Yesterday I led a MRVAC bird trip to Hok-si-lah and Sand Point in the Lake City/Frontenac area in Goodhue County (slightly out of the Metro...). We had about 15 to 20 participants, down from recent years. The weather was beautiful, but the birds were sparse, much less than last weekend out west at Salt Lake. Only 5 species of warblers, no grosbeaks, no flycatchers (besides Phoebes), no orioles, no vireos, almost no thrushes, no shorebirds, no gulls, in mark contrast to what is usually seen on this annual bird trip. Birds of note included Red-headed Woodpecker, Hermit Thrush, Northern Waterthrush, Black & White Warbler, Blue-winged Warbler. Purple Martins, and Northern Rough-winged Swallows.
It felt like we had almost as many mammals as birds. Two foxes were seen. We were startled by a loud crack as a red squirrel fell about 20 feet into a small pool. It crawled out. When we left it was still grooming its fur. I don't know if this is the standard ritual after a high dive or recovery therapy. I have never seen a squirrel dive into the water. We had one Wood Frog calling. I have never had one calling this late in the season. We also had a good chorus of American Toad and a calling Copes Treefrog, both slightly early. Not much new has been noticed around the house. The House Wrens have arrived and the males are busy filling their houses demonstrating skill at filling the four to five inch spaces with six to eight inch long twigs. We know that a Hooded Merganser is incubating in one wood duck house, but don't know what if anything is happening in the other two. Watched a Barred Owl land nearby to be harrassed by a Hairy Woodpecker that I assume is nesting in one of the trees there. Turffed Titmouse are only rarely being heard and I have not asked my neighbor if they are visiting his feeder regularly. 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
