Three pine grosbeaks were sitting in a tree top along CR 4, ju Hi All, Three pine grosbeaks were sitting in a tree top along CR 4, just before the turn to go south into Sand Dunes State Forest, east of Orrock about 10:00 this morning.
A red-shouldered hawk was at the south end of Little Elk Lake along CR 1 (SE part of the refuge) at 10:30 this morning. Two birds were seen in this spot during our Christmas Bird Count on December 22. One bird has been seen in this area several times since then. A Townsend's solitaire was along the Ann Lake Campground Road, south and east of Orrock this morning. Go south from Orrock on CR 5 for one mile, and then turn east on the Ann Lake Campground Road. There is a small parking area on the south side of the road with a big, yellow gate at the head of the trail. The solitaire can often be seen sitting in a large deciduous tree out in the open on the south side of the road adjacent to this trail. A large flock of redpolls were along CR 3, just east of its junction with CR 5 this morning - north end of the refuge. A barred owl has been seen several times in the past week, across the river north and west of the HQ building toward dusk. Another barred owl can occasionally be seen on either side of CR 11, in the bridge area, just north of the Santiago Country Store. I've seen this bird on my way home from work several times in the last month. With the lengthening days, bald eagles have started to return to the refuge, despite the fact that the river is frozen nearly solid. Betsy Beneke Sherburne NWR ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
