[mou] shorebirds, Murphy-Hanrehan (Scott Co.)

[Bruce Fall]

"Southwest Marsh" at Murphy-Hanrehan Park, Scott Co., has rather good  
shorebird habitat and although diversity is modest, numbers have been  
steadily increasing over the past 10 days. This morning (7-27) there  
were: Killdeer - 40, Lesser Yellowlegs - 8, Solitary Sandpiper - 48,  
Spotted Sandpiper - 2,  Semipalmated Sandpiper - 2, Least  
Sandpiper-35, Pectoral Sandpiper - 6, Stilt Sandpiper - 1. The marsh,  
in the SW part of the park, is N of 175th St. E, between Murphy Lake  
Blvd. and Natchez Ave., but is not visible from the road. The best  
shorebird habitat is in the far west pool, E of horse trail marker  
34. Although I did not record them today, all summer there has been a  
pair of Sandhill Cranes in this marsh; I suspect breeding but haven't  
confirmed it. A map (PDF) of the park can be found at: http:// 
www.threeriversparkdistrict.org/parks/maps/Murphy_summer.pdf

Bruce A. Fall
Minneapolis