I went birding on Sunday in Dakota County and found 79 species. New birds for the year included Bobolink and Grasshopper Sparrow. We found a pair of Lesser Scaup west of Randolph and a male Ring-neck Duck at 180th. We found shorebirds at the pond east of the 180th Street marsh and just west of Vermillion, both of which included Dowitchers and both Yellowlegs. I am inclined to believe these were Short-billed Dowitchers, given their later date. They were silent, which did not help. Highlights of the day included a Baltimore Oriole building a nest in Lebanon Hills and nesting Bank Swallows. We also had a displaying White-breasted Nuthatch, which I had never seen before. But, the best birds of the day were the Gray Partridges at Randolph industrial park. We watched as a female cross the road right in front of the car, which prompted two males to escape in the other direction a little down the road.
-- Steve Weston 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
