Monday and Tuesday I wandered around Stearns County, starting Monday a.m. near Avon, looking for warblers, and found 14 species without much trouble. As the day went on, I added 4 more, for a total of 18 - not adding anything new on Tuesday.
Yesterday morning, I started early at Paynesville and had 14 shorebird species, including a Hudsonian godwit and both dowitchers. Had a second-hand report of an American avocet, but despite combing the area, I never found it. I then wandered up to the Lake Henry area, and on CR 19 west of town, found 3 Smith's longspurs in a small group with several Lapland longspurs. There were also lots of American pipits in the area (more than I've ever seen together), and Tennessee warblers feeding in a field of alfalfa. Kinda weird, but there they were! I then drove along the east side of the Crow River and back around to the west and south, and found a pair of upland sandpipers. A third new county bird for me! I wandered north and west, checking wetlands in the Elrosa, Greenwald and New Munich areas, with not much to report - but by this time the wind was blowing like crazy and it was HOT. Bird activity was way down. Before heading home, I checked the large wetland associated with the Sauk River along Hwy. 4, and then the Albany treatment ponds where there was a white-rumped sandpiper, making 15 shorebirds for the day. There was a nice collection of ducks, and probably 30 or so Wilson's phalaropes, but not much else for shorebirds, except for spotted sandpipers. I ended up with 147 species - 3 species short of my goal, but still, a great couple of days wandering around the county. Betsy Beneke St. Cloud ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
