I had a chance to get out in search of Snowy and Short-ea Hey birders, I had a chance to get out in search of Snowy and Short-eared Owls on Saturday (no luck on either), but I did find a couple of good birds.
On 169th St. east of CR32 there is much grassland and there were several pheasants in the area. I also found two flocks of Gray Partridge in this area as well. Some benevolent conservationist has put out some hardware cloth feeders along the roadside with shell corn and the birds are appreciating the help. An immature Red-headed Woodpecker was seen visiting one of the feeders and this is my first winter record for this species in the county. Further west on 166th St. (south and west from 169th) there was another group of pheasants and two Song Sparrows--another new winter record for me. Also in this vicinity I had a couple of flocks of Snow Buntings, a couple of flocks of Horned Larks, and a single Lapland Longspur. Much habitat but not many birds. I did have a Northern Shrike just southwest of Lake Crystal on Hwy 60 on the northwest side of the road as well. One other note--ice is patchy and drifting has occurred in some areas. Use caution driving in this area. Happy birding! Chad Heins Mankato, MN ---- Join or Leave mou-net:http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives:http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
