiper a pair of Wilson's phalaropes The ponds are just south of I-94 at the Albany exit. A couple of bobolinks were sitting on the barbed wire around the ponds, and there were huge flocks of tree swallows all over the area. Duck species included ring-necked, lesser scaup, mallard, northern shoveler and ruddy. I didn't see a single gull, but there was an adult bald eagle sitting on one of the dikes - might have had something to do with it. Near Avon, in Stearns Co., the warbler show was quite spectacular, with 12 species around the yard at the lake, and hummingbirds were also back, along with orioles and grosbeaks. I could hear a scarlet tanager in the woods behind the house, but didn't go look for it in the rain. Everyone was hungry! Betsy Beneke Benton/Stearns/Sherburne Counties
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