At about 5 PM Saturday evening I found 3 White-winged Scoters above the
Spillway at Prairie Island in Winona. They all were in a similar drab plumage,
resembling that of the 1st Winter Male illustrations in Sibley and National
Geographic. They were in a mixed group of divers. Here are the coordinates:
44.08607,-91.68928
I first spotted the birds from the spillway proper (at the bend in Prairie
Island Road). There is now a fence here that one needs to look through
(aargh!!), but I was able to get closer looks by going to the McNally Landing
boat launch, and walking towards the river from there. An incoming boat flushed
up the flock containing the scoters, but I suspect the scoters will make their
way back to the same area, as this has been a particularly favorable spot for
scoters in recent years (I suspect that yummy zebra mussels are particularly
concentrated here).
Things were very birdy today, with 6 Common Loons at Lake WInona, 1 at Bartlet
Lake, Horned Grebe and numerous waterfowl at Prairie Island, Lesser Yellowlegs
at Verchota Landing, migrant Vesper and Savannah Sparrows near the tennis
courts at Lake Winona, and a Brown Thrasher near the Gazebo at Lake WInona.
Dedrick BenzWinona, MN
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