(Posted by Jason Frank <[email protected]> via moumn.org) MARCH 24-
14 yuge Trumpeter Swans flew low over Salt Lake this afternoon, hooting and hollering. Lots of Mallards and Green-Winged Teal; water is high since the snowmelt, mudflats are gone. The road around the NW side remains a quagmire, apparently due to a plugged tile attempting to drain a swamp. Had a good look at an Osprey heading north along Hwy 75 in the Madison Dairy Queen Parking Lot. Gadwalls and Shovelers are prominent in flooded fields, with large rafts of Redheads and Canvasbacks on deeper wetlands. Great Blue Herons are carrying lots of nesting material to a secluded grove 1 mile west of Lac qui Parle CR 7, at the intersection of 140th and 107th Ave, just west of Goodman Marsh. Looks like the start of a new rookery. Big flocks of American Tree Sparrows are still in the area, and today I found my first Vespers, Savannahs, and Chippings in Lac qui Parle County. One Woodcock is peenting at Prairie Marsh Farm. Red-bellied Woodpeckers are calling, and theres an active pair of Pileated Woodpeckers just over the border in Gary, SD, in the woods behind Buffalo Ridge Resort. MARCH 23- There were 40 Tundra Swans on the lake at Miller Richter WMA visible from my vantage point along Yellow Medicine Co Hwy 67, 10 miles due south of Dawson. A pair of Horned Grebes were out in the middle. Lots of ducks, around 500 Mallards, with Shovelers, Ring- Necks, Scaup, Green Wings, Hooded Mergansers, and Buffleheads also present. At the smaller slough just west of Miller Lake, there was a mixed flock of Snows, White Fronted, and Canada Geese, guessing around 1,000. The Eurasian Collared Dove population is exploding out here. They are the dominant town birds in Gary and Marietta now. Also present in Madison, Dawson, and Canby. They seldom venture beyond city limits. -Jason Frank ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
