Hi All, I've seen the godwits and other shorebirds from two locations, both accessed from Aqua Lane, east of Lake Drive.
For the shortest walk but distant views, park in the first lot after crossing the bridge on Aqua Lane. Walk south on the grassy trail and veer down to the lake’s edge at the Rice Creek Snowmobile Club Trail sign. There is getting to be a worn path through most of the cattails. The godwits have been straight out from there, in the same area as a big pelican flock. They are very distant but do stand out in a scope view because of their size. I have seen Lesser Yellowlegs and Stilt Sandpipers along the shore close to this spot. For better views (and a bit of adventure!), park in the second lot after the bridge. Walk south on the paved trail that crosses Aqua Lane right before this lot. After about 0.7 mile of walking, you'll see 5-6 vertical sticks that the Garrett Wee stuck in the grass alongside the trail. They show where to cut in to the lake. Thank you Garrett! There's a dirt trail that starts at the sticks, but I only followed it for a few yards before heading toward the cattails. I had to bushwhack through about 20 yards of cattails to get to the lake's edge. Knee boots came in handy. From this location, the godwits were a lot closer and it was much easier to see any smaller shorebirds in the same area. The lake level is much higher than it was a week ago, but with a few sunny days ahead, maybe it will start to go back down. Erik Collins Hugo, MN ________________________________ From: Minnesota Birds <MOU-NET@LISTS.UMN.EDU> on behalf of MOU <m...@moumn.org> Sent: Sunday, August 29, 2021 5:36 PM To: MOU-NET@LISTS.UMN.EDU <MOU-NET@LISTS.UMN.EDU> Subject: [mou-net] Rice Lake Godwit (Posted by Tom Gilde <thegl...@q.com> via moumn.org) Could someone provide some directions for accessing Rice Lake. The canoe is really only an access for canoes. I spent some time bushwhacking but abandoned that plan since I didn’t know what part of the lake to try to get to. Thanks. ---- 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. ---- 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.
