Yesterday afternoon I birded the Afton State Park river bottoms area (Washington County) with David Adair, Tony Lau, and Curt Rawn. This morning, David Adair and I birded Frontenac State Park (Goodhue County), and this evening I checked out the Trout Brook Loop at Afton State Park. Highlights:
6/9/14 Afton State Park river bottoms and main park road (many birds heard only): 3-4 HOODED WARBLERS, continuing; 3 PROTHONOTARY WARBLERS, also continuing; several each of Eastern Meadowlark, Eastern Towhee, Red-eyed Vireo, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Ovenbird, Field Sparrow, and Clay-colored Sparrow; one each of BLUE-WINGED WARBLER, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, Scarlet Tanager, Brown Thrasher, and Yellow-throated Vireo. ebird report: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S18743303 <http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Febird.org%2Febird%2Fview%2Fchecklist%3FsubID%3DS18743303&h=bAQESKgZK&enc=AZNWtTL7XxiKiXsFpBV2K5aVia6j2nQ0rJTVnh8_42YZ4zSQCUqCN6uettw7tTfRvWGV2WNrvpbQgfONaS2WhBEsQuIkdTnyTBgtBSF_SYuihF5T5wKvNFc-O5D2rcfrxiioiX2NruMXSz2XV5mweUy4&s=1> 6/10/14 Frontenac State Park, prairie trail and park road to overlook: two each of BELL'S VIREO, DICKCISSEL, and ORCHARD ORIOLE (pair), all near the park entrance. One LARK SPARROW along the park road, one YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER at the picnic area at the end of the park road, and numerous Indigo Buntings and Fied Sparrows. We also tried for the Tufted Titmice at Frontenac Cemetery but did not see or hear any. ebird report: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S18751260 6/9/14 Afton State Park Trout Brook Loop: 3 SCARLET TANAGERS, including a pair; several YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKERS; a few each of Yellow-throated Vireo, Red-eyed Vireo, and Ovenbird; and a couple of Eastern Towhees and Indigo Buntings. I also had one BLUE-WINGED WARBLER and one RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH. Most of these birds were heard only, though I got great looks at the tanager pair. No luck in finding Summer Tanager, Tufted Titmouse, or Yellow-billed Cuckoo. Gorgeous trail with old-growth forest. ebird (including breeding codes): http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S18755211 The Afton State Park Prothonotaries are at the bottom of the steps that lead from the upper picnic area at the end of the main park road to the river bottoms. We heard and saw one just south of the spot where the trail levels out, and we heard two more at the bridge just a little to the north. We heard 3-4 Hooded Warblers singing on the same trail farther south, where they have been for a few weeks now. One Hooded Warbler could also be heard quite clearly from the upper picnic area. Feel free to send me a message if you want more specific location details on any of the aforementioned birds. Peter Nichols Cottage Grove Washington County ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
