[mou] MRVAC - Fort Ridgely State Park - Field Trip Report - 7/20 - 22, 2008

[CRAIG MANDEL]

Minnesota River Valley Audubon Chapter
Fort Ridgely State Park
Field Trip Report

July 20 - 22, 2008

5 - participants
111 - species of birds observed

Here's a quick report, on the recent field trip I lead to Fort Ridgley State 
park and some surrounding counties.  Some locations of note are as follow:

Shorebird locations:
Brown county
Sleepy Eye Sewage ponds

Nicollet county
East side of Highway 4, 1/4 mile North of the Minnesota River.

Renville County
Fairfax Sewage ponds

Sibley County
Gaylord Sewage ponds

Our group observed a total of nine species of shorebirds at the combined 
locations above and all the locations mentioned should remain good for 
shorebirds for some time to come.

Here are some of the species we observed on the trip:

Eared Grebe - Sibley county - About a dozen birds were observed on nests, on 
Swan Lake.
Western Grebe - Renville County - Several dozen Western Grebes were observed 
with young on Round Lake, which is several miles
                                  NE of the town of Fairfax.
              - Sibley county - Western Grebes with young were observed on 
Swan Lake.  Note that these birds are pretty far
                                from the road.  So morning may be the best 
time to check this lake out, before the heat waves
                                distort your viewing.
Least Bittern - Nicollet county - Observed in the large marsh on the East 
side of Highway 4, about 1/4 mile North of the
                                  Minnesota River.
Black-crowned Night-Heron - Renville County - NW side of Mud Lake.
Eastern Screech Owl - Nicollet county - Fort Ridgley State Park
Cerulean Warbler - Brown County - CR 10, just West of Eden Avenue.  A male 
Cerulean Warbler was observed at the boat access.
                                  This is a location that Cerulean Warblers 
were reported at over the last few years.
Lark Sparrow - Brown County - Highway 4, 1.5 miles South of CR 22.  Adult 
Lark Sparrows were observed here carrying food.
                              This is a location that has been previously 
reported.  Orchard Orioles were also observed here,
                              but we missed on Blue Grosbeaks.  Which have 
been reported from this location in past years.
Orchard Oriole - Brown, Nicollet & Renville counties

Craig Mandel
Minnetonka, MN
EgretCMan at msn.com