February 19, 2007 Minnesota River Valley Audubon Chapter South East Minnesota Field Trip Report
Spent the day birding in Southern Minnesota with a group from my Audubon Chapter. The spring like weather was a treat and the birding was very enjoyable as well. Roads are clear, with snow cover on most of the fields. Here are some of the species we encountered. Golden Eagle - Houston County, CR 5, Approx 2 miles South East of CR 14, or 1 mile West of Quarry Road - A single Adult Golden Eagle was observed in flight at 2:10 pm and was seen in the area for about 15 minutes. We also observed a number of Bald Eagles and Red-tailed Hawks along CR 5 and all were observed within a mile of where the Golden Eagle was observed. Mourning Dove - small flocks were observed at 4 locations in Fillmore and Houston Counties. Eastern Screech-Owl - Olmsted county Belted Kingfisher - Highway 30, along the bridge just West of the intersection with Highway 52. The bird was observed sitting on a wire over the creek. Red-headed Woodpecker - Olmsted county - CR 19, South of Highway 52 Northern Flicker - 3 observed at different locations along Houston county road 5. Horned Lark - They are back and were observed in small groups on almost every gravel road we traveled along. Tufted Titmouse - Olmstead county - Highway 30, observed at a feeder on the North side of the road, 2.6 miles West of Highway 52. Houston County - CR 5, same location as the Golden Eagle and 3 more were observed 3 miles East of that location along CR 5. American Robin - Houston - 100+ were observed at 4 stops along CR5. Purple Finch - Fillmore county - Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center - 20 or 30 observed at there feeders. Craig Mandel, Minnetonka, MN egretc...@msn.com