[mou] Birding along I-94 to Fargo

[Michael Hendrickson]

Sounds like a Baird's Sandpiper.

Mike H.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Steve Weston" <sweston2@comcast.net>
To: "Mou-net" <mou-net@cbs.umn.edu>; "mnbird" <mnbird@lists.mnbird.net>
Sent: Saturday, August 21, 2004 2:17 AM
Subject: [mou] Birding along I-94 to Fargo


> Work sent me to Fargo today.  A beautiful day for a drive and time to stop
and look at some shorebirds.
>
> Red-tailed hawks along the way out were all lighter than I am use to
seeing in the cities, especially on their heads.  One
> pair of hawks sitting on hay bails on the north side of I-94 just east of
mile 118 near Osakis looked like Ferruginous, but
> at 70+mph, all I could say for sure was that they were worth a second
look.
>
> Stopped at Barnesville on the way back and checked out their very birdy
sewerage ponds.  Found an unidentified sandpiper
> (described below) that I studied a while and:
> Red-necked Phalaropes (5)
> Eared Grebe
> good variety of ducks
> At least eight varieties of shorebirds plus
>
> one unidentified sandpiper:
> smaller than lesser yellowlegs, estimated size 7 to 9".   body shaped like
yellowlegs, but yellow-green legs were shorter.
> Bill was longish (~ 1.5 x length of head), dark,thick at base and slightly
decurved.
> Crown was rusty brown and streaked. Had a line through the eye.  wings
(and back?) was rich brown and sculpted. Primaries
> were dark with light edges.
> neck and breast was a rich buffy color and essentially unstreaked,
although there was some faint streaking down the sides.
> Belly and under tail were white.
> Tail and upper tail coverts were white, with a black terminal  smudge on
tail, but might not be on all the tail feathers,
> The tail is unique, and easily marks the bird as the target.
> The bird does not match anything I can find.  Perhaps someone else will be
able to look at it and recognize it.  In
> retrospect I believe it is an aberrant.
>
> Steve Weston on Quigley Lake in Eagan
> sweston2@comcast.net
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> mou-net mailing list
> mou-net@cbs.umn.edu
> http://cbs.umn.edu/mailman/listinfo/mou-net
>