A male American Black Duck was present in the wetlands between the MN River and the lower reaches of 9-Mile Creek this afternoon. It was easily distinguished from the numerous mallards by its dark body plumage, lightly streaked tan neck and head, and yellow-olive beak. Perched on a mudflat and small log half-way out from the gravel causeway, it spent some minutes preening, before swimming off toward the flock of mallards on the far shore. After a brief foray up the creek, we returned and looked for it again, but could not relocate it in the short time we had.
Also present in the area were some of the expected migrants, like Yellow-rumped and Palm Warblers, and Golden-crowned Kinglets. The most numerous were the White-throated Sparrows; a large flock of them were feeding in the grassy compost area on the river bank, west of the Lyndale parking lot. They indulged in a communal "hot-tub" party in a huge puddle on the road, retreating into the weedy grasses, young saplings, and large brush piles nearby. Linda Whyte ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
