Yesterday I birded Carpenter Nature Center with Abrahm Simons from about 10 am-12:30 pm. Raptors included 33 BALD EAGLES, 36 RED-TAILED HAWKS, 1 COOPER'S HAWK, and 1 PEREGRINE FALCON. There were thousands of waterfowl flyovers, most of which were either too high up or too far out to ID. However, we were able to ID 5 different flocks of GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE, totaling around 400 individuals. Mixed in were 2 SNOW GEESE, 1 white phase and 1 blue phase. These flocks were all heading west/northwest. Other highlights included a couple of EASTERN BLUEBIRDS, KILLDEER and a singing PURPLE FINCH.
I went to Afton State Park afterward and added 3 TURKEY VULTURES, 1 NORTHERN HARRIER, 10 more Red-tails, 3 more Bald Eagles, and several Eastern Bluebirds. I looked/listened for, but did not find, Eastern Meadowlark. Last night at home in Cottage Grove I had 1 calling NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL (10th consecutive day) and 1 AMERICAN WOODCOCK displaying. This morning I found several FOX SPARROWS and one SONG SPARROW. Good birding. Peter Nichols Cottage Grove South Washington County ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
