Had a slow migration experience birding in Maple Grove along the west side of Eagle Lake this year (except for one banner hour with over 40 species but…)- that is until I cleaned out my small plastic ponds, cleaned up the pumps and got my water feature in full fen-shui operation. Ah, the sound of water. And, ah, the attraction of migrating birds. Within 24 hours of getting my water feature running I had two birds show up that I had never seen in these parts before - a Yellow-Breasted Chat and a Marsh Wren. Then had my FOY Magnolia Warbler, Northern Parula (second in my life and only 25 feet away getting a drink), and a Chestnut-Sided Warbler. And all from the comfort of my home office window. All in all I have over thirty species of bird visiting my water feature and the smile on my face just keeps getting bigger. I even had an odd sight - what appeared to be a Tennessee Warbler and a Yellow-Rumped Warbler in courting each other and hanging around like bookends. What would that breeding result in?
Overall, the birding this year in the woods around my area has been odd with many Ovenbirds (they are the most challenging birds to photograph), Northern Waterthrush, wrens, Butter-butts, and a great variety of waterbirds. The $100 water feature is again paying dividends in its 5th year of operation. Plus the bonus of leaving the windows open and gurgling ourselves to sleep. Ah, Spring! Thomas Maiello West Side of Eagle Lake in Maple Grove. ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
