I stopped at the Wedge Coop this evening at Franklin and Lyndale not far south of downtown Minneapolis and counted at least 18 swifts overhead. One bird caught my attention as it seemed stubbier and lighter colored, but when I grabbed my binoculars I could not find any bird that varied from normal, so I chalked my Vaux's sighting to wishful thinking. I have always been fascinated by swifts. Whereas other birds will fly together in pairs, swifts almost always are in threesomes.
One of my most memorable moments was when in western Minnesota, I watched a pair of swifts join together in the air about thirty to forty feet above, falling together, and separating just before they hit the ground. I searched the internet unsuccessfully for a video of this behavior until I found a statement that unlike other swifts, Chimney Swifts do it in the chimney rather than on the wing. Either these swifts did not read the manual or perhaps it was another pair of phantom Vaux's. I haven't had much chance to get out birding, working too many hours, and digging to much in the garden. Most interesting plant in bloom in the yard is alum root. Most interesting plant when I did get out and about was western rock jasmine, a little red plant about three inches tall blooming in a sand blow out in the Carpenter Nature Center's Wisconsin land south of Hudson. Birds in the yard include a gang of Wild Turkey that I think could handle any large animal. We have a Barred Owl that is hanging out around the yard. As dusk deepens in the yard, you can hear the nesting Robins going crazy around it. In the morning we can hear at least two Tufted Titmice calling. I am not sure whether this means they are nesting nearby or what. Most of the time they are quite stealthy. Steve Weston On Quigley Lake in Eagan, MN [email protected] ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
