Re: [mou-net] Be on the lookout

[Jason Frank]

In the past 2 days, in the areas around Big Stone NWR (near Odessa), the
Minnesota River Headwaters, Lakeside Park, the southern tip of Big Stone
Lake in Ortonville, and along Dike Road between Ortonville and Big Stone
City SD, the following waterfowl are currently present:



Several thousand Greater White-fronted Geese

Mallard (many stay the winter)

Gadwall

Redhead

Common Goldeneye

Ring-necked Duck

Ruddy Duck

Bufflehead



One of the best viewing areas is along Dike Road, from the bridge, where
the Whetstone River enters Big Stone Lake. (The Whetstone was diverted to
flow into the lake after the 1930s drought). The water is wide open and is
a popular feeding area for waterfowl, especially divers. You can either
view from the bridge, or from the shoreline in the city-run campground.



If you use eBird, look for reports by Brandon Semel and Douglas Pierzina.
They will be filing reports nearly every day through Migration Season, and
they are two of the area’s best birders.



I’ll be posting regular updates on migratory and nesting species, road and
habitat conditions, and noteworthy numbers or concentrations of birds here
on MOU-net.





Jason Frank

Ortonville

On Fri, Feb 23, 2024 at 4:47 PM Jim Williams  wrote:

> From a birder who lives in SE SD, sent today:
> "There is an open pond by my nieces in southern sanborn country. Last
> night and today I saw redhead, lesser scaup, green-winged teal, mallard,
> wigeon, ring necked, Goldeneye. Along with Canada, cackling, white-fronted
> goose.
>
> Jim Williams
> Birding columnist
> Minneapolis StarTribune
> startribune.com/variety/homeandgarden
>
> 
> General information and guidelines for posting:
> https://moumn.org/listservice.html
> Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
>
> During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social
> distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
>


General information and guidelines for posting: 
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During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social 
distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.

[mou-net] Be on the lookout

[Jim Williams]

From a birder who lives in SE SD, sent today:
"There is an open pond by my nieces in southern sanborn country. Last night and 
today I saw redhead, lesser scaup, green-winged teal, mallard, wigeon, ring 
necked, Goldeneye. Along with Canada, cackling, white-fronted goose.

Jim Williams
Birding columnist
Minneapolis StarTribune
startribune.com/variety/homeandgarden


General information and guidelines for posting: 
https://moumn.org/listservice.html
Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html

During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social 
distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.

[mou-net] be on the lookout for liberated store finches

[linda whyte]

A well-intentioned but uninformed person told Carpenter Nature Center
staff, late on Sunday, that he had bought some exotic store finches
recently to secure their freedom. He did not say how many, or where they
were released, and described them only as "white, with dark beaks."
Since such birds may have trouble finding food, and would certainly be
targets for predators, if not victims of our winters, their best hope is to
be re-captured at someone's feeders. Captive-raised birds will sometimes
re-enter open cages to eat, if they are placed near a food source.
Hopefully, they'll follow some of our native finches to the nearest feeders.
Linda Whyte


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