After I got home tonight, I examined my photos (my camera has more magnification than my binoculars, and I didn't have my scope with me today), consulted my field guides, and asked an expert and I have determined that at least one of the geese that I saw today was a ROSS'S GOOSE. They were there at sundown today, so hopefully they'll stick around a bit for more people to see tomorrow. I'll be posting pictures on the Minnesota Birding facebook group if anyone wants to take a look.
Gregg Severson Minneapolis On Tue, Mar 8, 2016 at 6:20 PM Gregg Severson <rain...@gmail.com> wrote: > The Snow Geese reported by David Zumeta are still present at 6:15pm. They > are on the Hennepin side of the island and currently best viewed from the > top of the bluff by using the road/sidewalk behind the Minnesota Veterans > Home. With the change in winds tonight, maybe they'll stick around. > > Gregg Severson > Minneapolis > > On Tue, Mar 8, 2016, 16:15 Dave Zumeta <dzum...@comcast.net> wrote: > >> Earlier this afternoon Lee Pfannmuller and I observed 2 Snow Geese on >> both the Hennepin County and Ramsey County sides of the Mississippi River >> below the Ford bridge between Minneapolis and St. Paul. I first saw the >> birds at 2:10 p.m. swimming right below the bridge near the western river >> bank. They later swam across the river, and from 2:45-2:50 p.m. flew in >> circles over the area, finally landing near the east side of the island >> immediately south of Lock and Dam # 1. I last saw them at 2:55 p.m., when >> they were loafing on the sand beach on the east side of the island with 17 >> Canada Geese. They were clearly visible from the Ford Dam Scenic Overlook >> that is located 1/4 mile north of the Ford bridge and Ford Parkway on >> Mississippi River Boulevard in St. Paul, Ramsey County. It is quite unusual >> to see Snow Geese in this area, especially swimming in the river. Other >> species of interest in the vicinity of the Ford bridge included 1 scaup >> (species uncertain), 4 Common Mergansers, 1 Peregrine Falcon, and 2 Bald >> Eagles. >> >> Between 10:00 and 11:30 a.m., I saw 10 species of ducks plus 2 Killdeer >> (flying north) from the east side of the Mississippi River in Coon Rapids >> Dam Regional Park (Anoka County) from the dam north to a small stream that >> enters the river about 1/2-2/3 mile north of the dam. Ducks, many of which >> were near the eastern shoreline, included the following: >> >> 6 Mallard >> 3 Northern Shoveler (flying north) >> 2 Gadwall >> 2 Redhead >> 47 Ring-necked Duck >> 100 Lesser Scaup (several definitely were Lesser Scaup) >> 3 Common Goldeneye >> 9 Bufflehead >> 2 Hooded Merganser >> 1 Common Merganser >> >> Also saw a Common Grackle flying over Rt. 252 several miles south of the >> park. >> >> ---- >> Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net >> Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html >> > ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html