The drought has brought the mudflats back to Salt Lake in Lac qui Parle County, with some extending about 30 feet out. Viewing (and photography opportunities) on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning were excellent along the west shore road and around the peninsula/inlet, with big flocks of Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs, Pectoral, Baird, some Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers, Killdeer, a few Phalaropes, plus a lone Dunlin, lone Marbled Godwit, and a Semipalmated Sandpiper. In addition there were several thousand Tree and Barn Swallows staging on the power lines.
Also: As I was driving to the Cities Friday afternoon, I spotted a lone Buteo hovering over the ditch on the south side of Hwy 7, halfway between Cosmos and Corvuso. I've seen a few Red-Tails hover, briefly, during windy conditions, but there was no wind yesterday and the sustained hovering piqued my interest. I wasn't able to pull over, being sandwiched between two semi trucks, but slowed down as best I could and as I passed the bird, I saw the telltale markings of a "classic" Roughie with white underwings and dark patches, plus the dark belly and light tail, and the dainty beak compared to a Red Tail was apparent as well. A mile or so further, I was able to turn around and tried to get back for a picture, but the bird had flown off with whatever rodent it'd caught and so I only had a view through binoculars. Total viewing time hovering was 10-15 seconds. -- Jason M. Frank Ortonville Public Library Founder & Vice President Luddite Ornithologists League (LOL) Big Stone County, Minnesota ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net 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.
