[mou-net] Merlin, West Side St. Paul
A dusk last night there was a merlin hanging out in the same large black locust tree where a pair of the birds were viewed repeatedly earlier in the spring near Cherokee Park). I have been playing cat and mouse with a merlin(s) for months now: I saw one (again at dusk) a three weeks ago in the same area, in addition to the pair in April. Tom Klein West Side St. Paul Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
[mou-net] Carver County
With the 5-7 inches of rain all of Carver County has seen over the past week many farm fields are flooded, and it looks more like it did just after the snowmelt during the spring of 2011. There are ample places for shorebirds to stop(probably too many with several too far from any roads to view). Over the last week I have had decent luck, but by no means have shorebirds been numerous. The best sighting of the week was a 2-3 month old Red Fox kit. He was standing on the side of a road, so I slowed to a stop. He looked at me and preceded to walk out in front of my car and sat down right in front of the car. About a minute later I thought I heard some distant yips(his mom?), and the fox kit slowly trotted off in the direction of the yips. Highlights May 25 American Bittern 1 Black-bellied Plover 1 Spotted Sandpiper 2 Solitary Sandpiper 2 Lesser Yellowlegs 1 Least Sandpiper 4 May 26 Semipalmated Plover 1 Spotted Sandpiper 1 Franklin's Gull ~100 May 27 (all shorebirds seen in the morning, an evening pass of the same fields turned up only Killdeer) Greater Yellowlegs 2 Lesser Yellowlegs 8 Flock of ~70 Semipalmated and Least Sandpiper+additional 4 Least in separate field White-rumped Sandpiper 1 Pectoral Sandpiper 15 Franklin's Gull ~75 May 29 Semipalmated Plover 1 Willet 4 Lesser Yellowlegs 1 Semipalmated Sandpiper 17 White-rumped Sandpiper 12 Baird's Sandpiper 1 Pectoral Sandpiper 4 Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
[mou-net] Sherburne's Nesters Tour
Just a reminder that Sherburne Refuge's Nesters Tour is Saturday, June 2nd, 8:00 AM, beginning at Mahnomen Trail. The refuge would appreciate a call, letting them know you can come; but come, even at the last minute. Thanks! Al Schirmacher Princeton Sent from my iPhone Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
[mou-net] Cerulean
There is variety in warbler song, then there is Sherburne's Cerulean. Not sure who he learned to sing from, but it was not a close relative. Some days I'm certain that it is the Cerulean singing, other days I scratch my head as he throws in portions of other warblers. Today is the latter. And then there's always the h word, although he appears Cerulean enough. Sigh. Al Schirmacher Princeton, MN Sent from my iPhone Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
Re: [mou-net] Cerulean
Al: The one I had here last week was not singing its normal song that is on the tapes, CD's, and apps. But it was so close as to not be anything else. Seeing it just closed the deal. Maybe 'my' bird ended up at Sherburne. He was only here for one a.m. so I'm very glad I happened to be outside, moving a plant in the light rain! I'm sure you've found that birds have dialects. For instance, the Song Sparrow that sings here sounds like a SOSP should (!) because it's what I'm used to hearing, but when I go to my mom's house in Michigan, sometimes I have to do a double-think for a few songs! They even sound a little bit different in northern MN than they do here. Once on a Big Day I had a little trouble with that... (Once when I listened to a message of my voice on my mom's answering machine, I really sounded like a Minnesotan! But when I listen to me speak in relation to MN's who have lived here all their lives (I've only been here 33 years this summer), I definitely still sound like a Michigoose. 8-10 or so years ago, I helped a grad student at the U do a spring/summer of early a.m. point counts. We began around 4:00-4:30 a.m. and ended about 9:30 a.m. We stood at pre-determined locations and listened for 5 minutes to hear/see (mostly hear) everything we could within about 50 yds, then for 5 minutes for everything within 100 yds. Then, we moved 250 yds by compass or GPS and did it again, 8-10 times every morning, depending on how hard it was topographically, to get from site to site. We found, over weeks of counts at all different times of the morning, that birds have 3, 4, sometimes as many as 5 different versions of their song, depending on how light it is. They start out with the chips and squeaks that they use on migration. As it gets lighter they add a few burbles, until at about 6:00 they are singing the song you recognize, the lovely Dawn Chorus song, then about 7:00 they change to their early a.m. song, and by 9:00 they are winding down to their day song and maybe settling on a branch or near a nest for a short siesta. Of course, they kept up the type song if there was competition from another male in the area (or if they were a Red-eyed Vireo or an Indigo Bunting...) :o) Also, sometimes they sing other species' songs or what could really pass for it: Chestnut-sided W's will sing the Redstart's song, or the Clay-colored Sparrow will sing 7 buzzes instead of his normal 3-5, just to throw you off a little. I once, as a newer birder, looked all over the woods for the bird that was making a loudish ch-ch-ch-ch. It could not be the female Brown-headed Cowbird in plain sight, because I knew what the male sounded like, and wouldn't she sound somewhat the same? Nope. Major chagrin... Likewise with the chattery call of the meadowlark, you are sure it's something else until you see them make it! Isn't it fascinating?!! One of my very favorite books ever is Donald Kroodsma's The Singing Life of Birds. Holly Peirson Columbus, SE Anoka Co. -Original Message- From: Minnesota Birds [mailto:MOU-NET@LISTS.UMN.EDU] On Behalf Of Al Schirmacher Sent: Tuesday, May 29, 2012 10:02 AM To: MOU-NET@LISTS.UMN.EDU Subject: [mou-net] Cerulean There is variety in warbler song, then there is Sherburne's Cerulean. Not sure who he learned to sing from, but it was not a close relative. Some days I'm certain that it is the Cerulean singing, other days I scratch my head as he throws in portions of other warblers. Today is the latter. And then there's always the h word, although he appears Cerulean enough. Sigh. Al Schirmacher Princeton, 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
[mou-net] Hooded Warbler, Lebanon Hills update
I met up with Curt Rawn this morning by chance and with my daughter we set out to find the Hooded Warbler in Lebanon Hills Regional Park. I had tried yesterday on the trail that leads to Portage Lake from Shulze Lake without success and we did not find it there again today but then we heard an unfamiliar call at trail marker #45. It turned out to be a beautiful male Hooded Warbler that gave us great views for several minutes. It was singing loudly and continued to sing past 11:00am. We also found a Pileated Woodpecker and I heard Eastern Towhee, and Red-eyed Vireo along with many flycatchers. Please do not use playback for this warbler as it has a potential to breed with the female that is in the area and it is of course quite rare in Minnesota. The use of playback is banned in some areas of Southeast Arizona because it was disrupting some of the range limited species when they were on their breeding territories. Good Birding, Jason Caddy Minneapolis j.ca...@hotmail.com Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
[mou-net] Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Henslow's Sparrows in Rock-Pipestone Co's
During this past weekend, May 26-27-28, my Minn Birding Weekends group (MBW) turned up several birds of note in southwestern Minn, especially a Buff-breasted Sandpiper and 3 Henslow's Sparrows. The quite unexpected Buff-breasted was found in a flooded field in Pipestone Co along 110th Ave between Hwy 23 and 131st St. Unfortunately, it flew N and out of sight before the entire group (myself included) arrived to see it, and the bird was not relocated. Although this species is a locally regular migrant in late summer- early fall, it is only casual-accidental in spring (e.g., I can recall seeing it only once before in Minn during spring migration). The Henslow's Sparrows were seen/heard at 2 locations: 2 individuals at Touch the Sky Prairie NWR in Rock Co, 3.2 mi W of Hwy 75 along 171st St (thanks to a tip from Shawn Conrad); and 1 near the NW corner of Pipestone Nat'l Monument, across the road from Woodlawn Cemetery along 121st St. Some other highlights during this weekend included: - Greater Scaup: Pipestone sewage ponds - Least Bittern: Luverne sewage ponds and Woodstock WMA (5 mi E of Holland, Pipestone Co) - dark-morph Swainson's Hawk: adult along CR 5, ~2 mi W of Pipestone (only the 2nd dark-morph I can recall seeing in Minn) - Peregrine Falcon: unexpected adult flying N over Blue Mounds State Park - total of 17 shorebird species: mostly in flooded fields in Pipestone Co; incl Willet and Hudsonian Godwits along 81st St just E of the SD border, and Red-necked Phalarope at Pipestone sewage ponds - Blue-gray Gnatcatcher: thicket by the Blue Mounds State Park swimming beach - Lark Sparrow: visitors center parking lot at the S end of Blue Mounds - Blue Grosbeak: besides 2-3 expected pairs at Blue Mounds, there was a pair at Pipestone Nat'l Monument There were also still a few migrant flycatchers (Olive-sided, Yellow- bellied, and Alder) and warblers (N Waterthrush, Tennessee, Blackburnian, Blackpoll, and Yellow-rumped) passing through. On the other hand, we were unable to find any Gray Partridge, Soras, either cuckoo, or Western Kingbirds (!), and we only saw Upland Sandpipers at 2 locations. Kim R Eckert ecker...@gmail.com http://www.mbwbirds.com Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
[mou-net] Tufted Titmouse - Lake of the Woods Co.
Hi All -- On Thursday (May 24th) I was doing some birding up north. I was driving along CR 8 northwest of Baudette. I stopped to check out some ducks in an inlet along the road and clearly heard the Peter Peter Peter call of a Tufted Titmouse. I am very familiar with this bird in Winona county where I live and hear them calling regularly. It was loudly calling from the woods in this area (GPS 48.764365,-94.677193). I played a titmouse call on the ipod to see if the bird would come out into view. It never did that I could see. I did seem to move around because the sound changed intensity and location. I was there listening to it for 5 to 10 minutes. I would love to know if that is what I heard. If someone is in this area or going to this area I would encourage you to investigate this. From what I can tell this would be a first county record for Tufted Titmouse in Lake of the Woods county. Thanks Andy www.andrewnyhusphotography.com Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
[mou-net] Tufted Titmouse - Lake of the Woods
Hi All I've gotten some great responses from a few people so far. Carolina Wren and Baltimore Oriole have been added to the list of possible culprits. For the record I have not added Titmouse to my Lake of the Woods list. I wrote it off as undecided. As frustrating as it can be I still love the learning process I am open to more suggestions regarding this topic. Andy -- www.andrewnyhusphotography.com Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
[mou-net] Cedar Waxwings Grant County
Had up to 50 at my bird baths today. They hung out at the top of a dead tree on my front lawn (used for staging for feeders and water) all day. Unusual behavior, they usually just fly over on their way to the grove to the west where the food is. Charlene Nelson Elbow Lake Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
