I got a much needed day in the field and wanted to report Hey birders, I got a much needed day in the field and wanted to report birds from my home county and give an update on shorebird locations in the area.
Shorebird locations: Lincoln WPA is bone dry. Perch Lake WPA is bone dry. Gilfillin Lake is covered in weeds and grass. Perch Lake is covered in arrowhead. Minnesota Lake has awesome shorebird habitat but less than awesome viewing. There were hundreds of shorebirds there, but they were too far out to identify in the haze of the afternoon. A small wetland on CR168 east of Perch Lake held Pectoral, Semipalmated, and Least Sandpipers. The Blue Valley Sod Farms on CR21 just west of CR14 (east of Mapleton) had several Killdeer and two Buff-breasted Sandpipers. This is the most regular location for the latter species in the county. Incidentally, that sod farm is now half its former size due to the economic downturn and reduction in new home construction. I actually got 4 new species for my August list for Blue Earth County: Eared Grebe--Mapleton Sewage Ponds (viewing has improved here; they took out part of the large berm on the south side so you can see most of the south pond now) Merlin--male sitting on a telephone pole along Hwy 22 between Mapleton and Minnesota Lake (I only lack this species in May and June now--I had one in Mankato in July) Northern Pintail--two molting males on a small pond on CR21 west of 620th Avenue Lesser Scaup--one molting male on the same pond as above. I stumbled into a couple of large flocks of Bobolinks as well. One was at Evan's Slough WPA and the other was at Lincoln WPA. There were hundreds of birds. Happy birding! Chad Heins Mankato, MN "But ask the animals and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?" --Job 12:7, 9 ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
