Got out for a couple of hours mid-day in Dakota County. I checked out Lake Byllesby where conditions were less than optimal with the lighting poor and heat shimmer interfering with the long view. while the lake is high, there is still plenty of sand and mud to attract shorebirds. Besides a couple of Killdeer, the only shorebird I was able to ID was a Greater Yellowlegs. I saw a landing of a flock of probably a couple hundred peeps, but I was too far upstream to be able to see any details. When I moved closer, I could not find any trace of the birds.
Other highlights: Bonaparte's Gull fly-by of at least 5 at Lake Byllesby. When I first heard them, I immediately started looking for a tern and was surprised when I found the Bonnies. Am. White Pelican: good numbers at Byllesby. Belted Kingfisher: watching the ditch at Highway 50 and Blaine west of Hampton. Loggerhead Shrike: near presummed nesting area by the Nike installation on 260th St, west of Blaine. Vesper Sparrows: several locations. 180th Street marsh was quiet and empty. Most of the fields were quite dry for this time of year. Jirik sod farms did looked mostly dry. Drainage lake on 160th St. south of Rosemount looked like good habitat, but I did not see anything. Steve Weston on Quiggley Lake in Eagan, MN sweston2 at comcast.net