Hi All, Following the hotline report about the yellow-breasted chat , I decided I'd better make a loop around the wildlife drive early this morning. I saw or heard 58 species. Here are some highlights: Orchard oriole pair at mile 2.2. Also several cedar waxwings. Two broods of common gallinules on Big Bluestem - 5 birds on the south end, 4 birds on the north end. The north end birds are older than the south end birds. No adults were observed. One solitary sandpiper on the very north end of Big Blue Stem. There were no fewer than 22 green herons walking around on the lily pads on Nelson Pool - the part BEFORE the Bergerson viewing platform - I counted from the water control structure. I've never seen that many at one time before! At the Bergerson Pool sign, I pulled over and listened and watched for the chat for 30 to 45 minutes, with no luck. Some interesting noises coming from that area, however. In the woodlands, from mile marker 5.0 to the beginning of the woodland trail, there was a flurry of warbler/migrant activity, including black-and-white, Nashville, Tennessee, golden-winged, yellow, chestnut-sided, American redstart and common yellowthroat. I could hear the blue-gray gnatcatcher, but never saw it. Warbling and red-eyed vireos, eastern wood-pewee were singing. Just as I was leaving the woodland there was a scarlet tanager, great-crested flycatcher and eastern phoebe there. There were 3 hooded mergansers on Stickney Pool, along with two Wilson's snipe - the snipe were on the second/last part of Stickney where there's a little bit of grassy/mud flat exposed. At the headquarters this morning, a purple finch is at the feeder. LOTS of chickadee and goldfinch activity! Betsy Beneke Sherburne NWR
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