I'll chime in here, from The Edge of the Realm (Ortonville) -Eagle numbers around here seem pretty average to me. There is a nest in Big Stone NWR, easily visible on the exit route of the auto tour through the woods by the river, where there's a strong/healthy-looking juvenile branching now and ready to fly. I'm still seeing multiple adults per day soaring around.
-Accipiter numbers appear typical. Cooper's and Sharp-Shins are a common site in town and in the woods along Big Stone Lake. Kestrel numbers seem typical (for the past 10 years, which is to say: fewer than there were 20 years ago). Red-Tails are still around but seem to be roughly 1/3 less than what I was seeing last year at this time. -Turkey Vultures are showing the most notable decline here. Last year, there would be at least 40 adults who would congregate in Ortonville to roost every evening. By late summer, they'd typically expand to around 60 individuals. They'd usually start drifting into town around 6:00 PM. That's about how many showed up in April, and since early May I haven't seen more than 15 coming in to roost and/or taking off in the mornings. They were eating a lot of roadkilled turkeys and pheasants this spring. On Thu, Jul 7, 2022 at 3:52 PM Tom Gilde < [email protected]> wrote: > Subjectively, I am not seeing the familiar eagles and osprey in SW St. > Paul and Lilydale. I’m wondering whether anyone has, or can point me to, > objective data about the impact of avian flu on our local raptors. I miss > them. > > Tom Gilde > ---- > General information and guidelines for posting: > https://moumn.org/listservice.html > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social > distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. > -- Jason M. Frank Founder & Vice President Luddite Ornithologists League (LOL) Big Stone County, Minnesota ---- General information and guidelines for posting: https://moumn.org/listservice.html Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
