Hello all, I swung through northeastern Clay County yesterday around the Felton prairies and points east, and found large flocks of mixed waterfowl in a flooded marsh bordered by plowed land at the corner of 140th and 230th. Species present were:
100+ Tundra Swans 50+ Greater White-fronted Geese 300+ Canada Geese 4 Hooded Merganser 100+ Ring-necked Ducks 4 Canvasbacks 10 Common Goldeneye 1 Gadwall 1 Lesser Scaup A few of the gravel roads in the area are impassable due to high water. Several Great Blue Herons, a few Wood Ducks, a flock of Rusty Blackbirds, many Red-winged Blackbirds, a few Lapland Longspurs, 3 small flocks of American Tree Sparrows, and 1 Killdeer were also seen in the area. I also had a group of about 6 small drab sparrows that flew into grassland cover before I could ID them, but if I had to guess I'd say they were probably Clay-colored Sparrows. I saw several flocks of Tundra Swans in Hubbard and Becker counties also. They appear to be moving through the region in good numbers right now. Good Birding! Pat Patrick Beauzay Department of Entomology 217 Hultz Hall, Bolley Drive North Dakota State University Fargo, ND 58105 701-231-9491 patrick.beau...@ndsu.nodak.edu http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/entomology/ http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/ndsu/beauzay/tigerbeetles/index.htm http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/ndsu/beauzay/Mounting_Chalcidoidea/Chalcmount.htm