This morning, I watched a pair of Dickcissels, along with 2-3 fledglings, at the General Mills Nature Preserve in Golden Valley. The male was giving the distinctive "frrrrrp" call as the female gave the high "chink" note and had food in her bill. She was being followed closely by their offspring. The birds were hanging out by the bench on the northwest side of the wetland. I have photos of the female and of one of the fledglings, one of I which I may put up on the MOU website later. This is the first confirmed nesting record for the county, and it's barely ten minutes away from my house. :-) I had seen a singing male here several years back (2007.)
I also observed a curious female/juvenal-type plumaged Mourning Warbler at the General Mills Nature Area, also in Golden Valley, this morning. This is a south-bound bird, since this is the first time ever that I've seen this species at this site. Craig Mandel relocated one of the Black-crowned Night Herons at the Louisiana/Laurel Avenue ponds a few evenings ago (again, in Golden Valley). I heard either a Blue-headed or a Yellow-throated Vireo yesterday at Westwood Hills Nature Center in St. Louis Park. It was giving its descending nasal chatter. I have been unable to find any good recordings of the call notes online, so anyone with more experience with these species can help me out. E-mail me off-channel for directions to any of the previously-mentioned sites. Good birding! Alyssa DeRubeis Golden Valley, MN, for the next week or so ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
