Lake Byllesby is starting to open up too. The water is quite low and mud flats are starting to appear. I met Scott Meyer there and we scoped the lake from the bluff at the west end and then from Lakeside Cemetery. Besides 1000+ Canada Geese, there were several Cackling Geese, at least two Greater White-fronted Geese, a dozen Tundra Swans, and small numbers of Common Mergansers, Northern Pintails, Gadwalls, and Mallards. About 15 Killdeer were feeding on the mudflats. Over in the GW Industrial Park we found two Rough-legged Hawks and an American Kestrel.
On my way to Lake Byllesby from Northfield along the gravel roads on the south side of the Cannon River I came across a number of Horned Larks, a Northern Shrike, a Turkey Vulture soaring and then landing on a silo, two Sandhill Cranes in a flooded field with some Canada Geese and Mallards, and a number of Hooded Mergansers and Common Mergansers in the Cannon River. The warmer temps the next few days should bring a lot more birds in. Good birding to all! Gerry Hoekstra Northfield ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
