I am new to posting things here but I am going to give it a try. While out skiing near Cook, MN I first heard and then later spotted a Golden-crowned Kinglet. At first I thought the call was that of a Brown Creeper and I searched the tree trunks in hopes of finding one. I have never seen one here in the middle of the winter but it has been an unusual winter. The only birds I spotted however, were Chickadees and Nuthatches. The next day I returned to the area hoping to find the Brown Creeper. When I got near the spot I heard that creeper like call again. I noticed some movement in a near by Balsam and expected it to be one of the Chickadees. Much to my surprise it was clearly not. Kinglet came to mind but way up here in January? I listened to recordings of the kinglet when I got home and was surprised how similar they are to the creeper. Needless to say I visited the area again yesterday. This time I got a better look and sure enough it was a Golden-crowned Kinglet. It did not give me much time to look but it was quite close. It was with the group of Chickadee and Nuthatches again. It gave me a quick look and continued it`s searching in the balsam and spruce branches. I visited the spot again today but did not find it.
If one wanted to look for this bird it would require a ski or snowshoe hike along the Rice River. There are some areas along the way where one has to be careful. There is an active beaver hut and some rapids. If anyone is interested feel free to contact me. Julie Grahn Sent from my iPad ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
