I just spoke with Brian Schmeling who is one of the contacts for the Hutchinson wildlife sanctuary run by the Gopher Campfire Conservation Club. Brian assured me that Gopher Campfire did not put that Black-bellied Whistling Duck there. He said the only animals the organization adds to the sanctuary are deer. When asked about the possibility of someone dumping waterfowl off there, he said that sometimes happens like with the domestic geese that are there now. Brian told me they will be removing those domestic birds soon.
Given Brian's statement, Jeff Stephenson's observation of the bird flying, and two BBWDs seen earlier in Le Sueur County, I think it's reasonable to conclude this particular duck is wild. Josh Wallestad ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
