[mou] I love geeses to pieces/Ross's et al
Chris and John Hockema and I headed from Rochester out to Rock County and back today in search of waterfowl. We focused on Rock, Nobles, Martin and Faribault counties. Most lakes were at least partly open, and waterfowl was not hard to find. The highlight of the day had to be in Nobles County at the Peterson WMA, which is on the west side of CR 57, 2 1/4 miles north of the Iowa border. Packed in this small area were at least 420 Greater White-fronted Geese, and 4 Ross's Geese, as well as good numbers of Cacklings and Canadas. About 3 miles NNE of here, at Lake Ocheda were at least 200 more Greater White-fronts. Many more distant Ross/Snows were here in the fields bordering the lake. Also of note, Chris and John found a Harris's Sparrow in Martin County in a juniper stand along CR 132 just east of it's intersection with 27 (this segment of 132 is new, and is not in the DeLorme's - with a red pen, you could carefully draw a line connecting the 2 segments of CR 132). Recent arrivals seen today: Song Sparrow Fox Sparrow Rusty Blackbird Great Blue Heron We checked the Hills sewage ponds in Rock County which harbored Great-tailed Grackles last year, but none were seen today. We did see 2 Gray Partridge along 270, several miles east of Hills. Dedrick Benz Winona, MN
[mou] (no subject)
---1112023797 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Saw at 730am this morning at Shultz Lake, Lebenon Park Egan I coyote About 120 -140 Sand hill Cranes fly over Eastern Meadowlark Song Sparrow Wood Ducks Ben Pearson Eagan, Dakota Co. ---1112023797 Content-Type: text/html; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Saw at 730am this morning at Shultz Lake, Lebenon Park Egan I coyote About 120 -140 Sand hill Cranes fly over Eastern Meadowlark Song Sparrow Wood Ducks Ben Pearson Eagan, Dakota Co. ---1112023797--
[mou] A warm thanks from The Raptor Center
Thank you, thank you, thank you, MOU members and birders. We at The Raptor= =20 Center are very grateful for your support and have been overwhelmed by your= =20 responses. To date, we have admitted 103 great gray owls, 3 northern=20 hawkowls and 6 boreal owls. While not all the owls survive or become=20 surgical patients, we are still working very hard to treat and rehabilitate= =20 the ones we can. To come up with the cost of rehabilitating the owls we=20 are treating, we have used average costs based on whether a bird received=20 orthopedic surgery or medical care. Conservation and education are extremely vital issues that we at The Raptor= =20 Center are intimately involved in. Many of you know The Raptor Center for= =20 our rehabilitation efforts because public release of wild raptors is so=20 inspiring and news worthy. Our work is much larger than that, however. We= =20 have an international veterinary training focus that has resulted in over=20 250 veterinarians from 26 countries being trained by us in the past 30=20 years; many of these veterinarians are now doing conservation work around=20 the world. Our rehabilitation work is part of our service mission; it is a= =20 vital piece that helps engage and connect the public (over 150,000 people=20 reached each year) to the natural world, along with conservation and=20 behavior-changing messages. The third piece of our mission is research in=20 avian medicine and surgery. All three of these pieces are closely=20 interconnected and dependent on each other; they also all share the same=20 operating budget. The Raptor Center is incredibly grateful for the support of the birding=20 community during this irruption =96 we have had an outpouring of people=20 willing to transport birds and help us wherever possible, as well as=20 financial response. We invite everyone to our open house on Sunday, April=20 3rd, from 11am to 4pm. As a result of this year=92s phenomenon, we will have= =20 a video system set up to observe great gray owls in a flight room, where=20 they are living while undergoing flight rehabilitation, as well as a=20 beautiful new educational mount of a great gray owl. Please introduce=20 yourself as an MOU member supporting the Give A Hoot fund =96 we are anxious= =20 to meet you and thank you in person. If you do have questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us. And= =20 thanks again for all your support. The Raptor Center Staff & Volunteers=20
[mou] Black Dog and Old Cedar, Sunday, 3/27/05
This is a MIME message. If you are reading this text, you may want to consider changing to a mail reader or gateway that understands how to properly handle MIME multipart messages. --=__PartC1E2C68B.0__= Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Was a rather slow morning birding, as I went out to search for migrants. =20 Black Dog Nothing real interesting except the first sighting for me this spring of a = Peregrine Falcon near the nest box on the power plant. Also a few Hooded = Mergansers at various parts of the river. =20 Old Cedar Eastern Screech-Owl was not relocated. The place was alive with song, = unfortunately almost all of it was Northern Cardinals, with a mixing of = American Goldfinches, but nothing overly interesting. The only interesting= ducks observed were Hooded Mergansers. A lot less open water than I had = expected with the warm temperatures the last week or two. =20 Back near home in Wright County just north of County Rd 36 off of Hwy 101, = I had a Turkey Vulture soar overhead. First of the spring for me. =20 =20 =20 Chris Fagyal Senior Software Engineer United Defense, L.P. ASD Fridley, MN=20 (763) 572-5320 chris.fag...@udlp.com --=__PartC1E2C68B.0__= Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Description: HTML Was a rather slow morning birding, as I went out to = search for=20 migrants. Black Dog Nothing real interesting except the first sighting for = me this=20 spring of a Peregrine Falcon near the nest box on the power plant. = Also=20 a few Hooded Mergansers at various parts of the river. Old Cedar Eastern Screech-Owl was not relocated. The place = was=20 alive with song, unfortunately almost all of it was Northern Cardinals, = with a=20 mixing of American Goldfinches, but nothing overly interesting. The = only=20 interesting ducks observed were Hooded Mergansers. A lot less open = water=20 than I had expected with the warm temperatures the last week or=20 two. Back near home in Wright County just north of County = Rd 36 off=20 of Hwy 101, I had a Turkey Vulture soar overhead. First of the = spring for=20 me. Chris FagyalSenior Software EngineerUnited = Defense,=20 L.P. ASDFridley, MN (763) 572-5320mailto:chris.fag...@udlp.com";>chris.fag...@udlp.com --=__PartC1E2C68B.0__=--
[mou] Huge Migration in NW Minnesota (Long and Chatty feel free to delete)
This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --Boundary_(ID_as6Es7k3l1bWoCK/j+dLwQ) Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: quoted-printable All, =20 =20=20=20=20Sorry=20this=20is=20a=20little=20late.=20=20I'm=20just=20getti= ng=20to=20my=20computer.=20=20 =20 =20=20=20=20On=20Saturday=20I=20was=20in=20Wilkin,=20Otter=20Tail,=20Grant= ,=20Travese=20and=20Stevens counties.=20=20I=20saw=20a=20lot=20of=20great=20birds,=20but=20the=20numbe= rs=20of=20geese=20were=20truly impressive.=20=20I=20haven't=20seen=20that=20many=20Snow=20Geese=20since=20= the=20Platte=20River=204 years=20ago.=20=20I=20think=20seeing=20the=20long=20skeins=20of=20geese=20= moved=20and=20undulate=20for miles=20is=20one=20of=20natures=20wonders.=20=20=20=20The=20numbers=20of=20= Greater=20White=20Fronted geese=20were=20astounding.=20=20=20I=20saw=20many=20flocks=20of=20100=20to= =20200.=20=20Along=20with=20mixed flocks=20of=20Canadian=20and=20GWF=20Geese.=20=20=20I=20was=20also=20treat= ed=20to=20seeing=20large flocks=20of=20snow=20geese=20in=20flight.=20=20I=20love=20the=20way=20they= =20"flicker"=20in=20the=20sky and=20had=20been=20hoping=20to=20see=20some.=20=20 =20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20I=20was=20being=20my=20usual=20lazy=20self=20when=20= I=20realized=20that=20there=20was something=20wrong=20with=20the=20calls=20of=20those=20geese=20over=20head.= =20=20Sure=20enough=20they were=20GWF=20instead=20of=20the=20Canadians=20I=20expected.=20=20So=20I=20= started=20to=20pay=20more attention.=20=20=20It=20was=20nice=20for=20me=20to=20really=20be=20able=20= to=20learn=20the=20difference between=20the=20calls=20of=20the=20different=20geese.=20=20 =20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20At=20one=20point=20I=20saw=20a=20huge=20=20white=20= cloud=20of=20snow=20geese=20on=20the=20horizon. I=20tried=20chasing=20it=20but=20they=20were=20just=20to=20far=20ahead=20o= f=20me.=20=20=20There=20must=20have numbers=2010,000=20-20,000=20to=20appear=20so=20prominently=20at=20such=20= a=20distance.=20=20=20=20In the=20early=20AM=20the=20flocks=20were=20heading=20north=20but=20by=20abou= t=209:00=20I=20started noticing=20that=20they=20were=20heading=20back=20south.=20=20My=20guess=20= is=20that=20they=20realized there=20was=20no=20open=20water.=20=20The=20only=20open=20water=20were=20r= ivers,=20including=20the Ottertail=20and=20the=20Pomme=20de=20Terre.=20=20I=20was=20not=20success=20= in=20finding=20the=20Snow=20or GWF=20geese=20in=20the=20field=20=20despite=20following=20several=20large=20= flocks.=20=20I=20believed that=20many=20were=20hanging=20out=20on=20inaccessible=20stretches=20of=20= the=20Ottertail=20River. =20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20Around=204PM=20I=20was=20in=20Grant=20= county=20and=20notice=20a=20large=20flock heading=20south.=20=20They=20then=20reeled=20west=20and=20flew=20directly=20= over=20me.=20=20They=20were almost=20exclusively=20Snow=20Geese=20and=20I=20believe=20this=20flock=20n= umbered=20over 10,000+.=20=20=20=20They=20appeared=20to=20be=20heading=20for=20the=20area= =20outside=20of=20Alexandria that=20is=20dotted=20with=20lakes.=20=20 =20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20My=20personal=20belief=20is=20that=20t= he=20numbers=20are=20so=20high=20right=20now because=20they=20are=20taking=20advantage=20of=20the=20full=20moon=20to=20= migrate.=20=20=20I'm=20hoping they=20stick=20around=20a=20little=20longer.=20=20 =20 =20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20It's=20too=20bad=20that=20I=20couldn't=20be=20in=20= the=20area=20in=20the=20evening.=20=20It would=20have=20been=20fun=20to=20see=20the=20migrating=20silhouettes=20aga= inst=20the=20large=20full moon.=20=20 =20=20=20=20 =20=20=20=20Here=20are=20the=20other=20birds=20I=20saw.=20 =20 =20=20=20=20Wilkin=20County =20=20=20=20Greater=20Prairie=20Chickens=20-=20Rothsay=20lek=20(which=20I=20= successfully=20flushed) =20=20=20=2010=20Meadlow=20Larks=20(I=20believe=20Western=20from=20the=20o= ne=20I=20heard=20sing) Interestingly=20the=20only=20place=20I=20saw=20Meadowlarks=20were=20in=20t= he=20Rothsay=20area. Later=20in=20the=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20 =20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20=20day=20I=20didn't=20see=20any=20at=20= all,=20esp.=20further=20south.=20=20 =20=20=20=20Ring=20Neck=20duck=20Approx.=205 =20=20=20=20Scaups,=20=204=20or=205 =20=20=20Immature=20Golden=20Eagle=20=20 =20=20=20=20Bald=20Eagle =20=20=20=20Numerous=20Harriers=20(taking=20advantage=20of=20the=20Prairie= =20winds=20to=20hover=20just feet=20away=20from=20my=20truck). =20=20=201=20very=20lonely=20sounding=20Sandhill=20Crane =20=20=20=205=20American=20Tree=20Sparrows =20=20=20=20Horned=20Larks,=20RWBB,=20Killdeer,=20Robins,=20mallards =20=20=20=20Possible=20Virginia=20Rail=20 =20 =20=20=20=20Grant=20County =20=20=20=20Sharp=20Tailed=20grouse =20=20=20=20Immature=20Bald=20Eagle =20=20=20=20Red-Tail=20Hawk=20(only=201) =20=20=20Kestrel =20=20=20Harriers=20-=20several,=20=20one=20hunting=20in=20downtown=20Norc= ross =20=20=2040=20Pintails=20mixed=20in=20with=20about=20100=20Mallards=20on=20= a=20flooded=20farm=20field.
[mou] Sherburne County 3-26
Bob Holtz, Matt Hanan and myself birded Sherburne county on Saturday. Found 48 species, and just missed our goal of topping the temperature with species found (it was 50F by our vehicle thermometer). Highlights included: Western Meadowlark (hard to find in this county anytime of the year, let alone early spring) Common Raven (Sand Dunes State Forest) 6 Raptors including (2) Red-shouldered hawks, Sharp-shinned Hawk and Rough-legged hawk (2) Northern Shrikes New spring migrants (at least for me) included Great Blue Heron, White-throated Sparrow, Killdeer, Sandhill Crane, Pied-billed grebe, and Common Grackle. Also found Eastern Pheobe on Sunday in my yard. Found a few spring migrants, found a few winter remnants, and missed a few easy birds, for a good day birding.
[mou] Townsend's Solitaire; Reporting Question
Relocated the Townsend's Solitaire along Ann Lake Campground Road over lunch hour today after a one month "absence". It's loud, repeated single note call drew my initial attention. Noted that Y2004 had no spring records, so documented it on the on-line seasonal report form. Should it have been on a trip form instead (new to this system)? Also had first of year Eastern Meadowlark & Bluebirds in the Sherburne NWR/Ann Lake area as well. Good birding! Al Schirmacher Princeton, MN Mille Lacs & Sherburne Counties
[mou] Wigeon
--_-1100075559==_ma Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed" I just talked to Karl Bardon, and early this afternoon he found a male Eurasian Wigeon in Winona County. It was seen from the Verchota Landing along the Prairie Island Road. The landing is located, essentially, where Prairie Island Road -- heading east from Minnesota City toward the Mississippi -- turns and heads southeast. -- Anthony X. Hertzel -- axhert...@sihope.com --_-1100075559==_ma Content-Type: text/html; charset="us-ascii" Wigeon I just talked to Karl Bardon, and early this afternoon he found a male Eurasian Wigeon in Winona County. It was seen from the Verchota Landing along the Prairie Island Road. The landing is located, essentially, where Prairie Island Road -- heading east from Minnesota City toward the Mississippi -- turns and heads southeast. -- Anthony X. Hertzel -- axhert...@sihope.com --_-1100075559==_ma--
[mou] MOU web page has moved
This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --=_NextPart_000_0003_01C533B3.DCF407B0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable The MOU web page and seasonal record entry has moved to http://moumn.org The seasonal report page has changed to http://moumn.org/moureports/season.html Please change your bookmarks to reflect the change. All data entered = into the former location has been transferred to the new web page. MOU-NET continues to have the same location. --- David Cahlander da...@cahlander.com Burnsville, MN 952-894-5910 --=_NextPart_000_0003_01C533B3.DCF407B0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable The MOU web page and seasonal = record=20 entry has moved to http://moumn.org";>http://moumn.org The seasonal report page has = changed=20 to http://moumn.org/moureports/season.html";>http://moumn.org/mourepo= rts/season.html Please change your = bookmarks to=20 reflect the change. All data entered into the former location has = been=20 transferred to the new web page. MOU-NET continues to have the = same=20 location. ---David Cahlander mailto:da...@cahlander.com";>da...@cahlander.com Burnsville, = MN=20 952-894-5910 --=_NextPart_000_0003_01C533B3.DCF407B0--
[mou] Playing Hooky in Dakota County
I avoided a bunch of writing and cleaning late this morning and took a drive to Dakota County for signs of spring. I wasn't disappointed, I found my official sing of spring in the form of two turkey vultures and a great blue heron on CR 54. Other birds include: Wood ducks Ring-necked ducks Lesser scaup Common mergansers Bufflehead Eastern bluebird Eastern meadowlark -- Sharon Stiteler Minneapolis, MN www.birdchick.com
[mou] Sherburne Co. Shrike and Hawks
--Apple-Mail-2-603648322 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=WINDOWS-1252; format=flowed 3/28 Spent 45 minutes this morning scanning the sky above the Elk River from=20= my driveway looking for passing waterfowl. Not much luck. A few=20 Mallards, Wood Ducks, and a group of Common Mergansers. Northern Shrike Did manage a good look through the scope at a Northern Shrike that=20 landed in the top of a tree only 50 yards away. 3/27 Spent a few hours yesterday looking through my spotting scope watching=20= the hawks and others pass over our house. We had a fairly brisk south=20 and southwest breeze. 40-50 Red-tailed Hawks 9 Bald Eagles 5 Red-shouldered hawks 2 Cooper=92s Hawks 1 Merlin 1 Broad-winged Hawk 1 Turkey Vulture 2 Sandhill Cranes (plus several more heard but not seen) 1 Great Blue Heron Paul Gunderson Big Lake Township Sherburne County --- http://USFamily.Net/dialup.html - $8.25/mo! -- http://www.usfamily.net/dsl.html - $19.99/mo! --- --Apple-Mail-2-603648322 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/enriched; charset=WINDOWS-1252 3/28 Spent 45 minutes this morning scanning the sky above the Elk River from my driveway looking for passing waterfowl. Not much luck. A few Mallards, Wood Ducks, and a group of Common Mergansers. Northern Shrike Did manage a good look through the scope at a Northern Shrike that landed in the top of a tree only 50 yards away.=20 3/27 Spent a few hours yesterday looking through my spotting scope watching the hawks and others pass over our house. We had a fairly brisk south and southwest breeze. 40-50 Red-tailed Hawks 9 Bald Eagles 5 Red-shouldered hawks 2 Cooper=92s Hawks 1 Merlin 1 Broad-winged Hawk 1 Turkey Vulture 2 Sandhill Cranes (plus several more heard but not seen) 1 Great Blue Heron Paul Gunderson Big Lake Township Sherburne County --Apple-Mail-2-603648322--
[mou] April 16-17 MOU Field Trip - Rock County (FREE)
We've still got plenty of space for the first official MOU Field Trip of 2005. Bob Dunlap and myself will be leading a weekend trip to Rock County (and other hotspots in the SW), looking for a large variety of spring migrants. As many of you are certainly aware, Spring is here and more birds are arriving in the state everyday. Rock County and the Southwest are great places to bird in the middle of April, as opportunities abound to see plenty of Waterfowl and other early spring migrants. It's a great place and time of year to discover the early Shorebirds for the year. Every trip has the possibility of exciting rarities, and this trip is no exception, with the following species seen in the region during that time of the year: White-faced Ibis, Burrowing Owl, Williamson's Sapsucker, Rock Wren, Sprague's Pipit, Lark Bunting, and Great-tailed Grackle. We'll be birding mostly around Rock County on Saturday, using Luverne as our base, where we will gather for dinner that night. Sunday should find us working a bit north and east, in the likes of Nobles and Jackson counties. Hopefully, we will carpool, so that we'll have a more intimate caravan and save everyone gas expenses. Don't forget, the best part is that these trips are FREE! I'm aware that some individuals may be reluctant this year, because they're unfamiliar with the new management of the MOU Field Trips, so I've included some short biographies below of the two leaders for this trip, myself (Tom Auer - MOU Field Trip Chairman) and Bob Dunlap (Co-leader). Please send me an email by April 13th if you're interested in coming along. We hope to see you out there! Tom Auer Duluth, MN MOU Field Trip Chairman - Biographies: Bob Dunlap, an intensive Minnesota birder extraordinaire since 2000, hails from St. Peter, as a freshman at Gustavus Adolphus. With a state list encompassing all of Minnesota's Regular species, Bob has birded in an astounding 83 of the 87 counties in Minnesota. In 2003, he became the youngest person to complete a successful 300+ Big Year in the state. This is Bob's first year co-leading MOU Field Trips, but he frequently gathers his fellow birding comrades for serious jaunts into all corners of the state. Tom Auer, a native of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, is in his second year with MOU Field Trips, working last year under the guidance of Mike Hendrickson. He's currently looking to graduate from UM - Duluth this coming December, with a degree in Biology. Tom has 8 years of full-time birding under his belt, with copious experience in all corners of the country. This past winter irruption found him guiding out-of-state birders almost every weekend, having much success. With a penchant for distribution and biogeographical studies, Tom is currently assisting with the Fall Seasonal Report and looks to publish his study on Jaeger Migration on Lake Superior, as soon as he can get around to finishing it to his liking.
[mou] Westskyline Hawk Count- Update 3/28
Westskyline Hawk Count has been up and running since 1 March. Now that spring has arrived in the Northland the eagles are picking up. The past two days has provided some excellent condition to set us up for a great flight. On the 26 the winds were southerly and brought warmer temperature and started to melt the snow. The winds pushed most of the ice out away from Lake Superior. Only 100 raptor were counted that day but that would set us up for the next two day. The 27th brought southerly winds 15-20mph and kept the eagles mainly low, at times below eye level. There were birds also moving along the lake shore. Days end total was 463, with the majority being Bald Eagles (439). Also seen was a Turkey Vulture and the season first Northern Harrier as well as 3 Goldens. The 28 had great promises as on the 27th the flight lasted until 4:30 and so I knew there were birds in the pocket. The days end totals are below. Although a large number of birds, the eagles were less enjoyable then previous day as many were not close. Scopes needed to use at the end of the day to get an accurate count. Peak hour (2:00-3:00 ) for Bald Eagles was 256. Other raptor sighting included the season first Red-shouldered Hawk, an adult. The other migrant seen from the lookout the past few days have been a handful of American Robins, Mourning Dove, two Sandhill Cranes on the 26th and two Great Blue Herons today. There has been some local visitors along with folks from the twin cities coming out to view the raptor migration this week. Below you can view this month count which is up to date as of 28 March. You may also view the count on a daily basis at "HAWKCOUNT. ORG" and look for West Skyline. I would like to thank the MOU committee's and Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory for funding the count this year. Information about the West Skyline Hawk Count may be found at. http://www.hawkridge.org/ West Skyline Hawk Count Minnesota, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Mar 28, 2005 --- SpeciesDay's CountMonth Total Season Total -- --- -- -- Black Vulture0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 1 3 3 Osprey 0 0 0 Bald Eagle 684 1910 1910 Northern Harrier 0 1 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk 4 16 16 Cooper's Hawk1 4 4 Northern Goshawk 1 6 6 Red-shouldered Hawk 1 1 1 Broad-winged Hawk0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 26 67 67 Rough-legged Hawk3 6 6 Golden Eagle 3 35 35 American Kestrel 0 0 0 Merlin 0 0 0 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 0 Unknown 0 0 0 Total: 724 2049 2049 -- Observation start time: 09:00:00 Observation end time: 16:00:00 Total observation time: 7 hours Official Counter: Frank Nicoletti Observers:Dave Carman Weather: Temps 44-54. Light variable winds turning light NE. Mostly cloudy to overcast. Haze 5-10 miles. Observations: Report submitted by Frank Nicoletti (bjbor...@aol.com) West Skyline Hawk Count information may be found at: http://www.hawkridge.org/
[mou] Great-tailed Grackle - Lyon Co
---1112062743 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I took my Mother back to Cottonwood today and although she is now in assisted living and I do not have the great yard to bird in I can still check out Sham Lake. For a reason I cannot explain, this small lake has always attracted unusual and rare birds. Today there was just a small amount of open water but almost every duck and merganser that you would look for in western MN was there plus Ring-billed and Herring gulls and three Great Blue Herons. While watching all of these I noted a large Grackle in the cattails along the shore on the north side of Lyon Co. 10. It gave me an excellent view at a range of about 25 yards. It was a male Great-tailed Grackle. It worked along the small point and then flew to the Southeast across the road and kept going. Sham lake is just about a half mile NE of Cottonwood. The lake can be viewed on the west from MN highway 23 and on the south from CO 10. ---1112062743 Content-Type: text/html; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable I took my Mother back to Cottonwood today and although she is now in=20 assisted living and I do not have the great yard to bird in I can still= =20 check out Sham Lake. For a reason I cannot explain, this small lake has alwa= ys=20 attracted unusual and rare birds. Today there was just a small amount of ope= n=20 water but almost every duck and merganser that you would look for in western= MN=20 was there plus Ring-billed and Herring gulls and three Great Blue Herons. Wh= ile=20 watching all of these I noted a large Grackle in the cattails along the shor= e on=20 the north side of Lyon Co. 10. It gave me an excellent view at a range of ab= out=20 25 yards. It was a male Great-tailed Grackle. It worked along the small poin= t=20 and then flew to the Southeast across the road and kept going. Sham lake is=20= just=20 about a half mile NE of Cottonwood. The lake can be viewed on the west = from=20 MN highway 23 and on the south from CO 10. ---1112062743--
