[mou] Goodhue Glaucous/Lake "Scoter" City
Had a good time birding upriver today (Monday). In Wabasha County, along Hwy. 61, where Lake Pepin ends (ie, where it constricts to become the ol' Missip again, ie, where the green sign reading "Lake Pepin" is, ie, where the 'fanciest' pulloff is (with the historical marker, and nice newish stone wall)) were a number of divers and: 2 White-winged Scoters (I believe these had been reported recently) 3 Black Scoters I've had at least 1 scoter here for 3 years out of 10. Seems like a good spot. Mergansers are into pretty good numbers, and while they usually are far out, there was quite a nice flock just outside the marina walls on the east side of town. The 1W Glaucous Gull was in Bayfront Park in Red Wing, Goodhue County. From Hwy 61 in Red Wing, there are numerous signs to Bayfront Park, which is fairly small. In the eastern part of the park were numerous Ring-billed Gulls, eager for handouts (and I kept my hand on my wallet). In the western part of the park is the Ole Miss marina. There were a handful of Ring-billeds and Herrings here, and it was off Private Dock G, that the Glaucous Gull was seen floating on the water at about 2PM. I watched it for about 15 minutes. It was still floating when I left. As an afterthought, I swung by Bombay, and found 2 Eurasian Collared-Doves at the corner of Hwy 60 and the unsigned road into Bombay. Thankfully, the birds were visible from Hwy. 60, so I didn't have to wonder about trespassing. Dedrick Benz Winona, MN _ You keep typing, we keep giving. Download Messenger and join the i?m Initiative now. http://im.live.com/messenger/im/home/?source=TAGLM -- next part -- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://moumn.org/pipermail/mou-net_moumn.org/attachments/20071126/aa0a9363/attachment.html
[mou] Waseca Geese, etc.
At Loon Lake in Waseca, noon today: Ross's Goose (white) - 1 Greater White-fronted Goose - 7 Cackling Goose - dozens, perhaps hundreds Canada Goose - 1500 (wild guess) N. Shoveler - some Ring-necked Duck - 6 or 8 Hooded Merganser - 2 (males) Ruddy Duck - 1 Mallard - lots At Clear Lake in Waseca, 3:15 this afternoon: N. Shoveler - 10-20 Canvasback - 2 (male & female) Bufflehead - 10-20 Common Goldeneye - 20-30 Common Merganser - 1 (female) Canada Goose & Mallard - lots Loon Lake was about half frozen; Clear Lake was almost completely open. That may soon change, but I think part of Loon Lake is kept open by an aeration system. Lots of waterfowl gather there even when it's frozen. Julian St. Paul -- next part -- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://moumn.org/pipermail/mou-net_moumn.org/attachments/20071126/b3928af3/attachment.html
[mou] Trumpeter Swans
Today there were 9 trumpeter swans on Lake Vadnais. The original family of 5 has been joined by 3 other adults with another single adult farther out in the lake. The group of 8 was once again working the shallows along the road. We also saw a single cormorant. There are still pretty good numbers of ring-necks along with some gadwalls, shovelers, a few remaining goldeneye and some hooded mergansers and of course the ever-present mallards and coots. Most of the ducks were on the far shore. We saw only about 3 Canada geese. There seem to be more gulls hanging around on the far side, too. Gail -- next part -- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://moumn.org/pipermail/mou-net_moumn.org/attachments/20071126/a2605a4e/attachment.html
[mou] Cranes Migrating, Anoka Co
Today just as I was finishing a cuppa, I heard cranes overhead. Ran outside, watched and listened as around 100 flew over, circling and rising on thermals, then gliding. They may have come from nearby Carlos Avery WMA as they were quite low at first, then higher as they moved across the sky. The sound is always so heart-thumpingly nice; takes you out of whatever you were up to and puts you right squarely back with nature. Holly Peirson Columbus, Anoka County -- next part -- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://moumn.org/pipermail/mou-net_moumn.org/attachments/20071126/3771d759/attachment-0001.html
