[mou] Red-necked Grebe,Bonaparte's Gull-Meeker Co.

[connyb]

This morning Leslie Marcus and I went out to Kandiyohi Co to look for the Mountain Bluebird found by Erica Sitz yesterday.  We arrived at the location posted by Randy at 9:50 and saw the Mountain Bluebird sitting on a wire beside the road about 40 feet away.  What a breathtaking sight to see that beautiful bluebird drop down to the ground hunting, then return to the wire.  We got out of the car and watched it in the scope for 30 minutes, then it started to move down the line away from us feeding.  We packed up turned around, and parked on the opposite side of the road to enjoy it sparkling in the sunlight for another 15 minutes, what a terrific sight!

On the way back we stopped in Meeker Co, Lake Ripley in Hutchinson.  To our delight we saw a Red-necked Grebe, in with a nice mix of ducks, and Pied-billed Grebes.  There were Tree Swallows zinging around, and Double-crested Cormorants on the lake.

At the Dassel Sewage Ponds we saw our first Bonaparte's Gull of the year floating around, then watched it fly back and forth over the ponds.  What a great day to be out in the warm weather enjoying the Spring Migration!!!

Conny Brunell
Richfield, Hennepin Cty
connyb@mycidco.com