[mou-net] Salt Lake and around the Metro
Last weekend I went out to the Salt Lake Festival, Minnesota's oldest birding festival, out on the western border of Minnesota. Unlike last year, this year the weather was beautiful for the drive out, lacking last years blizzard like feel. However, we awoke to a coating of snow, which soon melted away. While Saturday birders found over 150 different species, we had a respectable eighty plus, realizing that we never walked the woods to tally up some common wood species. Highlights included a couple of spots where we were surrounded by Snipe, many calling. We had one take a long display flight over us with an incredible serenade. Marbled Godwits were even more spectacular in their display flights. On Sunday we had an Upland Sandpiper and a small covey of Prairie Chickens fly by in just a few minutes. We had over thirty Harriers flying, but I regretted not getting a count. We also had a large flight of a mixed flock of Franklin and Bonaparte Gulls, allowing for good study. We also had both Fosters and Common Terns flying together. Other birds of note included Long-billed Dowitchers, Huns (Gray Partridge), a flock of eight White-faced Ibises, American Avocets, Wilson's Phalaropes, and courting Western Grebes. Thursday morning as I left for work I added three more FOY birds in my yard: House Wren, Catbird, and Broad-tailed Hawk. The Hawks nested last year in the neighborhood. Tonight as I stood outside waiting for Mercury to brighten in the evening sky, we had a Little Brown or Brown Miotis Bat flitter by. Spring flowers are blooming in the yard, including the fragrant Creeping Charlie, which I am presently battling in the back. I also found that my wild volunteer patch of orchids (Fancy Orchis) is coming back lustily. Steve Weston on Quiggley Lake in Eagan, MN swest...@comcast.net Join or Leave mou-net:http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives:http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
[mou-net] Fwd: Say's Phoebe - Cottonwood/Jackson Ctys
Sent from Bob Ekblad's iPhone Byron, MN - Olmsted County http://www.Birding-Minnesota.com Begin forwarded message: From: Bob Ekblad ekb...@frontiernet.net Date: May 2, 2009 8:55:05 AM CDT To: MOU-Net mou-...@moumn.org Subject: Say's Phoebe - Cottonwood/Jackson Ctys Seen on county line from Cottonwood 6 and Jackson 7 (SW Cottonwood cty) by Eckerts MBW group just before 9 am today Sent from Bob Ekblad's iPhone Byron, MN - Olmsted County http://www.Birding-Minnesota.com Join or Leave mou-net:http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives:http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
[mou-net] Say's Phoebe, Cottonwood/Jackson county
Diane Anderson called just now to report a SAY'S PHOEBE at the intersection of Cottonwood county road 6 and Jackson county road 7. Join or Leave mou-net:http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives:http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
[mou-net] White-winged Scoter - Kandiyohi County
SW corner of Lake Lillian. From Town of Lake Lillian go west 200 yards on CR 8 and scan the lake from the hole in the trees. Mostly breeding plumage male. (from Dennis Martin) --- David Cahlander da...@cahlander.com Burnsville, MN 952-894-5910 Join or Leave mou-net:http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives:http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
[mou-net] Carver County-Henslow's Sparrow
After intitially hearing the song of a Henslow's Sparrow, I was able to locate him in some low grass near the area he has been in past years at Carver Park. There is a new trail mowed that heads northwest from the main trail as you are heading west towards Cty Rd. 11 from the nature center. He was a little ways back along this trail. There was also a Sandhill Crane flying very low near Grimm Farm, but I didn't see him land. Other than that there were Song, White-throated, Swamp, Savannah, Clay-colored(several calling from territory), Field, and Chipping Sparrows. The only warblers seen were Yellow-rumped, Orange-crowned, and Palm. There was also a pair of Forster's Tern on Stone Lake. _ Hotmail® goes with you. http://windowslive.com/Tutorial/Hotmail/Mobile?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_HM_Tutorial_Mobile1_052009 Join or Leave mou-net:http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives:http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
[mou-net] Koochiching County Yard/window birds
Woke up this AM to first ever pair of American widgeons in yard w/ usual wood ducks and a pair of deer. Also had: C. goldeneyes Mallard, red breasted mergansers, FOY cowbirds, B.T. Grackles, red wing blackbirds, pelicans, mourning doves, evening grosbeaks, eagle, red and white nuthatches, pine siskins, white throated and chipping sparrows, chickadees, purple finches, dark eyed junco, C. Geese and a light dusting of snow to go with the little old snow still along driveway. The hooded mergansers using one of the front nesting boxes were conspicuous in there absence! The widgeons hung around for over 3 hours and may still be around. A very good sunny morning on the Rainy River Tom Crumpton Join or Leave mou-net:http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives:http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
[mou-net] Junco and Pine Siskins - Corcoran
Ok, no Hummingbird yet!!! But I still have a Junco and this morning I had two Pine Siskin on the feeder!! Oh, and my Robin under the deck has laid 3 eggs so far!! I have a pair of Red-bellied Woodpeckers hitting the peanut feeder very hard this past two weeks.. I'm in need of a job!! Please see http://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewlongtin Thank you.. -- Andrew Longtin Corcoran (Hennepin Co.) Minnesota See my WEB pages at: www.birderguy.com Email: birder...@comcast.net Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory Supporter http://www.hawkridge.org Minnesota Ornithologists' Union Member http://www.moumn.org Hawk Migration Association of North America (HMANA) Member http://www.hmana.org Cornell Lab Member (PFW) http://birds.cornell.edu/pfw Join or Leave mou-net:http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives:http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
[mou-net] Northern Waterthrush - Wirth Park (Hennepin County)
More than a dozen birders observed a Northern Waterthrush near a Green Heron as the heron fed on small frogs in a vernal pond just south of Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden in Wirth Park this morning. To get to the pond, park in the garden's parking lot and head south on the unpaved trail just beside the exit road. Follow the trail until it intersects a paved path, and turn left. After about a 3-4 minute walk, the pond will be on your left. Sorry -- I don't have better directions than that. Here's a rough map: http://www.minneapolisparks.org/documents/parks/TheodoreWirthMap.pdf In addition to the heron and waterthrush, we also saw a Wood Duck hen poke her head out of a hole in a tree about 25 feet off the ground as the group walked by. Other birds of note: Pileated and Downy woodpeckers, White-Breasted Nuthatches, a probable Pine Warbler, Ruby-Crowned Kinglets, Yellow-Rumped Warblers (many). Good birding... Rob Daves South Minneapolis Join or Leave mou-net:http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives:http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
[mou-net] Hudsonian Godwit, Willets - Steele Co.
Hi everyone, John Hockema and I found a Hudsonian Godwit this morning at Straight River Marsh, which is along the east side of CR 45 just north of Hwy. 30. Also present were 12 Willets and 4 Wilson's Phalaropes. We found Willets in two other Steele Co. locations; 5 just west of Rice Lake State Park in a small patch of flooded field along SE 74 St. and a single Willet on the west side of CR 45 just north of Straight River Marsh, making a total of 18 Willets for the day. Other highlights included one Western Grebe, a few Horned Grebes and one Red-necked Grebe on Rice Lake at the state park. There were also a few Forster's Terns about and several Marsh Wrens calling in the cattails. There were also a few American Pipits at the Claremont Sewage Ponds in Dodge County, but unfortunately, no shorebirds. Good birding! Dave Bartkey Faribault, MN screech...@q.com Join or Leave mou-net:http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives:http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
[mou-net] Northern Waterthrush
One Northern Waterthrush was seen in Maplewood Nature Center [off century ave and 7th in Maplewood, MN] next to larger observation platform. First of year there according to naturalist there. Bill Bronn Join or Leave mou-net:http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives:http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
[mou-net] Hudsonian Godwit at Bass Ponds (Hennepin Co.)
This morning there was a Hudsonian Godwit on Long Meadow Lake at the Bass Ponds in Bloomington, Hennepin County. It was present from at least 7:30 to 9:00 when I left. I first saw it flying around the lake, then feeding in fairly deep water on the far side of the lake. It was sometimes out in the deep water among the dabbling ducks, well away from any other shorebirds. This was looking out across the water from the main dike trail. There is tons of mud, and there were plenty of other shorebirds - about 150 yellowlegs (almost all Lesser), 2 Solitary Sandpipers, and 3 very distant dowitchers. Landbird migration was slow - lots of Yellow-rumped and Palm Warblers, but not much else. I also flushed 5 Black-crowned Night-Herons out of the cattail marshes, and heard my first Sora of the year. After seeing so many shorebirds at the Bass Ponds, I decided to check out other shorebird spots around the area. I turned up the following: 180th Street Marsh, north of Vermillion 15 Pectoral Sandpipers, Lesser Yellowlegs, 2 Solitary Sandpipers (and a couple I ran into had seen a Baird's Sandpiper there as well) Also in the area were Brewer's Blackbirds, which I've had trouble finding this spring, and a Loggerhead Shrike along 180th just east of Emery Ave. Randolph Industrial Park 1 singing Grasshopper Sparrow, my first of the year (per others, there are also still a few Lapland Longspurs here) Lake Byllesby 11 Willets, 1 Greater and 40 Lesser Yellowlegs, 1 Dunlin, 1 Wilson's Phalarope Nicollet Sewage Ponds many Lesser and 2 Greater Yellowlegs, 1 Wilson's Phalarope, 1 Least Sandpiper, 1 Baird's Sandpiper, 1 Long-billed Dowitcher, 1 Spotted Sandpiper, and a ton of Yellow-headed Blackbirds 12 shorebird species today! Pretty exciting for this part of the state. Good birding, Matt Dufort Minneapolis Join or Leave mou-net:http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives:http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
