[mou] Brant Update 5/22

[Drewbec at aol.com]

My wife and I saw the Brant this morning between 9:45 and 10:00. It was on  
the water, close to shore, at the observation deck by the Bayfront Festival 
Park  pavillion (just west of the Aquarium, for others from out of town). We 
found its  behavior to be somewhat wary. The bird was swimming towards us when we 
first saw  it at about 200 yards distance. As we approached and it became 
aware we  were looking at it, it did an about-face, and swam away and up the canal 
channel  on the west side of the park. Moving in as close as we dared, the 
bird  again did an about-face after going about 25 yards up the canal, and swam  
back towards the lake harbor. It nervously clattered its bill repeatedly as  
it swam past our position, but we couldn't hear any vocalizations. It swam out 
 about 20-25 yards into the the lake, heading east. As we turned to go, the 
bird  lifted off, and flew in several wide circles around the grassy area at 
the  pavillion, but never landed. We were hoping it would land and feed to  get 
views out of the water to study the halix on the right leg. There was a  group 
of young people playing some organized frisbee game on the grass, and once  
the bird came close to flying through the path of the thrown frisbee (to cries  
of , "Get the goose, get the goose!"). It then flew back over to the lake and 
 headed west towards the industrialized area, about a quarter mile distant, 
and  landed there near the shore.
 
Drew and Becky Smith
Eagan, Dakota County



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