I went down on Sunday to see the Whooping Cranes.... awesome! I am just disappointed that it is a pair of males. I will refrain from any political statement that might really get me in trouble.
I found swallows in Sciota township. A large mixed flock of swallows were feeding in the rain, which kept me behind closed windows. I found Cliff, Tree, Bank, and Barn, but most of the swallows on the wire were Cliff with only a few Tree and Bank. Interestingly the Bank Swallows all had light or incomplete bands across their chests. I assumed that these were juveniles, which would mean that the first swallows had already fledged, which seemed too early to me. None of the books showed this plumage. Any comments? On the way back, I stopped at the McKnight Prairie south of Randolph to check out the wildflowers. I was able to walk the trail before the rain drove me off. Flowers there included Purple Avens (Prairie Smoke), Sheep Sorrel, and CrowfootViolet (perhaps two varieties), and some small star shaped flower I haven't a clue. Nighthawks were flying in my neighborhood, but silently. Great crested Flycatchers are calling from the trees. Toads and Copes Gray Tree-frogs are producing a deafening chorus. In my yard, the Showy Orchis is in full bloom! Steve Weston on Quigley Lake in Eagan, MN swest...@comcast.net ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
