[mou-net] Sharon Stiteler to talk at MRVAC on Thursday

[Steve Weston]

Minnesota River Valley Audubon Chapter meeting October 22, 2015

*Sharon Stiteler  "A Day at Today’s Office with Birdchick"*

 My goal is to get paid to go bird watching; my “office” can be in the
middle of the Kazakh Steppes or flying 100 feet above the Mississippi River
counting ducks.  This talk chronicles my many adventures finding things;
I’ll share my experiences finding Horned Guans in Guatemala, Sandwich Terns
in a nudist colony, not to mention suitable bathrooms.
 --
*When:* Please join us on Thursday, October 22 from 7:00-7:30 pm to
socialize over cookies.  A brief business meeting and the featured speaker
begin at 7:30 pm. The meeting will conclude before 9:00 pm.
*Where:*Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center,
3801 American Blvd E, Bloomington.  Accessible by Hiawatha Light Rail line,
get off at the American Blvd. stop.  Driving, take Hwy 494 to 34th Ave – go
south to American Blvd; turn left and go 2 blocks. The Center will be on
your right.  Enter through the staff entrance in the middle of the
building.

*All MRVAC meetings are free and open to the public.*

Steve Weston
On Quigley Lake in Eagan, MN
swest...@comcast.net


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[mou-net] Fw: new message

[Michael Snyder]

Hello!

 

New message, please read 

 

Michael Snyder



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[mou-net] Smith's Longspurs, Le Conte's Sparrow, etc in Wilkin Co

[Kim R Eckert]

The Minn Birding Weekends group found several species of interest this weekend 
(October 16-17-18) in Norman, Clay, Wilkin, and Otter Tail counties:

- At least 3 Smith’s Longspurs among a flock of Laplands coming to a pond on 
230th St just W of MN Hwy 9 in Wilkin Co.

- Le Conte’s Sparrow at the NW corner of the water impoundment along the E side 
of 290th Ave, 1.5 mi S of Wilkin CR 26.

- A minimum of 2,000 Brewer’s Blackbirds in a pasture on the Wilkin Co side of 
the Otter Tail Co line, 4 mi S of Rothsay; this blackbird flock was virtually 
100% Brewer’s, with just a few starlings and Red-wingeds among them, and 2000+ 
is by far the most Brewer’s I’ve ever seen in MN, and it apparently represents 
a record high number for this species in MN.

- Late Semipalmated Plover and Am Golden-Plover in Otter Tail Co in a large 
wetland along the W side of CR 88 at 320th St.

- Short-eared Owl after sunset along Wilkin CR 26, ~3 mi W of Rothsay. 

Also seen this weekend were: Gr Prairie-Chickens at Felton Prairie (Clay Co) 
and at Rothsay WMA and Town Hall Prairie SNA (Wilkin Co), Rough-legged Hawk on 
MN Hwy 9 just S of the Norman-Clay county line, Eur Collared-Dove in Rothsay 
(Wilkin Co), N Shrikes in Wilkin Co at Rothsay WMA and just E of Town Hall 
Prairie, Black-billed Magpie in Clay Co at Felton Prairie, and a few Com 
Redpolls in Norman Co at Ada and Twin Valley.   


Kim Eckert, Duluth
http://www.mbwbirds.com



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[mou-net] Old Cedar Ave. Bridge, Hennepin Co.

[Jason Caddy]

I took my two children down by the Old Cedar Ave. bridge this evening and the 
birding was great! There were plenty of Rusty Blackbirds along the 
aforementioned Wilson's Snipe, Greater Yellowlegs and Great Egret. The place is 
also dripping with American Robins, Eastern Bluebirds, Cedar Waxwings and 
various woodpeckers. I found a fabulous mixed flock of Harris's Sparrow, 
White-crowned Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, Lincoln's Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Song 
Sparrow, and American Goldfinch in some scrubby grass area. There was also a 
pair of Sandhill Cranes flying over west of the parking lot.

I did take a peak (from the road of course) at the trail that runs to the east 
and I was pretty shocked at the landscape change! There are probably about 30% 
of the trees and 15% of the shrubs that used to live in the area. It looks like 
along with the bridge there is some other massive project that is going on that 
required giant land-moving vehicles that essentially flatten anything in their 
path. It did look somewhat like a human created oak-savannah type habitat 
though and could benefit some species of birds. Seeing this along with the 
dramatic changes to the Thomas Sandler Roberts Bird Sanctuary on the north side 
of Lake Harriet is a little hard to swallow even if they were "necessary" 
city/county projects.


Good Birding,

Jason Caddy

Minneapolis-Kingfield



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[mou-net] Savaloja Grant Applications Sought

[Steve Wilson]

It's not too early to think about applying for a Savaloja Grant through 
MOU.  Applications are now being sought for projects beginning in 2016 
that increase our understanding of birds, promote preservation of birds and 
their natural habitats, or increase public interest in birds, including in 
populations currently underrepresented in Minnesota's birding community.

The budget for 2016 grants hasn’t been set yet, but this year $12,800 was 
awarded through eight grants ranging from $400 to $2700. Projects 
included scholarships to Flying Wild workshops for educators working in 
urban low-income and minority areas, an owl-banding program at a nature 
center, binoculars for two urban nature centers, a nature center’s 
educational big birding day, a study of bird immune system defenses 
against nest parasites, a pilot program encouraging seniors in a low-
income neighborhood to become involved in birding activities, and a 
program that uses birds as an integrating theme in teaching disparate 
subjects to elementary school students.

Application information can be found on the MOU web page 
(http://moumn.org/grants.html). The deadline for receipt of grant 
applications is January 31, 2016. Grant recipients will be notified by April 1, 
2016. 


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[mou-net] Has anyone seen the clarks nutcracker lately ?

[Ron Taube]

Hi
We are heading to Winona on Tuesday and I was  wondering if anyone has seen the 
nutcracker down there lately?  Any help would be appreciated.
Ron Taube 
Coon Rapids


Sent from my iPad

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[mou-net] Clark's Nutcracker article

[Gail Wieberdink]

Here is a fascinating article about the Clark's Nutcracker and the Whitebark 
Pine. It is a long article but well-worth spending the time to read it. 

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/soul-mates-nutcrackers-whitebark-pine-and-a-bond-that-holds-an-ecosystem-together/
 

Gail 





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