Thanks so much for the replies. I did get a person on the phone up there who said it's quite a mess right now, and I drive a smaller car with front wheel drive, so will have to wait until it dries out hopefully by late April. Holly, your note was exactly what I needed - I'll print it out and keep it in the car for a great afternoon in a few weeks. Hope to see some Sandhills or Loons, and that the roads will be just fine on a dry day after things have dried out.
Father Paul From: Holly Peirson [mailto:hpbirdscou...@msn.com] Sent: Monday, April 04, 2011 12:31 PM To: Paul Kammen; MOU-NET@LISTS.UMN.EDU Subject: RE: [mou-net] Best Approach to birding Carlos Avery? Hi folks: I live very near to Carlos, so I can speak to this. If you have a 4-wheel drive vehicle, you're good to go. If you don't, the roads are mostly all sand, and be very wet, pitted, and hard to drive on, please don't attempt it with just one vehicle or if you don't have a cell phone to call for back-up or a tow truck... Unfortunately, the local tow Co's know just where to find you if you call from Carlos...! There is no phone for info because there is no one manning the phones for the public, due to budget constraints. The WMA is managed for hunting. Finding birds on it is just a bonus for Birders, but they don't have any staff whose job is to do tours or the like. There may be maps at the T with Zodiac. The "office" there is for the equipment and workers, not for the public. Better to download a map from the DNR site before you go... The best short to mid-length tour is to begin at Hwy 18 west of Forest Lake and go north on Zodiac St., then turn Rt or east when you get to the T. Go slowly at all times or you will miss something great (and the speed limit is low, too...) On your left is the Sanctuary portion of Carlos, no entry permitted for walking, hunting, birding, morels. Look but don't enter. On the right as you go through the wooded section, there are trails that you can take more time on, or mark on the map for a later visit. This section is great for migrating songbirds like tanagers, thrushes, warblers, and owls at all times of the year. At the first intersection, go L, and stay near pools 10 and 4 on your left and pools 9 and 5 on your right. Keep turning L at each intersection and you'll find yourself back at Zodiac at some point. The shortest you can do this trip in is about an hour but that would be w/o any lengthy stops. [Later in the year, or if you have more time, go right and follow the road around pool 9 to the left, then pool 8. This leads you north and east. There are more walks and pools this way. At the T, there is a way out to the east, to Viking Trail (22) and the town of Wyoming. Or, you could go west and then back down around the western pools, and out to Lexington Ave., or make the full circuit back to Zodiac.] Take your camera and a scope. Stay IN your car (use it as a blind) as much as possible when you get out into the pools sections, and you will be rewarded with close looks at as many ducks, geese, swans, cranes, loons, and a bit later in spring - shorebirds, as are there when you are! As the songbirds come back, don't forget to look away from the pools now and then!! And always, look UP for raptors. Pools 5, 3, and 2 are where you might find cranes feeding in the shallow wet marshy areas. Look to the north from the first intersection you come to (between pools 10 and 9). There's an Eagle nest (don't know if active this year yet) that might be able to be seen from there. Later in the year, a trip to the south of Hwy 18 is always interesting. This is one of the areas that the cranes nest, on Carlos (and where the ravens that I see/hear do, also). If the gate is closed you can walk in, but the trail is lengthy so take water and a hat (and bug repellent if it's late spring to mid-fall.) The eastern section of Carlos, accessed near Stacy, is harder to see much of from a car, but the trip across the marsh and Sunrise River on Hwy 19, if it's not busy that day so you can stop and use your car as a blind, can be really great for shorebirds and of course all the ducks and other water birds. Take water and a snack. A full tank of gas. Your cell phone. Scope. Bird Guide. Frog sounds guide. Hat. Rain or wind gear. Shovel. Later in the season, bug repellent is a good idea. Holly Peirson Columbus, SE Anoka Co. -----Original Message----- From: Minnesota Birds [mailto:MOU-NET@LISTS.UMN.EDU] On Behalf Of Paul Kammen Sent: Monday, April 04, 2011 11:29 AM To: MOU-NET@LISTS.UMN.EDU Subject: [mou-net] Beat Approach to birding Carlos Avery? I've heard a lot about Carlos Avery, but haven't seen too many reports this season yet from there. I'd like to spend an afternoon up there though, but because it's got a lot of roads I was wondering if anyone had any suggested routes through there. I did a search online and the DNR site says simply "very popular for birdwatching." That's great, but where can one make the best use of their time once you are there? There also is no phone number listed to the place itself. If anyone could enlighten me as to how you'd spend 3 hours with a camera in this place I'd appreciate it. Many thanks! As a side note, I had a northern flicker in my tree in Chanhassen yesterday. Also went to Lowry Nature Center in Victoria and the Osprey were there in their nest. ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
