This is the time of the year when I do not feel in command of the yard. With three wood duck boxes in the yard I feel as if I have to sneak up to the window to avoid frightening off the skittish ducks. I had already stopped short once by a pair of Woodies this morning, but when I glanced out the side window and counted about 30 Yellow-rumps (and a single Nashville) I tried the back windows again. This time the pair of Woodies were not around. As I stood there, a hawk flashed through the yard and the pair of Woodies went flying from close to the house where they were not visible from the window. But, rather than the neighborhood Cooper that I expected, it was an adult Red-tailed Hawk that went after the ducks! I had never seen that before.
At Rockford Road & Annapolis in Plymouth: a barely fledged Gr. Horned Owl in full downy uniform (with big black eye rings) was chased to ground by a harassing Crow. Despite being late, I made an immediate U-turn, but the birds were gone. At Minnetonka Blvd and Williston Rd in Minnetonka: a soaring Broad-winged Hawk. First noticed on Saturday in Hok-si-la and again today in Plymouth, almost masked by the overwhelming Chorus Frogs, a few American Toads have started their siren songs. They remind me of something singing in the minds of the Tolkien's travelers early in the story. Was it sand rats? I can not remember. In Frontenac we found a number of Willow Flycatchers, not singing, but giving their characteristic "Whit" call. I believe there may be a considerable difference in the migration timing of Willows and Alders with the Willows migrating quietly early and the Alders migrating late singing. This is just from personal experience. I should check the MOU records. 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
