[mou] Backwater Birding

[Kelly Larson]

Closed on Easter Sunday! The drizzle and clouds couldn't keep me from
maximizing my day off... Went fishing/birding/canoeing in the backwaters
around Bay City. WI.(directly across the river from Red Wing). It was
hard to keep my eye on the bobber, The trees were creeping with
Yellow-rumped Warblers and Ruby-crowned Kinglets. They were everywhere,
hundreds! Both species frequently foraged close to the ground. Even in
the flooded woods, they checked for insects close to the water line.
Bass fishing was pretty good in the shallows, casting to the base of
trees with crank baits in the flooded parts. I wondered if Bass &
Northern Pike took advantage of spring migration. Do fish ambush
warblers and other songbirds as they push through the area in waves? The
Latin name for Northern Pike is Esox lucsius, the water wolf! I checked
the stomach contents of two Northern & one fine Bass when I got
home....all empty.

Bald Eagle on nest, very close view from the canoe
Green-winged Teal
Wood Duck
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Intimate observations...separate pairs feeding and preening in the
flooded woods.
Also:
Pied-billed Grebe
American Coot
Canada Geese
Wild Turkey - Heard gobbling
Hairy, Downy, Red Bellied Woodpecker, Northern Flicker

Kelly Larson
Red Wing, MN