(Posted by Jason Frank <[email protected]> via moumn.org)
For the past week we've had a single Common Redpoll sitting on a platform feeder, rarely getting up to leave but fully capable of flying. It struck me as odd to just have one for such a long time. This morning, though, a whirlwind of around 50 (mainly Common but at least 10 obvious Hoaries) descended on the feeders with a few Goldfinches, Siskins, and House Finches in tow. Around ten minutes after they left, I found a similar sized flock (maybe the same birds) a little over a mile away, in the thickets around the old Gary railroad grade, where it enters into Mound Spring WMA. They were all over the wildflower stalks in the prairie there. There are still quite a few Northern Shrikes around western Yellow Medicine and Lac qui Parle Counties. Large flocks of Horned Larks have been around for over a week now. There are occasional groups of Snow Buntings and Longspurs, but I haven't run into any super- flocks like I saw last year at this time. The Eagles at the south end of Bolland Slough have built a new nest a few trees over. There's been a doe Mule Deer in a herd of Whitetails along 68 east of Canby; when I saw it last week, they were between mile posts 3 and 4. 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
