[mou] Hamden Slough NWR Common Moorhens have 6 young!

[Betsy Beneke]

Hello all from Northern Utah!

Bill and Mary Wyatt were at Hamden Slough NWR (Becker County) today and
found the pair of common moorhens with SIX young!  They alerted Bob and
Jennie Scherzer, Lakes Area Birding Club members who live at the north end
of the refuge, who also went to check out the new family, and they in turn
e-mailed me.  Just goes to show, you can move 1400 miles away, but still be
in the loop!

All goes well here in northern Utah - the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge
is really an awesome shorebird/waterbird refuge.  American avocet,
black-necked stilt and white-faced ibis nest here by the tens of thousands!
Snowy plovers also nest here and they are seen daily along the auto tour
route - they nest twice, and little tiny chicks were still appearing this
past week.  Add in really impressive numbers of migrant shorebirds, grebes,
pelicans, gulls, waterfowl, etc. and it's not difficult to see a quarter
million birds on the refuge at once!

Unfortunately, things are drying out fast this time of year, as we continue
into the 5th year of drought.  Spring and summer here are really
incredible...and I know a certain U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service employee who
can be easily bribed, with a little advanced notice, into giving personal,
"behind-the-gates" refuge tours for visiting Minnesota birders!

Betsy Beneke
Brigham City, Utah