At the Stivland plantation here in Plymouth – a new yard bird. As I was out feeding the ducks (swimming around in the 16 square yards of open water) I flushed a bird that I first thought was a Snipe. But as I circled back around and re-located the bird, I realized it was an American Woodcock. Very cooperative and trying to blend in. A first for our yard here.
I do not know if this is good or not – I guess it is bad for the birds but good for the birders. I still have Redpolls at the feeder and they are really looking sharp! The males are so red I almost blew them off as House Finches. I am guessing they are more colorful during breeding season, and of course we usually don’t seem them this late. So yesterday, mama Wood Duck was checking out her new digs (I have a new Wood Duck box). Today at the feeder we had - all on the same feeder, mind you - a pair of Common Redpolls, a pair of Purple Finches, and an American Goldfinch in nearly complete breeding plumage, while under the feeder and among the 2 dozen Juncos were a Fox Sparrow, two Chipping Sparrows, and a Song Sparrow. Seeing all these birds in the same view seemed a bit strange. Then, about noon, our resident juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk paid a visit. This quieted down the squirrels and some of the little birds. So all-in-all a pretty fun day. Sid Stivland Plymouth, MN ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
