[mou] Mew Gull found again
I crossed paths with Bob Dunlap who was going out as I was coming in along the Sakatah Trail (about 5:30 or so.) At 5:50 PM the Mew Gull emerged from somewhere over the North end of Eagle Lake and flew over the trail about 30 yds up, providing very nice flying views. It circled the south end of the lake, went back over the trail and sat down in the water in the North end of the North End of Eagle Lake (about 6:05.) From there it alternately got up, circling the north end and re-alighting on the water, where it appeared to be feeding. I could consistently pick it out at that distance but not to ID it. Shortly before 7 PM it got up, flew south, again flying over the trail and circled to the south end of the south end of the lake and lit again. At this point I waved in other birders (Karen and Merrill Frydendahl and Vern and Cindy Krienke) who were scanning the North end from up the trail. Shortly after this the bird got up, flew around in circles over the south end and then came over the trail, circling over the trail and lit in the water on the north end about 75-100 yards out for some very adequate looks sitting on the water. The overall appearance was a mottled brown bird with darker brown wing tips and tail end, with whiter highlights on the tail coverts and the underwing coverts and white highlights on the front of the face. The bill was weaker than a ring-bill and the bird was overall slightly smaller and had narrower wings than the ring-bills present. The bill was small, with a fleshy (pink) base and a dark tip. The head was rounded, the eyes were dark and the bird had a "gentle" appearance. The tail coverts, upper and under, while lighter in appearance than the tail tip, were barred with a darker brown (but the brown was lighter than the tail tip.) The mantle was a greyer brown and had lighter highlights on the feather edges. The bird was graceful, had a subtly slower wing beat then the ring-bills and seemed slightly more buoyant in flight. While feeding it would lift off the water slightly and would bob its head under the water, almost starting a dive at times and would come out at times with small fish. It was occasionally harrassed by ring-bills (and by a nearby Pelican at one time) and lost several of the fish it had caught. The breast and belly were brownish with darker brown highlights on the feathers. My impression was the same as Chad Heins', a first winter Mew Gull. John Ellis-St. Paul**It's Tax Time! Get tips, forms and advice on AOL Money & Finance. (http://money.aol.com/tax?NCID=aolcmp0030002850)
[mou] Red-Throated Loon at Lake Osakis/Others
My car broke down and my brother came from Mankato to pick me up but we managed to swing by Lake Osakis and spotted a young Red-Throated Loon at the Douglas/Todd County line. (Douglas 10 at Douglas 73 and Todd ?) There is a small river that flows into Osakis in Todd County that has enlarged the water edge of the ice covering on the lake to a substantial degree. We pulled in to the public access in Douglas County (40 yard edge of water) and the loon got up and flew N NE a short distance and sat down again. As it flew its head was carried lower than the body and the overall effect was a small washed out grey loon. We picked up the loon in Todd County waters where it was preening and foraging. Associated with it in the same area were C. Loons, a Western Grebe and a Red-Necked Grebe. The Loon was about 2/3 the size of the C. Loons and had a fairly long neck, superficially similar in look to the Western Grebe, but larger. Its bill was dark and was carried in a slightly upturned fashion (it also had a slight upturned crook on the lower part of the bill which accentuated this look. The bill was pointed and somewhat fine, the eye was dark. The loon had medium grey on the top of the face and the back of the neck. The body was largely grey with no white above the water-line but it had a white underside. The lower part of the face was whitish compared with the top; the chin was a darker grey. There was a buffy-red wash on the front of the upper part of the throat. Unusual ? were darker patches on both sides of the neck from about half-way down the neck to about 3/4 of the way down the neck. These patches were not connected to anything else that was grey; they were surrounded by white. There was also a smaller spot of dark grey on the lower part of the front of the neck, well above the water line...but low...also surrounded by white. Neither Sibley nor Nat. Geog show a plate that looks identical to the bird I saw, but it looks to be an amalgam of juvenile, 1st winter and non-breeding Red-Throated loon in plumage. Carriage and shape of the bill and the lowered head in flight confirm Red-Throated Loon (with plumage I have not seen before.) Also had a brown Thrasher in Douglas yesterday. John Ellis-St. Paul**Need a new ride? Check out the largest site for U.S. used car listings at AOL Autos. (http://autos.aol.com/used?NCID=aolcmp0030002851)
[mou] Ovenbird
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[mou] Albany Sewage Ponds/shorebirds
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[mou] Douglas County birds Friday
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[mou] Yellow-winged Warbler???
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[mou] Mute Swan at Sherburne NWR
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[mou] Barrows Goldeneye
Saw the female Barrow's at Fergus yesterday (Saturday) about 5:40 P.M. She stood out easily in the crowd despite the company. Also saw 50+ Trumpeters and five or more Greylag Geese. Rothsay had Prairie Chix, horned larks, a few snow buntings, quite a few Lapland Longspurs, a Rough-legged (dark) hawk, but I failed to see any of the golden eagles. John Ellis, St. Paul
[mou] Douglas County Birds
Went to the cabin (near Miltona) to work on wiring. Seen from the deck, 700-1000 Canada Geese migrating in flocks from five to 150 birds, a few flocks of Mallards, two Wood Ducks, two (at least) Killdeer, two Sandhills, four Red-tails (at the same time) along with two Red-Shouldered Hawks (probably residents), one F Northern Harrier, two Bald Eagles, the first Bluebirds and first E Phoebe of the year. Also heard were Turkeys, Pheasants, Grouse, a Cardinal, a Barred Owl and a GH Owl. On the way back saw a flock of GWFGeese (60-75) of them in a wet meadow feeding and loafing along with more than 150 Canadas, A bunch of Mallards, 10 or so pintails and two GWTeal. This wet meadow is along Douglas County 10, across from Lake Osakis on the west side, 1.1 miles East of Douglas County 3 foing N out of Osakis MN. John Ellis, St. Paul
[mou] Douglas County Birds
Went to the cabin (near Miltona) to work on wiring. Seen from the deck, 700-1000 Canada Geese migrating in flocks from five to 150 birds, a few flocks of Mallards, two Wood Ducks, two (at least) Killdeer, two Sandhills, four Red-tails (at the same time) along with two Red-Shouldered Hawks (probably residents), one F Northern Harrier, two Bald Eagles, the first Bluebirds and first E Phoebe of the year. Also heard were Turkeys, Pheasants, Grouse, a Cardinal, a Barred Owl and a GH Owl. On the way back saw a flock of GWFGeese (60-75) of them in a wet meadow feeding and loafing along with more than 150 Canadas, A bunch of Mallards, 10 or so pintails and two GWTeal. This wet meadow is along Douglas County 10, across from Lake Osakis on the west side, 1.1 miles East of Douglas County 3 foing N out of Osakis MN. John Ellis, St. Paul
[mou] YCNH at Austin
Saw the Yellow Crowned Night Heron at Sutter Park in Austin From 12:02 to 12:30 Sunday afternoon. Thanks for the posts and good directions. John Ellis, St. Paul
[mou] Little Blue Heron in Douglas County
As of 4:30 Sunday (Aug 31) the "calico" Little Blue Heron was at its familiar spot on Whisper Lane in western Douglas County. Neither adult LBH was present. Neither the Snowy Egret nor any of the Cattle Egrets (in Grant County) were seen. John Ellis, St. Paul
[mou] Douglas County Raptors
At the farm near Miltona MN (Douglas County) I saw many raptors moving S by SE on Sunday late AM and early PM, including a light phase Swainsons Hawk, a couple of Harriers, four bald eagles, one Cooper's Hawk, many Red-Tailed Hawks of various color variations and several Possibles. In the very early AM I heard two Red-Shouldered Hawks, two Barred Owls and a Great Horned Owl all of which I presumed were local birds. John Ellis, St. Paul
[mou] Little Blue Heron-Douglas Cnty/ Common Moorhen-Hamden Slough
This afternoon about 4:30 I found a small white heron with blue/grey mottling in a wetland in NW Douglas County. The legs were greenish grey. The bill was light grey with a darker grey (almost black) tip. The eye pupil was black and the iris was light grey or whitish. There was blue/grey mottling on the top of the head, the cheeks, pronounced on the upper back and the trailing edge of the wing which appeared almost black in some views. It was about 50-60% of the size of a Great Egret which was there for comparison. The location is as follows: go south on Douglas County 19 from Douglas County 82 (Just East of Pelican Lake). This is the west edge of Douglas County. At a four way intersection (with a large sign announcing Bah Lakes WPA in the SW quadrant) take a left on Whisper Lane, a dead end going east. Go .4 mile to the wetland on the north with lots of dead trees. The bird was along the north shore of this wetland. I watched it for over an hour and it showed no signs of leaving. Common Moorhen-As of 8:30 or so on Friday evening July 18, at least one of the Common Moorhens at the previously announced location in Hamden Slough NWR was still there. After waiting over an hour, I noticed the bird preening in the edge of the cattails on the E edge of the pond. After 15 minutes it flew out a short way, then foraged out of sight to the north end of the pond. John Ellis- St. Paul
[mou] Cattle Egrets, Grant County
On Friday late afternoon I went looking for the cattle egrets south of Pelican Lake reported by Connie Brunell and Leslie Marcus. It was about 4:15-4:45 and the cows/cattle were working their way down from the hilltop where they had been earlier, toward the farm at the east end of the field. The entourage of cattle egrets included 35 or 36 birds (Two counts each of 35 and 36 and one count of 37 so who knows?) It was quite a sight for what I had thought of as a relatively rare bird in MN. John Ellis-St. Paul --- Headers Return-Path: <> Received: from rly-xm02.mx.aol.com (rly-xm02.mail.aol.com [172.20.83.103]) by air-xm01.mail.aol.com (v95.1) with ESMTP id MAILINXM13-5f23f247104ec; Sun, 27 Jul 2003 20:40:54 -0400 Received: from imo-r04.mx.aol.com (imo-r04.mx.aol.com [152.163.225.100]) by rly-xm02.mx.aol.com (v95.1) with ESMTP id MAILRELAYINXM22-5f23f247104ec; Sun, 27 Jul 2003 20:40:36 -0400 Received: from localhost (localhost) by imo-r04.mx.aol.com (8.8.8/8.8.8/AOL-5.0.0) with internal id UAA01439; Sun, 27 Jul 2003 20:40:36 -0400 (EDT) Date: Sun, 27 Jul 2003 20:40:36 -0400 (EDT) From: Mail Delivery Subsystem Subject: Returned mail: Host unknown (Name server: cbs.emn.edu: host not found) Message-Id: <200307280040.uaa01...@imo-r04.mx.aol.com> To: jellisb...@aol.com MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/report; report-type=delivery-status; boundary="UAA01439.1059352836/imo-r04.mx.aol.com" Auto-Submitted: auto-generated (failure) X-AOL-IP: 152.163.225.100
[mou] N.Goshawk
My son Jesse Ellis and I saw a Northern Goshawk while returning from the Isabella CBC on late Saturday afternoon, flying over Lake County 2, 14.3 miles North of its intersection with MN 61 in Two Harbors. Sorry about the late post-I sent this earlier to a mis-typed address. John Ellis, St. Paul
[mou] Greater Prairie Chickens, Short-eared Owl, at Rothsay/Others
There were 71 Greater Prairie Chickens on the traditional lek at Rothsay on Saturday AM. Birds were gathering at 7:15 when I arrived (even tho' it was -17) and I counted 71 at about 7:45. Seven or 8 others were sunning in trees and shrubs nearby. I drove north on the field road which runs to the east of the lek and saw a Short-eared Owl hunting from a No Hunting sign further east of the lek. I also saw 18 GPChickens sunning in a tree at TNC Town Hall Prairie site further south in Wilkin. Also seen were Lapland Longspurs and Snow Buntings in good numbers in Wilkin, Stearns, Grant and Douglas counties on Saturday, and in Stearns, Kandiohi and Meeker on Sunday. Biggest flock was 300 Snow Buntings, give or take, feeding near a grain hopper at a turkey farm in N. Kandiohi County. Eleven Horned Larks were in Stearns and three sightings of four and fewer in Kandiohi. Only one adult Bald Eagle (Douglas) and two Red-tailed Hawks for the whole trip for raptors (besides the SEOwl.) John Ellis (St. Paul)
[mou] MN River Valley Migration
I took advantage of a day free and the 35 mph S. winds to bird the upper MN River Valley. Near Sparta Cemetary about 3 Miles NW of Granite Falls the hills overlook a large riverine wetland. Eagles and Redtails were following the updrafts from the hills on the N side of the valley. In a 35 minute period (10:45-11:30) I counted 14 adult Bald Eagles, 8 Juveniles Bald Eagles and 12 Red-Tailed Hawks. There were several other raptors I was not certain of. Small pockets of water were open at the HGH 75 dam site at Big Stone and many Canada Geese and Snows were loafing and feeding. Further NW from a rest stop along MN 7 just SE of the Bonanza Grove unit of Big Stone State Park (south of Beardsley)I saw many flocks of geese including 75 Greater White-fronted Geese, hundreds of Canada Geese, and many, many flocks of white and blue phase Snow Geese, some with a few Ross's Geese thrown in. In one short period an aggregate of Snow Geese moved through which had flocks of 1000, 1500, 500, 200, 1000, 200 and finally the last 400. I was surprised at how opportunistically they all moved with the winds. Nearly all the geese I saw from this point moved west over Dakota. Truly a migration spectacle. John Ellis, St. Paul
[mou] Douglas County/Tundra Swans
Birded Douglas County Friday and Saturday. Saw 278 Tundra Swans along with several hundreds of C.Goldeneye and Ring-necked Ducks in a large wetland called Skoglund's Slough across MN 114 (west) from Lake Mary in S. Douglas. Only two BWTeal for the trip, 3 Turkey Vultures, 1 Fox Sparrow, 2 Ruby Crowned Kinglets...mostly expectable birds overall. John Ellis, St. Paul
[mou] Swainson's Hawk, Loggerhead/Dakota Cnty
Saw a light adult Swainson's Hawkjust about 1 mile E of Schaar's Bluff Park turnoff going over Dakota County 42, I assume the same one seen earlier by Leslie and Connie. Also a loggerhead shrike on Dakota County 79 just south of the intersection with Dakota County 80S. Saw chipping sparrows in several locations, ditto to yellowrumps and Hermits. Nice day. John Ellis, St. Paul
[mou] Old Cedar birds
Nice assortment of birds at Old Cedar Wed evening, 5:45-7:00...Orange Crowned Warblers, Chimney Swift, N Rough Winged Swallow, Swamp Sparrows, White Throated Sparrows, Kinglets and a Yellow Headed Blackbird at the edge of the cattails between the bridge and the boardwalk. Trees are leafing out FAST. John Ellis, St. Paul
[mou] Pine Warbler
Had two Pine Warblers in the Neighbor's spruce tree in the back yard this afternoon. John Ellis, St. Paul (1469 St. Clair Avenue)
[mou] Red Phalarope
The Red Phalarope is still at Salt Lake as of 7-9 a.m. this morning, 9-12-04. John Ellis, St. Paul.
[mou] Serpent Lake Sabine/others
The Sabine Gull was missing at Serpent Lake sewage ponds this afternoon, as were all of the Bonapartes Gulls. Nothing there but about 15 Ring-billed Gulls (Probably because I couldn't find the operator...Oh well.) Osakis sewage ponds still had the single Blue Phase Snow Goose my sons and I saw in early August as well as three Wilson's Phalaropes and about 300+ Franklins Gulls. Albany sewage ponds had thousands of swallows...swarming everywhere. Not many ducks on either ponds. Saw eight C.Loons off the wayside at Garrison and 35 C. Mergansers. A slow day all in all. John Ellis, St. Paul
[mou] Public Comment on Conservation Reserve Program
The public has until Dec. 8 to comment on the future of CRP (Conservation Reserve Program.) The notice seeking public comment on CRP was published in the Federal Register on August 10, 2004. It is available online at: (http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html). Submit comments in writing by Dec. 8, 2004. The preferred manner to submit comments is via the Internet at (http://www.fsa.usda.gov/pas/). Comments may also be submitted by email to (crprule.crpr...@wdc.usda.gov), or by mail to Director, Conservation and Environmental Programs Division, Farm Service Agency, Room 4714-S, Stop 0513, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-0513. John Ellis, St. Paul (651) 695-1087
[mou] Rothsay and others
Birded Rothsay Saturday. Rain until 1 PM. Saw Prairie Chickens (it was the 5 day hunting season), lots of Harris' Sparrows, two light-phase Rough Shouldered Hawks, a Merlin, 13 Sandhill Cranes, close to a dozen N. Harriers, many Redtails and probably 500 Horned Larks and Lapland Longspurs in mixed flocks. Today found a Northern Shrike just W. of Douglas Cnty 3, on Douglas Cnty 36. Also saw some Cackling C. Geese at the Albany Ponds. Lake Osakis had only12-1300 coot but numbers should build in the next couple of weeks. Also saw two Western Grebes holding on to fall. John Ellis
[mou] Correction
To All: Rough Shouldered Hawk is NOT a new species, nor a hybrid, nor a bird that I actually saw. It was two light phase Rough-legged Hawks at Rothsay. Thanks for your graciousness...I didn't get a single correction. John Ellis-St. Paul
[mou] Marbled Godwits (Douglas) and others
There were 7 Marbled Godwits in the wetland at the SW end of Lake Osakis in
Douglas County on Saturday evening visible from Cnty 3, less than a mile N. of
MN 27 at the W. side of Osakis. Four were there again this morning at 10 or
so. The White faced Ibis failed to show yesterday or today but the Dunlin (4)
were at the same wet meadow off of Douglas 10 yesterday. This morning there
were
many Bonaparte's Gulls and a couple of Franklin's mixed in at the same
meadow. The "ponds" at Albany had 3 Wilson's phalaropes on Sat. The "ponds" at
Paynesville had one Marbled Godwit in the pool below the "ponds". The wetland
W. of
Montrose had nothing of note and the "ponds" at Montrose are newly fenced and
very difficult to see from the road. Also missed on the Clarke's Grebe{s} on
Osakis.
John Ellis, St. Paul
mou-net@lists.umn.edu
Went to Grey Cloud Dunes SNA looking for the Spotted Towhee. Saw what I believe to be an E. Towhee with six white spots on the scapulars (no white on the wings) which actually sang the E. Towhee song. May go back to look again tomorrow-comments welcome. Saw an Orchard Oriole at the same site, lots of Grasshopper Sparrows. Saw another E. Towhee at Lost Valley SNA and many sparrows (DNR is doing lots of burns on this SNA). Saw and heard a Cerulean along road just S. of Miss. R in Dakota and saw a Bay-Breasted at Schaars Bluff. The N. Waterthrush was still stalking the 140th St. marsh
[mou] Another Snowy Egret/Bloomington
Saw a small white heron from the observation deck on the Peterson Pond loop trail below the MN Valley Wildlife Refuge headquarters this evening from 7PM or so until it hopped up onto a dead stick and showed me its yellow-gold feet. The bird was about 2/3 the size of the five Great Egrets it was associating with, had a bright black bill, black legs, yellow lores and an upturned-looking tail from its plumes. The bird was visible without a scope but you need a scope for a good I.D. It was feeding in water for the most part but will lift its foot on occasion. The bird was against the far left (East/SouthEast) shore as you look out from the observation deck area. (Refuge policy is established trails only.)
[mou] Another Snowy Egret/Bloomington
--part1_1da.213767a7.2dd2df4d_boundary Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Snowy at Bloomington by John Ellis-St. Paul --part1_1da.213767a7.2dd2df4d_boundary Content-Type: message/rfc822 Content-Disposition: inline Return-path: From: jellisb...@aol.com Full-name: JELLISBIRD Message-ID: <103.457a6bb0.2dd2d...@aol.com> Date: Tue, 11 May 2004 21:50:26 EDT Subject: Another Snowy Egret/Bloomington To: mou-...@cbs.umn.edu, vicki_she...@fws.gov, mnb...@lists.mnbird.net MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Mailer: AOL 5.0 for Mac sub 39 Saw a small white heron from the observation deck on the Peterson Pond loop trail below the MN Valley Wildlife Refuge headquarters this evening from 7PM or so until it hopped up onto a dead stick and showed me its yellow-gold feet. The bird was about 2/3 the size of the five Great Egrets it was associating with, had a bright black bill, black legs, yellow lores and an upturned-looking tail from its plumes. The bird was visible without a scope but you need a scope for a good I.D. It was feeding in water for the most part but will lift its foot on occasion. The bird was against the far left (East/SouthEast) shore as you look out from the observation deck area. (Refuge policy is established trails only.) --part1_1da.213767a7.2dd2df4d_boundary--
[mou] Lark Sparrows/Louisville Swamp
While my son, Alex, and I were doing a survey on the Louisville swamp Unit of the MN Valley Wildlife Refuge, I noted a male and female pair of Lark Sparrows. The birds were seen from the path leading from the SW corner of the main parking area toward the swamp. This path runs along a prairie remnant that is being restored and has been burned in the last week. The sparrows were easily spotted because of the burn. While not specifically looking for warblers, we saw or heard 16 species. Also heard a Wood Thrush and saw Swainson's. (As of 5 PM, the Piping Plover was not at the previously posted site-ditto at 6:30) ` John Ellis- St. Paul
[mou] Black-Necked Stilt
The BIRD was still present at the sewage pond at Belle Plaine as of 5:50 PM. Saw one Black-Necked Stilt and some wilson's Phalaropes and other unidentified shorebirds on the way S to Mankato for a Birthday Party. The stilt was on the close side of the pond for some beautiful looks. Happy 85th, Mom. John Ellis, St. Paul
[mou] Snowy Egrets/Douglas County (others)
The Traveling Troupe of 4 Snowy Egrets (same ones reported earlier by Felker and others?) were seen Sunday late afternoon in western Douglas County near the intersection of Whisper Lane and Douglas County 19 (Western edge of Douglas Cnty). This is the same turnoff (a dead-end) where the Little Blue Herons were found last year. The Egrets were associating with a Great Egret and a Black-Crowned Night Heron and were seen in the wetland in the NE quadrant of this intersection from County 19. Cattle Egrets were at their usual spot south of Pelican Lake and an Orchard Oriole was seen on Whisper Lane. Over 75 Dunlin, 4 Short Billed Dowitchers, 2 Wilson's Phalaropes were in the mud flats off Douglas #3 on the SW corner of Lake Osakis on Friday and over 40 Dunlin were there today with higher water levels. Over 200 White Pelicans were in a wetland on the N side of Douglas Cnty 82 between Evansville and the west edge of Douglas. The Albany sewage ponds had 10 Dunlin, 12 to 15 White-Rumped Sandpipers, about 8-10 Bairds, 10 Semi-Palmated, and two Wilson's Phalaropes. Also present were all 5 swallows, 8 duck species (including N. Pintail) Forster's and Black Terns. Fish Lake (S. of Osakis) had 12 Caspian Terns, 4 Forster's Terns and two (nesting?) Eared Grebes. John (sorry for the length) Ellis, St. Paul
[mou] Blue Earth Kentucky Warbler/Bell's Vireo
Craig Mandel's Blue Earth County Kentucky Warbler was in his usual haunts at the Williams Nature Preserve on Highway 68 West of Mankato. He sang single bursts of song five times between 9 AM this morning and 9:35 and then nothing until 10:15 when I left. The songs heard were from different spots and I probably saw it moving between spots but did not ever get a visual ID. I don't know if his hormones haven't come in yet or if the glum morning induced a slight mood disorder. At least one Bell's Vireo was seen and singing in the shrubs on both sides of the road at the Seppmann's Mill drive at Minneopa State Park near Mankato. Also three Eastern Towhees in various spots. Not much by way of warblers...a few Blue-Winged, Yellow, Yellow-rumps, Tennessees, a Nashville, a couple of Black and Whites. Also several Swainsons Thrushes and a Wood Thrush. Did NOT hear any Ceruleans or Prothonatorys at Seven Mile Creek Park but it was VERY glum. Got a RH Woodpecker and a Caspian Tern in Blue Earth County but a pretty slow day. John Ellis, St. Paul
[mou] White-Faced Ibis, Cattle Egrets,others
Went to cabin on Friday- Called in to MOU Hotline Friday but it didn't get posted: Saw a White Faced Ibis at the sewage ponds at Osakis, the pond closest to I-94 as you go from town towards the ponds. The bird was still there today at 2:30 PM as I returned home. There were 31 Cattle Egrets in the Cow pasture with the cattle off the SE end of Pelican Lake in Grant County. Also had 6 others on a flyover on Douglas 19 on the west edge of Douglas County. No Snowys or Little Blues seen on a scan of the area. Lots of shorebirds still in Big Stone County. Salt Lake had virtually none, Spotted, Least and Lesser Yellowlegs. Saw many Wilson's Phalaropes everywhere and Red-Necked Phalaropes at two locations. The lower sewage pond at Albany is in drawdown again and had a smattering of good birds including (at 25 feet) a Baird's, 3 Dunlin, Two Sanderling, a Pectoral, Many Least and very many L Yellowlegs and a few Greater. Also many Spotted and an Am. Pipit. John Ellis, St. Paul
[mou] Update on Say's Phoebe (Others)
Went to Felton today an looked near the Rock Wren's Rock Pile for the Say's Phoebe(s) from 11:20 until 1:45 or so without success. I also looked around some of the other unused mining areas. Wish I could have started sooner. The Wren was singing sporadically with substantial energy. Heard what I thought was the Northern Mockingbird but had no time to find it. Saw a W. Kingbird on the way out plus the other usuals. The White Faced Ibis at Osakis has evidently left (unless it moves around) but a single Willet has moved in. The Albany sewage ponds had 150 or so shorebirds, two Dunlin, two W. Phalaropes, but mostly yellowlegs, Least SP and Semi-SP. John Ellis, St. Paul
[mou] Douglas cnty birds
After seeing the Say's Phoebe, Rock Wren and missing the Cinnamon Teal I spent the weekend in Douglas County. I had 85 species at "The Farm," including a Canada Warbler, a singing Mourning Warbler and two Connecticut Warblers, also Wilson's, a late Tennessee and a late Nashville. Many flycatchers were around, E. Wood PeeWees were not there on Saturday but were there on Sunday. Also a Yellow Breasted FC, many E. Kingbirds and GCFlycatchers. A good number of waterfowl around but only Spotted SP and Killdeer for shorebirds. A hundred eighteen species for the county. John Ellis, St. Paul
[mou] Black-Legged Kittiwake/Thurs AM
The Kittiwake was present this AM at the same location as described by Jim Mattson yesterday...over the channel at the east outlet from Black Dog Lake and also on the ice south of the channel with many other gulls. Also present was the Glaucous (also flying over the river at the outlet and probably the GBBGull. (Thanks to Jim M.) John Ellis-St. Paul
[mou] Correction to My earlier post on Black-legged Kittiwake
I should have said the WEST outlet (closest to 35E) NOT the east outlet (to Black Dog Lake). Sorry for the confusion. John Ellis- St. Paul
[mou] Owls, N. Hawk in Aitkin, GGOwl in Isanti
Went owling with my sons Alex and Jesse, and Jesse's friend Anya in St. Louis, Aitkin & oddly, Isanti counties.We missed on reported GGOwl on McDavitt and the N. Hawk Owls on Stone Lake Road. We did find a Great Horned Owl on Stone Lake Road, on the N side about 2/3 miles E of St. Louis 7 at dusk on the 26th. Had a second hand report from my sister in Buhl (from a friend of hers) of a Snowy Owl last week on a telephone pole in Buhl. Saw an overwintering? RWBlackbird at my sisters feeder in Buhl. We heard BOREAL CHICKADEE(s?) on Owl Avenue just N of the bend on Monday. This AM we could not find Snowy Owls in the Harbor at Duluth. We found a NORTHERN HAWK OWL along MN200 at mile 184, just a ways west of Rabey Management area. We saw it hunting and taking game. Could not find GGOwl at Aitkin 18, Aitkin 5, Pietz's road area but then saw a GREAT GREY OWL hunting from a telephone pole along MN65 about .3 mile north of Isanti County 25 on the west side of the road. We drove past it and were turning around and it plunged to the grassy margin of the road and then flew up and into the woods on the W side of 65. I also had a report of a SNOWY OWL in Douglas County on the E. side of Lake Irene along Douglas County 64 from last week (probably Wednesday.) John Ellis (St. Paul)
[mou] GGOWL Kanabec NOT Isanti
To all, Sorry for mistake on report of Great Grey Owl yesterday on MN65. It was .3 miles north of Kanabec Cnty 25 (NOT Isanti 25). This is about 8 miles South of the S. border of Aitkin County (just South of Warman.) John Ellis, St. Paul
[mou] Woodpeckers, GGOwl, Horned Grebes. others
Did a weekend North- had a 3-toed on Blue Spruce .4 mile N of 133 and another with a Black-Backed .4 miles N of 133 again on Blue Spruce. Had another 3-Toed in the NE quadrant of the intersection where Overton meets Owl avenue from the west. Those were on Saturday PM. On Sunday, coming back from Silver Bay there were a flock of 10 Horned Grebes in Winter plumage off of Flood Bay rest stop. I don't know if they are late, early, overwintering, or just tourists. Had a GGOwl .2 miles E of the Hebron Cemetary along Aitkin County 18 at dusk. Despite looking for owls it was a total accident as I flushed it from slightly into the woods on the N side as I pulled in to the shoulder as I was turning around. Lots of great birds around. John Ellis- St. Paul
[mou] Barrows, Long-Tailed Duck, etc.
Picked out the Barrows this AM from Celebration Park at Prescott and found a Long-Tailed Duck in the process. Two Am. Black Ducks were on the ice at Point Douglas and did not see any gulls at all from 10:15 AM to about 12:30 or so. Also missed the Snowys on a drive through at MSP Airport. John Ellis-St. Paul
[mou] S.Towhee, C.Wren, G.Eagle
Saw the Spotted Towhee this AM, swung up to Rochester and saw a Carolina Wren and a Brown Creeper at Bill and Ann Bruins yard in Rochester, and went over to Whitewater. Saw three B.Eagles (2 adults and a Juv.) several "Tails" and one adult Golden Eagle soaring up and over the bluffs. Stop at the main office to get someone to mark a map of the most productive bluffs for mid-late afternoon thermals. Lots of Juncoes and a smattering of Horned Larks around. John Ellis-St. Paul
[mou] Highland Varied Thrush
Was at the feeder location at Edgecumbe and Eleanor from 2:30 PM until the Varied Thrush showed up very briefly at 3:45. It flew into the top of a maple tree across the street on the boulevard with an Am. Robin, sat briefly, flew down under the lilacs, foraged briefly, flew up under the feeders, foraged briefly and took off around the corner of the white garage and down the alley. John Ellis-St. Paul Wednesday afternoon. ** AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
[mou] S. MN birds
While duck hunting with my brother saw 3 Short Eared Owls at a large state WMA off the NW corner of Middle Lake in Nicollet County on Friday AM. On Saturday saw a flock of 12 white phase Snow Geese over a State WMA south of Lura Lake in Faribault County. There were two Cackling Canada Geese in with the Snow Geese and the two Cackling Geese were vocalizing back and forth with each other while the Snows were silent. I've never seen Snows that far east in fall migration. On Sunday I found a road killed Grey Partridge just east of Comfrey in Brown County on County 20. Had Am. Pipits migrating over Red Rock Prairie in Cottonwood also on Sunday. John Ellis- St. Paul
[mou] Rothsay birds & others
Saturday saw 3 Rough-legged Hawks (only 2 Red-Tails and 3-4 N. Harriers,) as well as hundreds of Longspurs, Laplands in every plumage variation. The easy ones to ID were in recently plowed or disked cornfields and were all Laplands. The hard to see ones were in short hay and grass stubble and all I could ID were also Laplands. Lots of Horned Larks mixed in as were C. Redpolls and Snow Buntings. Redpolls and Snow Buntings were also seen in separate flocks. Saw 41 Prairie Chickens sunning in a tree (others were flushed) and flocks of 72 and approx. 150 Sandhills. Salt Lake had many waterfowl and a few shorebirds, Lake Christina had lots of Am. Wigeon, Gadwall, GWTeal and divers mixed in with the tens of thousands of Coot. Nice weekend! John Ellis, St. Paul
[mou] Douglas County birds/Albany Golden Plover
Saw the Am. Golden Plover posted by Bob Russell at the Albany sewage ponds. Douglas had Trumpeter Swans at four locations. Had 3 Am. Black Ducks in with a large crowd of mallards at Lake Jennie refuge. Saw 19 Bald Eagles today in various locations with 8 at Lake Oscar environs. Several flocks of Snow Buntings but no Longspurs or other winter finches. Had one Rough-Legged Hawk... 3 Bonapartes and only Ring-bills additionally. Quite a few late season waterfowl around, mostly in larger waterbodies. Saw a young Wood Duck hanging around with three coot at Lake Osakis that was tipping up and feeding just like a coot...even doing shallow dives. It was actually kind of scarey...goes to show what bad company can do. Nice day but kind of slow birding. John Ellis-St. Paul
[mou] Douglas Osprey/ Felton birds/ Grey Cloud Carolina Wren (correction)
Went birding with my two sons Alex and Jesse Sunday and Monday (6/4 &6/5). Saw a pair of OSPREY near the farmstead grove on the East side of Lake Irene North of Miltona, MN on Sunday. Monday started with a LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE on the wire along Clay 26 between MN 9 and the longspur road. We saw a pair of ORCHARD ORIOLES copulate in the cottonwoods along the south end of the longspur road. We had fantastic looks at a CHESNUT-COLLARED LONGSPUR on the fence and another larking further off. We saw many MARBLED GODWITS buzzing the car and one with two young crossing the longspur road. THREE other male ORCHARD ORIOLES were in the environs of the farm house and N of there. LARK SPARROWS were across the road from the gravel pit lake north of Clay 108 on the way to CLAY 34. Heard and saw many CLAY-COLORED and GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS, heard only one LECONTES SPARROW. We failed to find the Snowy Owl, Henslows or Bairds Sparrows. We also heard and saw several UPLAND SANDPIPERS, including some new calls (to us.) Grant County had two pairs of COMMON LOONS with young but we couldn't scare up any interesting herons in the early afternoon on Monday. The CAROLINA WREN reported earlier by my son Jesse was at 10300 Grey Cloud Island Trail NOT at 1300 Grey Cloud Island Trail. John Ellis- St. Paul 5/7/06
[mou] Mute Swan-Douglas County
Saw a Mute Swan at Swim Lake in SE Douglas County last Friday evening. It was still there this late afternoon (Sunday) when I checked again. Swim Lake is south of Osakis, MN. It is visible (northwest quadrant) from the I94 Exit to Osakis, but is better seen by going into town, going south past the sewage ponds (see Eckert, p.80) and continuing to the edge of Swim Lake. (The sewage ponds had Lesser Yellowlegs and two Wilson's Phalaropes.) John Ellis, St. Paul 6/25/06
[mou] Douglas County Snowy Egret/Cattle Egret
My son Alex and I went birding on Saturday to try to beat the heat. We were on the western edge of Douglas County (Douglas County 19) heading southe from County 82 when we saw a Cattle Egret on a flyover fron Grant to Douglas about 2 miles South of 82. We went south to Whisper Lane and found a Snowy Egret in the easternmost tip of the pond where the Little Blue Herons were a couple of years ago. Missed the Mute Swan at Osakis but saw 250-300 shorebirds at the southernmost sewage pond at Osakis. There were 7 species, nothing exciting but fun to see. John Ellis-St. Paul 7/16/06
[mou] Friday at Big Stone
I was at BigStone on Friday and from 12 to about 1230 PM I watched one adult Snowy Plover with both of the young. I also swung up to Thielke and saw the Clarke's Grebe with the three young. It was easily visible from 62 at the west end of the lake. John Ellis-St. Paul
[mou] Black Dog Gulls, etc. & Probable Barrows Goldeneye
Went with Lars Benson to Black Dog. Saw three second-year Thayer's Gulls on the River just at the river curve by the NSP power plant itself. Also saw two Chipping sparrows near a flock of Tree Sparrows. Also present was A N. Shrike and a Rough Legged Hawk. Went to the park on US Hgh 10 just this side of Prescott and saw a Female Goldeneye that had a yellowish bill, a blocky (not peaked) head, and the head coloring was consistently dark reddish brown. It looked quite different than the other Goldeneye Female in its company which had a clearly two-toned bill and less consistent coloring on the head and browner color. Went by Spring Lake at sundown and there were 1 to 1.5 thousand gulls circling out over the water but too far out to identify from the public access down the hill from Dakota 42. From the timing I'm guessing that these were different gulls than the ones Jim reported at Black Dog. John Ellis- St. Paul
[mou] E. Screech/ Mute Swan
The E. Screech Owl at George Skinner's in Minnetonka popped his head out of the hole of the wood duck house about as close to 1:00 PM this afternoon as I could have come with a watch. Its a beautiful bird. The Mute Swan in the Cannon River at Faribault was swimming and feeding in the river and was easily visible from the bridge over the Cannon on MN hgh 21 just north of the Lyndale Motel. John Ellis-St. Paul** AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
[mou] SE MN birds
Lars Benson and I spent the day out and about in SE MN and saw the following; 1) A GOLDEN EAGLE near the Eagle Bluff Env. Lrng Cent. NW of Lanesboro, 2) At least two TUFTED TITMICE at feeders at Art and Nancy Overcotts in Fillmore County (we missed them at Eagle Bluff.) 3) Fifteen GREY PARTRIDGE along Houston County 19 (NW of Spring Grove) 4) A YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER behind the visitor center at Whitewater SP 5) A ROUGH LEGGED HAWK at Whitewater 6) A RED SHOULDERED HAWK along Winona County 2 NW of Rushford, MN. Also groups of 15 and 8 Wild Turkeys along this road. Additionally we saw probably 1000 (give or take) Horned Larks, fewer than 50 Snow Buntings and one Lapland Longspur. We had 10 or 11 Bald Eagles inland and many more along the Mississippi. A beautiful day to be out in hill country. John Ellis-St. Paul** AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
[mou] Rothsay SEOwls(35!) & LQP GWF Geese, Herman ECDoves (+others)
Went to Rothsay yesterday (Friday.) Counted 35 Short Eared Owls from 4:30 to 6:45 on a drive through the area. Birds were actively hunting at 4:30 so they must be hungry! There were Owls on fence posts, on sign posts, on telephone poles, on utility wires and sitting on the ground and in ditches as well as flying. Also had 10 Rough-legged Hawks, 3 dark and 7 presumed light. Also had 3 N. Harriers and 69 Greater Prairie Chickens. Herman had at least two ECDoves (near 1st Ave and Atlantic, South end of town along MN 9.) There were 16 Greater White-Fronted Geese down on water near the T intersection of MN40 and LQP County 33 and 12 more flared off when I stopped. Thirty additional were landing as I watched near the lower end of the LQP reservoir near Chippewa 13 and the road along the reservoir N. past the mission building so I think the GWFs are just arriving today. I talked with a Chippewa Sheriff's Deputy who was hunting white Geese in Missouri last week who said the Snows were in S. Iowa. With the S. winds tomorrow they may come in also. Saw 3-400 pheasants including a flock of 50 or so along the RR tracks near Odessa. Mud Lake is frozen as of today (Sat) as is Big Stone. John Ellis-St. Paul ** AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
[mou] Spruce Grouse, N.Saw-Whet, Long-Tailed Ducks
After blanking out on 4 different days for Spruce Grouse (once NW of Chisolm, once W and SW of Cook and twice around the MN 1, Lake County 2 intersection) I took heart from the recent postings (thanks to all!) and this morning my luck changed. At 7:05 there was 1 skittish F. Spruce Grouse .8 miles south of MN 1 (West side) on Lake County 2. After driving south a ways and turning around again, I saw 8 Spruce Grouse (6F and 2M) 2.2 miles north of the Sand River. I watched this group for 15-20 minutes (7:30-7:50) before they exited to the West. Both males were displaying and briefly accosting each other while the hens ignored them and picked grit. The tails assume a three dimensional shape when fanned with a double row (inverted U-shaped) of white spots on the back. On the way back to Two Harbors I came upon 11 more (1M and 10F) at 8:56 AM, again on Lake County 2, 1.5 miles N of the signs indicating the border between Silver Creek and Stoney River townships. (This is 3.3 m. N of Upland Trail and about 4 miles North of the White Pines Picnic Area.) I think this is further south than most SGrouse are reported. Had a N. Saw-Whet calling on the Sawbill Trail (Friday Night) somewhat South of where FR170 goes west off the Trail. Had None along the Grade between the Sawbill and the Caribou between 9 PM and 10:30) Saw 6 Long-Tailed Ducks (2M and 6F) in winter plumage off the point East from the Water Treatment Plant in Two Harbors on Friday late afternoon and 25 more this morning (5M and 20F) about 50 yards outside the breakwater by the harbor/lighthouse about 10:30 AM. Didn't see Bohemians in Two Harbors either yesterday or this morning but saw 8 on Friday along the road west of Homestead that Jim posted on Thursday. Its starting to be a Pretty Big Year! John Ellis-St. Paul** AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
[mou] Sunday Douglas County Birds
This was sent yesterday (Sunday) but didn't post. John Ellis Went to service wood duck houses today. Ice was too soft in places to reach all of my houses so had extra time to bird. Had 2 Am. Kestrals, 5 Bald Eagles, 3 Male N. Harriers, a Sharpshin, a Rough-Legged Hawk a N. Shrike and 6-7 Red-Tails. Also had Red-Winged Blackbirds, one Brewer's and groups of 4, 2, 2 and 2 Sandhill Cranes, mostly feeding on the ground. Lots of Canada Geese paired up. Six Turkey, lots of Pheasants around. Not much open water except streams. No Herons at Osakis yet. John Ellis-St. Paul ** AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at http://www.aol.com.
[mou] Odd & Sundry birds (Sharptails, Bonaparte's, GYLegs, Snows & Ross's)
Ten SHARP-TAILED GROUSE were singing and dancing on the lek E side of Kestral Avenue .4 Miles S. of Tamarack MN, on Saturday Am 6:45 to when I left at 7:30. TUNDRA SWANS, one SHARP-TAILED GROUSE, a RUFFED GROUSE, 2 ROUGH-LEGGED HAWKS, a MERLIN, SANDHILLS and several B. Eagles were at Rice Lake NWR on Sat. AM. As others noted, Many SNOW GEESE (white and blue) and many ROSS'S GEESE were at Traverse County (Try county 9 NW of Wheaton from 4:30 PM on til Sunset.) Studied a smallish juvenile plumaged BLUE GOOSE with a whitish eye-ring and head highlights for a long time. Oh well. Also many GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE were mixed in. Douglas County had COMMON LOONS in three places, singing EASTERN and WESTERN MEADOWLARKS, most duck species and lots of rain and snow today (Sunday). The Albany sewage ponds had many ducks but more interesting was ONE Very Carefully Studied and Identified BONAPARTE'S GULL out eating on the last shards of green ice with a GREATER YELLOW-LEGS. Had a run-in with a White-tailed deer on Saturday on the way from Duluth to Tamarack. The wages of early morning birding. The car is drivable but the deer died. John Ellis-St. Paul** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.
mou-net@lists.umn.edu
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[mou] Black Scoter/Renville Cnty Monday
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[mou] Misc. migrants
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[mou] Miscellaneous Migrants
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[mou] Weekend Migrants
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[mou] Lousiana Waterthrush-Minneopa(aka Birding Basics 102)
Its always humbling to confidently mis-identify a kind of hard bird that you are pretty sure you've got nailed (THIS year.) This morning, after seeing the Western Tanager in Freeborn County, I went by Minneopa State Park after last week having posted a Northern Waterthrush from below the falls. Two other birders questioned my post on the basis of this having been the location of a pair of Lousiana Waterthrush last year. I confidently assured each of them (on the basis of a yellow wash on the belly of the bird, a supercilium that seemed weak behind the eye, very strong streaking on the breast and song that seemed consistently three-part and repetitive) that I was SURE it was a Northern. Then several posts referred to a Lousiana (seen well by THREE birders) and then TWO Lousianas. DOUBT entered my awareness and stuck there like glue (and other things.) Today there were at Minneopa at least THREE apparent Louisiana Waterthrushes (two in view and another singing) witnessed by myself and two other experienced birders. I am not TOTALLY certain that the first bird I saw was not a Northern but I'm pretty DARN certain that it wasn't. I'm now re-studying my advanced birding book for migration, terns, phalaropes, waterthrushes, etc. I'm sure glad I LIKE to bird. John Ellis-St. Paul** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.
[mou] N.Mockingbird refound/other weekend birds (lots)
Went looking for the N. MOCKINGBIRD in Dakota and ran into the Martins. Struck out and went for a walk at the Archery Trail and went back to look a last time and the bird was there. It was near the first curve N of 42 first on the fence on the west side. It is skittish and moves with every vehicle that comes along. It went down near the spoils pile on the E. side of whatever that road is (between 42 and 140th) and ended up finally flying up onto the golf course in the oak savanna area. (6:45-7:00 PM-Sun.) It was feeding in the short grass on both sides of the road.) It DID NOT sing. Friday had 5 AM. AVOCETS near Barry in Big Stone. Also an Upland Sandpiper in the same area. Saw a smattering of Am. Golden Plovers and a few BB Plovers. I had MARBLED GODWITS in Big Stone and a HUDSONIAN GODWIT with a Marbled Godwit in a water-filled pool in a farm field along the west edge of Pope County north of Cyrus on Friday evening. Both were gone when I went back that way on Saturday AM. Had 10 species in a small pond in Pope Cnty near the T of Pope 3 with Pope 18. U of M Morris West Parking Lot has plantings and a small stream through it. All the shrubbery was chipped for wide open views of many Swainson's Thrushes compared with two Grey-Cheeked Thrushes, a Veery, 4 Ovenbirds and there was a N. Waterthrush in the stream and two Lincoln's Sparrows nearby. Grant County's Pelican Lake area STILL had only four CATTLE EGRETS. Lots of first of year birds for the weekend despite the rain and NASTY wind. John Ellis-St. Paul (Sunday Night) ** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.
[mou] N. Cormorant/Diamond Lake
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[mou] Douglas County Monday-128 sp.
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[mou] Big Stone Chat/YB Cuckoos, Felton Longspurs/ others
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[mou] Yellow Rail at McGregor
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[mou] Moonan Marsh-Moorhen and Least Bittern
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[mou] Crosby birds (Prothonotary)
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[mou] GTGrackle/Jackson, Nelsons STSparrow/Clay, others
Early Friday AM after missing at wetland SE of St. James I saw and faintly heard two Great Tailed Grackles in Jackson County. From MN 86 go west on Jackson Cnty 4 and then north on the first gravel road. From this road about .3 or .4 miles north of Jackson 4, you can look down (east) into a marsh between this road and MN 86. There is a partly obscured fence post and rail that one of the Grackles favors as a perch. The other one was plying back and forth to another smaller wetland north of the first one and behind an abandoned farmstead. Saw 5 Black-Crowned Night Herons in "V" for- mation flying south near this location (presumably from Heron Lake environs.) I didn't know they flew in formation. Missed again on finding the errant Tri-colored Heron. Heard two of the Nelson's Sharp-Tailed Sparrows along Clay 26 reported earlier by Connie Brunell. They didn't start until 1:20 AM on Saturday the 16th. Had a Yellow-Billed Cuckoo carrying nesting material near my cabin in NE Douglas County yesterday and today (Sunday.) John Ellis-St. Paul ** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.
[mou] Pipestone White-eyed Vireo Missing
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[mou] Lyon County Bufflehead
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[mou] Clarke's Grebes at Osakis (3) one breeding-notes on same
Having failed several times at both Thielke and Osakis to find a Clarke's Grebe, I broke down and rented a boat ( Linwood Resort 1-800-458-5136, east side of Lake Osakis). Friday was calm- glassy to a few ripples. I sorted through Western Grebes nearest the shores-down the east side from the resort, through town on the south side, into the reed bays on the SW corner and up the western side. In the NW corner of the southern lobe of Lake Osakis (possibly scannable from Douglas 10) I found the first Clarke's Grebe in the company of a quite smaller Western Grebe with a small downy chick on its back. The Clarke's was obvious, and made me realize how futile it had been to study the more ambiguously plumaged Westerns (or possibly hybrids) I'd worked hard on earlier. The bill was large and orange/gold colored (no yellow or green-yellow.) The white around the eye was a large scallop of white-a full 3/4 to an inch of white enveloping the eye on both sides and above. The back and flanks were very clearly lighter in color than the Western. While I was studying the Clarke's the Western had started diving and I realized I'd lost track of the single chick. The (female?) Western brought a minnow over to the Clarke's and the chick popped out from under the back feathers or wing of the Clarke's Grebe. The chick had very light colored down with a few faint darker highlights on the head. The chick was one of the very smallest I'd seen that day-a few days or maybe several days old. After a bit I continued North around the reed bed and within 15 minutes found another Clarkes Grebe- again a larger, golden-billed bird with a white scallop fully enclosing the eye-the same dimensions as the first. The back and flank feathers did not seem as light on this bird as the first, but the light was from a slightly different angle. This second bird was associating loosely with three other birds-all Westerns. It may have been paired with one of the Westerns, but they were all actively foraging so it was difficult to be sure. There were no chicks in evidence with the foursome. After leaving this group I found a third Clarke's Grebe- this one about 20 minutes later, again off the reed beds on the western (Douglas) side of the lake. This bird was associating with a much smaller Western Grebe, had a golden-orange bill, but the white enveloping the eye was much narrower over the top of the eye, on the order of half as much white as the first two. The white at the sides of the eyes was about as wide as the first two-but narrower over the top. The sides and flanks were lighter in color than the Western, but not as much (relatively) as the first two. All three Clarke's Grebes were large birds (male?), had very large bills (orange-gold) and while there was variation, the white clearly surrounded the eyes. In the Westerns there was much variability in size and in coloration of the bills. Bill color ranged from greenish through yellow-green to yellow and even yellow with golden tones. The dark caps on the heads ranged a lot- curved down below the eye, straight line below the eye, straight line almost through the eye, curved line through the eye. Bill size was remarkably variable also. It would be interesting to know (if anyone does) whether a larger population of Clarke's Grebes has size, bill size and bill color variation similar to the Westerns. We hay have only larger Clarke's here in Minnesota.? I would welcome informed comments. Thanks. John Ellis-St. Paul P.S. My outing took 3+ hours and I covered maybe 20-25% of the surface area of the lake (though a good part of the reedy area of the southern part of the lake.) The birds are very mobile. ** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.
[mou] No Cinnamon At Canby Sunday AM
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[mou] Birds
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[mou] BBWoodpeckers/N.Goshawk/Eared, Horned Grebes/B.Scoters Cook Cnty
Had single Eared Grebe (breeding plumage) with two C. Loons and two
RNGrebes at Cascade River State Park Wayside on 8/4/07. Also had 5 (probably)
Black
Scoters off of the rock island at Good Harbor Bay on 8/4 ("probaby" because
they were far enough out that I could not see facial markings and could not see
any white on their wings as they flipped their wings diving and stretched
their wings while preening-I also could not see white gular patch on Cormorants
at about the same distance-but they were definitely Scoters). Seems early.
Two Black-Backed Woodpeckers were drumming (male) and foraging (both male
and female) on burnt (White?) Spruce just .2 miles east from Cook 81 on the
Gunflint Trail (near the end of the trail), also on Saturday 8/4. Saw waves of
warblers also. Had a Gray Jay on Sag Lake Trail and later in the PM had
White-Winged Crossbills on a flyover on the north side of Oberg Mtn.
Monday 8/6/07 had a N. Goshawk (adult) sitting on a snag along the
Sawbill Trail approximately 3 or so miles north of 6 mile creek about 6:30 AM.
Had
one Horned Grebe (VERY WORN breeding plumage) at Five Mile Rock and two more
off of Cobblestone Cabins a few miles north of Tofte later that AM.
John Ellis-St. Paul**
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[mou] Scoter reflections
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[mou] Black-Headed Gull/Jackson
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[mou] RNPhalaropes/LQP and others
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[mou] Bairds SPs & others/Shorebird Question?
Had 26 Greater Prairie Chix (Saturday) feeding in a clover field before dusk at Rothsay...only saw 4 Sandhills. Ashby Sewage Ponds had 5 Wilson's Phalaropes and 1 Spotted, but 2300 Franklin's Gulls. Osakis SPonds had 1800 or so. Paused a while when I saw a group of shorebirds flash by as I went by a cattle feedlot I've worked before in Douglas County. When I had stopped and found them, the group of 9 Bairds Sandpipers were belly down in the depressions made by tractor tires in a dried mud/dirt road. I assumed they were hiding as I stopped quickly after I saw them flying. It seems they were dust bathing as several of them eventually scurried over to a straw/manure pile to forage at the edge of the pile where the mud was very oozy and ripe. I tried to make the two juveniles into something rare but after I got the adults (alternate plumage Baird's) the juveniles were easier. Anyway...I've never seen 9 Baird's at a time and never in a 9 for 9 group (in Douglas County no less)...so..the question is whether other birders have seen shorebirds (besides Killdeer) in cattle (or other livestock) feedlots. I specifically wonder about lagoons, although the ones I saw yesterday were not in a lagoon nor was there even any surface water present. Thanks in advance for your thoughts or shared experiences. John Ellis-St. Paul ** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour
[mou] Interstate Red Knots/Park Point Whimbrels
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[mou] Says and Sabines/not found
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[mou] Lake Hiawatha Yellow-Crowned Night Heron
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[mou] North Shore/Duluth
Went birding in Duluth this AM. Had Surf Scoters in the Harbor off the airport. Had a single White-Winged Scoter (juvenile) at Good Harbor Bay and a single Black Scoter (female or juvenile) at the North end of the Five Mile Rock area, north of Grand Marais. There was a single Sandhill Crane circling its way south from Paradise Beach. The GM Campground had 4 BBPlovers and a hundred or so LLongspurs. There was a juvenile Goshawk on a dead tree ate the Cascade River wayside beside LSuperior and an adult Peregrine at 40 feet sitting on a beach log at the bottom of the hill on Fish House Road at East Beaver Bay. Had an Am Crow riding the NNE wind from NE of Split Rock Lighthouse SP through a cut in the rocks for about two miles or more above the road. I clocked it at 60 miles an hour with NO wingbeats. When it slowed down to about 40 (near the Park) it dropped down out of the wind and starting rowing its way back up the road (presumably to do it again!!) John Ellis-St. Paul Email and AIM finally together. You've gotta check out free AOL Mail! - http://mail.aol.com
[mou] Park Point
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[mou] Weekend birds
Got two decent looks at a (the?) Pacific Loon on Friday late AM out from 12th St. at Park Point in Duluth. Earlier Bob Eckblad and I had another look at the Whimbrel close to the airport and a flock of 9 Sanderlings. The breeding plumage Scoters were fun to see. Not much at Rothsay on Saturday. Had my first fall Northern Shrike in Douglas Cnty this early PM. Went to Christina this morning. It is truly impressive again for coot and waterfowl. From the north shore you can pick a line any direction across the lake and count 50 to 150 waterfowl. Then move a few seconds in either direction and do it again. The view is about 140 or 150 degrees so there are a LOT of waterfowl. At any one time there are 50 to 100 ducks in the air and they are constantly up and setting again. No W. Grebes seen on either Christina or on Osakis. Lake Carlos had 126 C. Loons on Friday night and Le Homme Dieu had a few. Lake Miltona had about 20 C. Loons this AM. Many Ring Billed Gulls were migrating with a decent number of Franklin's thrown in. John Ellis-St. Paul ** See what's new at http://www.aol.com
[mou] Rothsay
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[mou] Rothsay (and Douglas Cnty)
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[mou] Smith's Longspurs @ Rothsay
Yesterday, 11-10-07, I saw a Smith's Longspur in the company of two other probable Smith's Longspurs on 200th Street between 280th Ave and 300th Ave at a few minutes after 2:00 PM. There is a sign near a fencerow on the south side of 200th Street that says "Prairie Chicken Blind." On either side of the fencerow, about 25 yards from the road is a small pond/mud-hole. The one on the east is surrounded by a mud flat and the one on the west was surrounded by short, dried grass. I noticed Longspurs coming into the ponds (especially the Western one) about One and had been sitting and watching the ponds trying to find a Smith's. The three Smith's came together a little after Two. I stayed and began tallying birds at that point. No more Smith's came that I could ID (some water was in the 4-6" grass and I could not see all the birds.) The birds came in singles, twos, threes, fives, eights and more. Some larger (20-30) flocks swung over but did not light. The birds would stay to drink for 10-15 seconds for up to a couple of minutes and then be on their way. ` There were also Snow Buntings, a few H. Larks and three Rough Legged Hawks. John Ellis-St. Paul ** See what's new at http://www.aol.com
[mou] Smith's longs...@rothsay
(Tried to post this earlier but it is not on-will try again) Yesterday, 11-10-07, I saw a Smith's Longspur in the company of two other probable Smith's Longspurs on 200th Street between 280th Ave and 300th Ave at a few minutes after 2:00 PM. There is a sign near a fencerow on the south side of 200th Street that says "Prairie Chicken Blind." On either side of the fencerow, about 25 yards from the road is a small pond/mud-hole. The one on the east is surrounded by a mud flat and the one on the west was surrounded by short, dried grass. I noticed Longspurs coming into the ponds (especially the Western one) about One and had been sitting and watching the ponds trying to find a Smith's. The three Smith's came together a little after Two. I stayed and began tallying birds at that point. No more Smith's came that I could ID (some water was in the 4-6" grass and I could not see all the birds.) The birds came in singles, twos, threes, fives, eights and more. Some larger (20-30) flocks swung over but did not light. The birds would stay to drink for 10-15 seconds for up to a couple of minutes and then be on their way. ` There were also Snow Buntings, a few H. Larks and three Rough Legged Hawks. John Ellis-St. Paul ** See what's new at http://www.aol.com
[mou] Duluth Gulls
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[mou] Big year-end
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mou-net@lists.umn.edu
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[mou] 180th (not 190th)
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[mou] Migration at Lac Qui Parle (long)
Went west today (Saturday) to Lac Qui Parle, via Swift County and up to Ortonville. Again there are many thousands of Geese and a good smattering of ducks in the open water areas and many flocks of geese and ducks going out to the surrounding fields to feed. The largest numbers are Canadas, all sizes, including lots of Cackling Canadas, (probably up to many hundreds.) I saw a smaller Canada (not a Cackling) that had leucistic plumage-everything was very pale but markings were distinct. The bird took off with others to go feed and it looked simply ghostly by contrast with other Canadas. There were several thousand Snow Geese (white and blue phases) and at least a few Ross's Geese in the area. There were hundreds up to 2000+ of Greater White Fronted Geese. Ducks were; mallards, hooded and common mergs, gadwell, both scaup, (few)redheads, (few)canvasbacks, (few)gw teal, pintails, ring-necked ducks, coot, (few)ruddy ducks, (few)c. goldeneye and bufflehead. Saw a few Eagles, male Harriers, one Rough-legged Hawk, many Am. Kestrel and several Red-Tails. There was also a GB Heron and a good number of RWBlackbirds with a spattering of other blackbirds and a couple of Grackles. Quite a few Meadowlarks were on back roads intermittantly and there were thousands of H. Larks in groups up to a hundred. Only a few flocks were mixed with Snow Buntings and I saw no Longspurs. I didn't make it out to Brownsville or Mud Lake so I don't know if there is open water there. John Ellis-St. Paul**Create a Home Theater Like the Pros. Watch the video on AOL Home. (http://home.aol.com/diy/home-improvement-eric-stromer?video=15?ncid=aolhom000301)
[mou] Douglas Cnty birds Friday
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