I co-guided a Friends of Roberts bird walk this morning at the TS Roberts Bird Sanctuary in Minneapolis with a group of about 18 other birders. The highlight of the morning (in my mind) was a perched Eastern Whip-poor-will in a large cottonwood tree near the eastern part of the main trail, maybe 200 feet west of the normally locked gate near the Rose Garden complex. The bird was perched on a small dead branch on the left side of the tree just below the area of the tree that starts to branch out in many different directions. I would guess that the branch it was perched was about 30-35 feet off the ground so if you go quietly looking for the bird it shouldn't be disturbed. The nightjar was differentiated from a Common Nighthawk by its relatively larger head, shorter wings, rufous patch on the wings, and rounded tail that is white underneath towards the end. There are photographs of this bird from a member of our group. I was the original finder but all were able to see the bird.
There were a lot of other birds of interest in the area including many warbler species. Jason Caddy South Minneapolis ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
