-RBA
*Minnesota
*Minnesota Statewide
*April 8, 1999
*MNST9904.08

-Birds mentioned

• Pied-billed Grebe
• Horned Grebe
• Red-necked Grebe
• Double-crested Cormorant
• Great Egret
• Tundra Swan
• Snow Goose
• Ross's Goose
• Killdeer
• Greater Yellowlegs
• Lesser Yellowlegs
• Semipalmated Sandpiper
• Baird's Sandpiper
• Pectoral Sandpiper
• Common Snipe
• American Woodcock
• Bonaparte's Gull
• Short-eared Owl
• Northern Flicker
• Carolina Wren
• Mountain Bluebird
• Hermit Thrush
• Brown Thrasher
• American Pipit
• Loggerhead Shrike
• Yellow-rumped Warbler
• Vesper Sparrow
• Fox Sparrow
• Dark-eyed Junco

Hotline: Minnesota Statewide
Date: April 8, 1999
Sponsor: Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU)
Reports: (612) 780-8890
Compiler: Anthony Hertzel
Transcriber: Anthony Hertzel (tony@millcomm.com)
Re-transcriber: David Cahlander (dac@skypoint.com)

This is the Minnesota birding report for Thursday April 8th sponsored by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.

A flock of 27 TUNDRA SWANS was seen by Oscar Johnson as they flew over Brooklyn Park on April 2nd. Since then I have had many calls reporting Tundra Swans from around the state.

Steve Millard counted as many as 20 ROSS'S GEESE along Otter Tail County Road 2 in Western Township. This is about a mile north of the Otter Tail Prairie, and Steve reports finding many SNOW GEESE here as well. Two additional ROSS'S GOOSE were reported April 3 by Drew Smith along the Mississippi River at Sharr's Bluff in Dakota County. Also on the 3rd, 5 ROSS'S GEESE were reported from Lac Qui Parle County, but no location was given.

Many shorebird observations have come in this week. Species reported have been KILLDEER, GREATER YELLOWLEGS, LESSER YELLOWLEGS, PECTORAL SANDPIPER, BAIRD'S SANDPIPER, SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER, COMMON SNIPE, and AMERICAN WOODCOCK. Of the many places where shorebirds might be found, currently the best spot seems to be the Boone Lake area along Meeker County Road 12 on the Meeker-Renville County line.

Bill Marengo found a SHORT-EARED OWL at the Nature Conservancy's Plover Prairie in Lac Qui Parle County on the 3rd. Another SHORT-EARED OWL has been seen for several days at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport at the end of 66th Street in Richfield.

An AMERICAN PIPIT was seen April 4th by Christine Burton near the University of Minnesota St. Paul campus. This was along Larpenteur Avenue just east of Cleveland Avenue.

In Rochester, Olmsted County, a CAROLINA WREN was seen again at Leslie Kottke's feeder on April 8th. Please call Leslie before visiting. A second CAROLINA WREN was seen again along Mystic Street in St. Paul, which is the Battle Creek - Highland Park neighborhood.

The first MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD of the spring season was reported April 5th by Jeff Newman near the Sky Harbor airport at the end of Park Point in Duluth, St. Louis County.

And the first YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER was reported by Val Cunningham on the 7th from Snail Lake Regional Park in Shoreview, Ramsey County.

A DARK-EYED JUNCO of the Oregon race was in Ramsey County on the 9th, but no specific location was given.

Among the many other birds being reported by several callers were PIED-BILLED GREBE, HORNED GREBE, RED-NECKED GREBE, DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, GREAT EGRET, BONAPARTE'S GULL, NORTHERN FLICKER, LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE, HERMIT THRUSH, BROWN THRASHER, VESPER SPARROW, and FOX SPARROW,

The next scheduled update of this tape is Thursday April 15th.

Send your rare and unusual Minnesota sightings to our electronic hotline: MOU-net@biosci.umn.edu. To learn more, send a message (the message being these two words: info mou-net) to majordomo@biosci.umn.edu.

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