Even in the cities there are interesting things to find. The other day I was at a shipping dock in Minneapolis near Highway 280 right next to the railroad yards. I found a dead Sora rail that apparently had flown into the wall of the building. I am not aware of any suitable habitat closer than a block away, but there may be wetlands in the rail yard that are not apparent. Also, around shipping docks, I continue to find pairs of Rough-winged Swallows that I assume are nesting under the truck trailers sitting at the docks.
Today, parked in a traffic backup in downtown, I was delighted when a beautiful little moth landed on my open car window. The Eight-spotted Forester (*Alypia octomaculata*) is black with large spots on its wings and red puffs on its front two pairs of legs. Most people would have trouble with its ID, because it is a colorful day flying moth, and not a butterfly. It was such a pleasure to have it drop in and cheer me up. I then parked and walked a couple of blocks to my destination, probably saving 15 minutes. 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
