(Posted by Jason Frank <[email protected]> via moumn.org) On the Granite Falls CBC this morning, Fred Eckhardt and I spotted a juvenile Golden Eagle right at the border of Upper Sioux Agency State Park and Skalbekken County Park, which are divided by a county highway (10 if you're in Renville, 21 in Yellow Med). It was heading southwest, into the bottomlands, about 11:00 AM. The lower white wing patches and white band on the tail clearly visible. Garrett Wee had seen a juvenile Golden Eagle in the same area during the fall.
We also had a Townsend's Solitaire at the Heim-Fredrickson boat landing on Pete's Point Rd SE, just east of Granite Falls, and near the Gneiss Outcrops SNA, around 10:00 this morning. Garrett has found them in the same area. This road come highly recommended: we had 7 Rough-Legged Hawk, including a first-year dark phase bird (first for me). Just off the highway north of Prairie's Edge Casino, we had an older, all-black Rough-Legged Hawk, and I mean black as a raven. According to Sibley, only 10% of western Rough-Legs are liable to be black. I've been out here for 10 years, and these are the only 2 dark phase birds I've seen. Last but not least... for anyone who doesn't believe Reality is officially broken... 4 American White Pelicans, heading west over Memorial Park in Granite Falls. This is a great count area! Thanks to Garrett for getting it going. Jason Frank Lac qui Parle ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
