What a beautiful morning it was on the refuge! Mosquitos not horrible, slight breeze, warm, not humid. I had 73 species - nothing out of the ordinary, just a wonderful morning to be out.
*BIRD NOTES* Birds are nesting and hollering all over the place, despite super-high water levels and some obvious nest failures by some species that nest over or near water. You can see a few flocks of sandhill cranes and Canada geese in the area in the early mornings. No doubt some are teenagers, but I think others may have lost their nests to fluctuating and high water levels. We have black terns and yellow-headed blackbirds around this year - not found every year. Common gallinules continue to be seen in their usual spot near MM 2.5/Big Bluestem Pool. You have to be patient and wait for calls or for them to appear. A single gallinule was also observed at MM 3.0 last week - in the vegetation close to the road on the northeast corner of this intersection. There's a field sparrow at about 1.2 miles that's once again (heard this last year) singing the "other" song - it's completely different than the normal bouncing ping pong ball one we're all used to. The iBird Pro app nails it perfectly, however. Had me scratching my head for a while when I heard it, but then finally remembered I had the same thing happen last year. I've heard a black-billed cuckoo calling from the willows near 2.2 miles. There's a pair of orioles nesting at 2.3 miles. Paul Johnson reported watching a yellow warbler steal nesting material from an oriole nest just as you enter the wooded area right before MM 5. There's a gander along the edge of Stickney Pool that will ram into the side of your car, if you get too close to his 3 little fuzz balls. Best spot to find lark sparrows is the Orrock Town Hall Road, off of CR 4, just east of Orrock. This is also a good place to hear whip-poor-wills in the late evening. FYI - Start your odometer at "0" as soon as you turn off CR 5 onto the wildlife drive to match your mileage to the MM signs on the drive. *FIELD TRIP JUNE 7 8:00am* Doug Stucki and Milt Blomberg will be leading our early summer Bird Tour on Saturday, June 7. Meet at the Blue Hill Trail on CR 9 at 8:00 a.m. Normally, I would ask that you pre-register for this tour, but it is not necessary this time. These guys will give you a GREAT tour, so come on up! *WILDFLOWERS* We have another bumper crop of lupine along the wildlife drive this year. They're going to be stunning by this weekend, nearing full bloom. Other wildflowers blooming now include marsh marigold, columbine, prairie smoke (just past the prairie trail several car lengths on the left side), wood anemone, blue-eyed grass, wild geranium, sessile-leaved bellwort, hoary puccoon, solomon's seal, prairie violet and wild strawberry. Betsy Beneke Visitor Services Manager Sherburne, Crane Meadows, Rice Lake NWRs ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
