[mou-net] Bluebirds
Planned to remove our nestcam Tuesday, but discovered new nesting material in the bluebird box. Today checked on camera and found a completed nest and one egg. She has fledged 11 in two nestings already, we have never recorded three. Fingers crossed. Also for the first time two pair of Orchard Orioles visiting grape jelly daily and an Indigo Bunting male continues to visit daily for Nyjer and shelled sunflower John Nelson Good Thunder MN 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] Gleuck BBS route results
Run on 8 June. This corn-desert route runs north through the farmlands of Chippewa and Swift Counties. A windy day limited birds to 514 birds of 47 species, a bit below average. Chipping Sparrows were in low numbers (maybe hurt by the cold of late Apr-early May?) and Sedge Wrens absent as noted by many this year. Bobolinks barely hang on with 3 birds and Western Meadowlarks may be locally extirpated with none the past 3 years. On the plus side two new martin houses attracted the intended inhabitants (there's such a housing shortage nowadays that lake and farm residents have a good chance to attract this welcome bird if they provide and manage new houses) while a pair of Hungarian Partridge, the first in over a decade, show that this species can hang on in low numbers and not be noticed. Four harriers were surprising, Barn Swallows seem to be back at normal numbers after several years of low numbers while the continued invasion of the marshes at Hollenberg Lake by hybrid cattail seems to be eliminating the Y-H Blackbird colony there with none seen this year. Bob Russell, USFWS 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] Appleton BBS route results
Run 9 June. This route runs westward through Swift County SW of Benson, then north to the Pomme de Terre River bridge N of US 12. This is a very enjoyable route made better this year by all the flooded fields. This year it's easy to tell where many of the drained wetlands once were. Six species of waterfowl was a record high and the usual Upland Sandpiper field held a Marbled Godwit instead. I found 648 individuals of 71 species. Highlights included a courting Wild Turkey showing his stuff to a rather unimpressed hen, Black-billed Cuckoo, 6 species of flycatchers, good numbers of both orioles, and 2 Grasshopper Sparrows. Chipping Sparrows were a very low 2 and Sedge Wrens only 3. Fifteen Y-H Blackbirds were a record high. Uncommon species found for this route included Brewer's Blackbird, Chimney Swift, Bald Eagle, and Cardinal. Local farmers said they had never seen so many drake Mallards hanging around in their fields which might portend of a good duck breeding season. Bob Russell, USFWS 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] Warbler migration locations
16 locations were noted for 20+ warbler days: Hillside Trail, MN Valley NWR Murphy-Hanrehan Hok-Si-La Park Richardson Nature Center French Park Rice Lake State Park, Steele County Gunflint Trail (end of May) Sucker Lake, Vadnais Heights Tamarac NWR Red Lake WMA Itasca State Park Sherburne NWR Kathio State Park Aitkin CR 18 Myre Big Island State Park Park Point, Duluth Only four birders, all in the Twin Cities, mentioned yard lists of 20+ warblers. An old piece of information states that the state record for warblers in a day is 26, which seems a bit low. Still true? Thanks! Al Schirmacher 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] Glenwood BBS results (long)
And then there was Glenwood. I look forward to this count more than any other due to the high species diversity or maybe the spectacular view from my motel on Highway 28 of Lake Minnewaska spreading out far below you on the Pope County landscape, one of the finest viewpoints on the entire Great Plains where city planners permitted an AW Root Beer drive-in to grab the choicest view or maybe it's the gas station/car wash across the street that has the best view. Anyway on 15 June I had a riproarer of a BBS survey, perhaps my most memorable of my 50 something I've run the past decade. 76 species and 746 individuals is among the higher totals for this count but 2 species made the day. The count starts on the Grove Lake State Wildlife Area near Sedan where cranes, loons, and passerines try to drown each other out with a cacaphony of sound, making it hard to distinguish among species. Things then calm down as you head west but this year a few birds really stood out along the way. Nine Verries was an all-time high and the wet year seemed to favor their presence in small willow and alder stands all over west-central MN this June. The route runs through Glacial Hills State Park and although I had no shrike (seen earlier in the year) the meadowlarks, Grasshopper Sparrows, Field Sparrow, Dickcissel (4), and Bobolink (2) all showed up although Bobolink numbers have been disturbingly low on this count ever since one farmer plowed up and over what was until recently a sandy, ungrazed prairie hillock full of Bobolink and Sedge Wrens--guess he couldn't resist the high price of corn but such hills should never have been plowed. After a long fog delay I got going again and between stops saw an answer to one of Minnesota's oldest questions--where do Turkey Vultures breed? for there in a hayloft of a very old roadside barn was a vulture just sitting there looking out at the scene, very likely his nesting location. Riding a high through the state park I crested the last hill south of the park and noted 2 eagles soaring together. I had seen 2 eagles between stops in the fog and presumed they were these same birds, now soaring in the building thermals and partial sunshine. Bald Eagle was a new bird for this route so I was pleased to record them but imagine my surprise when I stopped to check them out and saw the glistening golden/yellowish napes of 2 adult Golden Eagles soaring only a few hundred feet away and heading slowly to the southwest. Perhaps late arctic breeders since the arctic was still iced in on that date or maybe birds displaced by the western states/Texas fires but for whatever reason they were there, a nice first for a MN BBS route. Bob Russell USFWS Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
