With waterfowl migration still quite slow in the county, I was surprised to see 5 pelicans this morning on the Foot Lake aeration system just north of Willmar, Kandiyohi county. From Willmar west we had almost no snow all winter (until March), so many creeks and spillways are barely...or not even...flowing; open water is quite limited. I am reminded a year ago today we had "ice out" on Foot Lake, but looking at the long range forecast and current ice depth, I would guess we are still 3 weeks away. This morning, I did see/hear my first: sandhill cranes, red-winged black birds, grackle, and 7 tundra swans (lots of trumpeters in area).
Winter finches still around, with redpolls abundant, but scattered. Steve Gardner found several white-winged crossbills at the north end of MinnWest Technology Campus yesterday. Randy Frederickson, Willmar ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
