Yesterday, for the second weekend in a row, there was a Surf Scoter in Stearns Co. - this time at the Paynesville sewage ponds, and, specifically, at the north-most pond in the sewage-pond complex. The scoter was a first-fall bird.
Also at the Paynesville sewage ponds were a first-fall Ross's Goose and 51 individuals of nine shorebird species. All of the shorebirds were in the basin on the south side of the south-most sewage pond. Phil Chu Department of Biology St. John's University Collegeville, MN 56321