[mou] Black-backed Woodpecker Nest, W.W. Crossbills- Sax-Zim Bog
Sax-Zim Bog, St. Louis Co. 6/22/08 After running the half marathon yesterday, I decided to do a little birding at the bog this morning. The mosquitoes were terrible early but cleared out later. The wind made birding difficult but overall it was a fun morning. I found a small flock of White-winged Crossbills feeding along the Admiral Rd. I was later surprised to find a Black-backed Woodpecker nest with both parents feeding their young on the McDavitt Rd. The nest was 12ft. up in a spruce snag on the east side of the road at the southern-most point of the vast Black Spruce bog north of the Sax Rd. The nest is only maybe 15ft. from the road so be careful not to disturb the birds if you visit this location. I found another male Black-backed Woodpecker on the Blue Spruce Rd. less than a mile north of CR 133. I was unable to locate any of the Connecticut Warblers that were previously reported. Other highlights of the trip: Mourning Warbler- 1 seen and a few heard on Owl Ave. Yellow-bellied Flycatcher- 1 heard, Owl Ave. Wilson's Snipe- singing on the railroad tracks Brewer's Blackbirds- a pair Alder Flycatchers- numerous Bank Swallows- a county bird for me:) Lincoln's Sparrow Sedge Wrens Bobolinks- very numerous at some locations Northern Harrier Total Species seen or heard: 54 Good Birding, Jason Caddy _ The i?m Talkathon starts 6/24/08.? For now, give amongst yourselves. http://www.imtalkathon.com?source=TXT_EML_WLH_LearnMore_GiveAmongst -- next part -- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://moumn.org/pipermail/mou-net_moumn.org/attachments/20080622/b0aa1351/attachment.html
[mou] Help
Please unsubscribe me from mou-net. Josh Obrecht USDA/ARS National Soil Tilth Lab 2110 University Blvd. Ames, IA 50011 joshua.obrecht at ars.usda.gov phone: (515)294-9922 -- next part -- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://moumn.org/pipermail/mou-net_moumn.org/attachments/20080623/dbd91796/attachment.html
[mou] Carolina Wren? Northern Mockingbird? Tufted Titmouse? Rice Lake Refuge
There has been some excellent dialogue on the identity of the heard bird on the Aitkin field trip Saturday. The bird sang repeatedly for a couple of minutes, then shut down. The song could easily be transliterated as Peter, Peter, Peter, but with an occasional two note ending as well, and much more musical than Tufted Titmice that I've historically heard in southern Wisconsin over the years (former residence). It was very loud/emphatic. About half the group joined searched visually for the bird, but we were hampered by the ponds and under/overgrowth. We did glimpse furtive movement around a cavity, but never had anything like definite views (as noted in the original email). We came to the conclusion that the closest song was a Carolina Wren after playing a CD - believe it was the second or third set of calls on Stokes (?) that was a match - one person noted a short response from the bird while playing it. Today I read an equally plausible audio ID: Northern Mockingbird. This comes from the gentleman who originally heard it while doing a BBS last week. Mockingbirds have been seen in this refuge on a number of occasions by staff (and others) - whereas Carolina Wren is a statistical anomaly there. So we need a good visual ID! The bird was singing in the (right side of road) pond with dead snags a few hundred yards or so before one completes the loop and begins heading out again. Good birding to all! Al Schirmacher Princeton, MN Mille Lacs Sherburne Counties
[mou] Loons at Harriet
I saw and heard a pair of Common Loons a couple of mornings ago on Dan Patch Lake here in Savage. I know there has been a nesting pair over on nearby Hanrahan Lake in recent years. If this is a repeat performance, perhaps they were just visiting Dan Patch Lake to savor some of our famous Coho salmon! Jerry Brimacombe - Original Message - From: Birddees65 at aol.com To: mou-net at moumn.org Sent: Sunday, June 22, 2008 2:42 PM Subject: [mou] Loons at Harriet I am aware that a pair of loons were seen and heard on Lake Harriet in South Minneapolis last week. Does anyone know if they are nesting there? It seems much too late for any migrants and too far south for them to nest. Help??? Dee Schmalz ** Gas prices getting you down? Search AOL Autos for fuel-efficient used cars. (http://autos.aol.com/used?ncid=aolaut000507) -- --- This mailing list is sponsored by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union. Mailing list membership available on-line at http://moumn.org/subscribe.html. - To unsubscribe send a blank email to mou-net-request at moumn.org with a subject of unsubscribe. -- next part -- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://moumn.org/pipermail/mou-net_moumn.org/attachments/20080623/1d79d6cd/attachment-0001.html
[mou] Carolina Wren? Northern Mockingbird? Tufted Titmouse? Rice Lake Refuge
The plot thickens - other strong birders have mentioned being fooled by Peter, Peter, Peter Baltimore Oriole calls as well. Love having four options for an audio ID:). Next time, we tie the bird down and tickle it until it confesses. All kidding aside, thanks for the commentary - good learning experience. Hopefully one of the Aitkinites nails it down in the next few days. Al Schirmacher
[mou] Notes from a return trip to Cass County Road 135
I reported last week on my June 18th failed search for Connecticut warblers on County 135, Cass County, east of Leech Lake. I did hear about 8 but failed to see any because of being unprepared with repellent and a means of fording deep water. Today my wife Janet and I corrected that. It took about 45 minutes of tromping through the tamaracks, but we finally got an OK glimpse of a singing male about 30 feet up in a tamarack. This was very gratifying, as it was the first I've seen on the nesting grounds and the first, period, in about 30 years. The bog was beautiful, carpeted with blooming pink lady slippers, bunchberry, leatherleaf and other species. All in all, a very enjoyable tromp. A bonus for the day was a group of about 6 white-winged crossbills foraging on tamarack cones near the road. They gave standard flight calls but did not sing. We saw both adult males and females -- can't be certain whether any juveniles were present. Also a little unexpected (but maybe regular there?) was at least one, and probably a pair, of Lincoln's sparrows chipping near the west end of the main part of the bog (ca. 3 miles from County 63). Other species not encountered last week were blue-headed vireo, golden-crowned kinglet, and parula warbler. We missed the olive-sided flycatcher today and only heard gray jays. Marshall Howe -- next part -- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://moumn.org/pipermail/mou-net_moumn.org/attachments/20080623/a7d26292/attachment.html
[mou] Henslow's Sparrow-Stearns
On behalf of Brian Jungels (MOU/Audubon member), who reported to me of hearing a loud Henslow's near his home hayfield, I am reporting my observation this morning from 6:30-7:00am. First, location: Take CR2 S-SW off of the I94 exit to St. Joseph, MN (left turn)--go to Jacobs Prairie (look for stone Catholic Church on S. side), the next road past turn right on Island Lake Road. Go up the hill ~1/2 mile, as you crest the hill, two small hayfield plots show up, look for the one with a perimeter cut on the west side. I had long views of the singing Henslow's (my first visual lifer) perched on the Timothy grass out in the middle, 1/2 way toward the black mailbox (I was able to even get my scope on it). With worm in mandibles, it finally flew up across the field and over the road and dropped down in the hayfield on the east side of the road, 20-30yds out from the utility pole with an elm sapling next to it. I watched this flight pattern three times, from the middle of the Timothy and back, so I presume the nest is near the utility pole. I could barely hear its vocal, but through the scope, its tail would pump once with each squeak, continuing the hold on to the green inchworm. A rather intriguing bird, the quality of orange color surprised me. The sedge wrens and catbirds muddle the sound of the Henslows, but I think I heard two of them, perhaps a pair nesting here. Brian says it has been singing loudly in the evenings. mjb -- next part -- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://moumn.org/pipermail/mou-net_moumn.org/attachments/20080623/d06922a2/attachment.html
