December 1, 2011 Explore Minnesota Birding Report Update
This is a great time to travel Hwy. 61 along the Mississippi River to view amazing numbers of waterfowl, including large numbers of tundra swans. Weaver Bottoms in the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge is an excellent place to view a variety of species. And thousands of Sandhill Cranes are making their way through Minnesota. Many of these birds stage at the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge for several weeks to put on weight before the remainder of their trip south.
The following is a list of recent, significant sightings:
On November 25th, Chad Heins reported a possible adult California Gull at Gilfillin Lake in northeastern Blue Earth County. On the 29th, he viewed what may have been the same bird on the south side of Eagle Lake.
A Snowy Owl was reported on the Swift-Big Stone County Line on November 29th in a field south of State Highway 7 between Appleton and Correll. In northwestern Minnesota, Snowys were reported along Marshall County Road 36 just east of Audubon Center. Specific locations include: three miles north and one mile west of Radium on Marshall County Road 14; seven miles north of Red Lake Falls in Red Lake County on State Highway 32; at the intersection of Marshall County Road 6 and 350th Avenue NW; and in Kittson County south of Hallock at the junction of 450th NW and County Road 7.
Lars Benson found a Short-Eared Owl on the 29th at the restored prairie at St. Johns University in Collegeville in Stearns County. This is on the south side of County Road 159, just west of I-94.
On November 30th, Bruce Baer found a Winter Wren in the brush behind the kiosk at the Bass Ponds area of Bloomington in Hennepin County.
A Summer Tanager is still being seen at the Carpenter Nature Center in Hastings in Washington County. The nature center is located at 12805 Saint Croix Trail. John Zakelj found a Townsend's Solitaire there on the 27th in a tree near the Bluff Trail. On the 29th, Al Schirmacher reported three Townsend's Solitaires in Sherburne County at Ann Lake within the Sand Dunes State Forest. To view these birds, take U.S. Highway 169 to Sherburne County Road 4, then west to County Road 5. Turn south, and where County Road 4 turns west, travel east on the dirt road to the first small parking lot on the right.
Information in this statewide birding report is provided by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU), Minnesota's oldest and largest bird club. To submit a bird sighting, email the MOU birding report compiler at rba@moumn.org.
Information in this statewide birding report is provided by and financially supported by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU), Minnesota's oldest and largest bird club. The report is composed from reports submitted by MOU members and other birders throughout the state. You can support this weekly birding update by submitting your bird reports to Anthony Hertzel at axhertzel@gmail.com or by calling the hotline directly at 763-780-8890 and leaving a detailed message. MOU members receive the organization's quarterly journal "The Loon," and the bi-monthly magazine, "Minnesota Birding." For membership information, send an e-mail message to our membership secretary at membership@moumn.org
Please Note: Explore Minnesota Tourism grants you permission to distribute this information freely to friends, family and others for personal use. However, any republication of the materials, full or partial, in electronic, print or other format, must prominently include the following statement: "The information in this report is provided courtesy of the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union and Explore Minnesota Tourism."
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