The Minn Birding Weekends group found a minimum of 4,000 Purple Martins this morning concentrated on the utility wires at the Morris sewage ponds. This was a careful and conservative estimate based on some us doing counts in increments of 100. Also here was a great study of all 4 regular peeps: White-rumped (a rarity in fall), Baird's, Semipalmated, Least. They were literally side-by-side for several minutes only about 25-30 feet away in excellent light.
Also during the past few days in the counties in the Morris area were a total of 15 shorebird species (no concentrations or large mudflats found - N Ottawa impoundment in Grant Co was disappointing), E Screech-Owl on 270 St just W of Stevens CR 7, Olive-sided Flycatcher at Bonanza Grove in Big Stone Co, but relatively few migrant passerines (e.g., only 10 warbler species in 3 days). We were unable to relocate the ibis I saw in Traverse Co on Thursday. But some of us did see the Blue Grosbeak(s) today in Swift Co on 200th Ave SW, 0.4 mi N of Hwy 59. Kim Eckert Duluth MN Sent from my iPhone ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
