Thanks to Alex Lewanski for his 10/22 posting and to Bruce Fall for his on-site directions. From 2:30-5:00 p.m. on 10/24, on the north side of Lake Byllesby, Dakota County, I saw the following species, most of them with James Buckingham and some of them with John Hockema and Ben Determan:
55 Golden Plover (excellent views though 30x telescope from about 150 yards distance, brownish/golden coloration clearly visible in back-lit afternoon sunlight) 1 Black-bellied Plover (observed by John Hockema, who had an excellent look at the bird's salt and pepper coloration when on the mudflat and black armpits in flight) 1 Killdeer 1 Hudsonian Godwit (excellent views through 30x telescope from about 150 yards away--gray winter plumage, black tail tip, long upturned bill pinkish at base, slightly larger than immediately adjacent Greater Yellowlegs) 4 Greater Yellowlegs 78 Dunlin (fall/winter plumage) 6 Pectoral Sandpiper 4 Sanderling 79 Bonaparte's Gull several Ring-billed Gull All of these species were observed after we parked at the cemetery on the south side of 292nd Street <1 mile east of the intersection of 292nd Street and Rt. 56 on the northwest side of Lake Byllesby. We hiked east and southeast from the cemetery along the lakeshore for about 0.5-0.75 miles. The viewing conditions in mid- to late afternoon were outstanding, with limited wind and the sun at our backs. Additional species observed included the following: 23 Water Pipit on the mudflats at the extreme western end of Lake Byllesby, accessed from county park land located on the south side of 292nd Street about 1/4 mile west of the cemetery. 1 Downy Woodpecker 1 Hairy Woodpecker 2 Red-bellied Woodpecker 1 Belted Kingfisher several Am. Crow several Black-capped Chickadee 3 Eastern Bluebird 11 Am. Robin 20 Cedar Waxwing 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler 1 Northern Cardinal several Am. Goldfinch several House Finch 1 Song Sparrow 1 White-throated Sparrow 10+ Dark-eyed Junco ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
