Got up early the last two days for full-morning walks at William O'Brien state park. After seeing several radar-related posts expecting a potential influx of migrants today, I was hopeful, but alas found more or less the same exact bird list today as yesterday (only three additions today: Field Sparrow, Pelicans, and Harrier). In fact, yesterday was much "birdier" than today. The only species number uptick I noticed today was Tree Sparrows--perhaps finally gearing up to get out of here after a long winter.
That said, nice birding was had including Bonaparte's Gulls (yesterday) and my first 2018 Towhees and Sedge Wrens both days. Also present both days were Snipe and American Bittern, with Saturday being the optimal day for both; dozens of Snipe were displaying for about 2.5 hours; I'd never seen (and heard) more anywhere in my life (compare to today--only one seen and two additional heard). As for the Bitterns, I had 5 yesterday (1 seen well with a second probable flush in the cattails, and 3 or 4 additional heard), compared to just 3 (heard only) today. According to ebird records, there's a gap (no records) of American Bittern sightings at the park from some point in May until mid-July, and according to the park's own checklist, they're only occasional in spring. But given the number of vocal individuals present, I wonder if they might breed here? I'll be sure to check regularly through the summer as I live pretty close. A modest variety of waterfowl present in the park as well (on Lake Alice), perhaps most interestingly being a pair of Red-Breasted Mergansers hanging out both days pretty close to the swimming beach. Kyle Te Poel Stillwater Township, MN ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
