[mou] Forster's Terns, Dakota Co.

[connyb]

This morning Susan Schumacher and I went out to Lake Byllesby.  While we were watching a flock of 50 Pectoral Sandpipers, we heard the familiar kerrr of the Forester's Tern.  We looked up and that beautiful tern was hovering, white tail split, black cap and large orange bill with a black tip visible then it dove straight down into the water with a big splash!  We enjoyed this sight so much we completely forgot about the shorebirds.  American White Pelicans, Double-crested Cormorants, and Bonaparte's Gulls were streaming by constantly.  There were Great Egrets, Chipping Sparrows, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and Yellow-rumped Warblers also.

In Hennepin County on Lake Calhoun we watched 6 Horned Grebes, and those gold feathers on their head just glowed with the sunshine on them.  There were 5 Common Loons, and a bigger variety of ducks has moved in besides the Red-breasted Mergansers from last week.

Conny Brunell
Richfield, Hennepin Cty
connyb@mycidco.com