[mou] merganser buildup underway on L. Pepin

Robert_Russell@fws.gov Robert_Russell@fws.gov
Wed, 1 Dec 2004 14:31:32 -0600 

--0__=09BBE5CEDFFC55B78f9e8a93df938690918c09BBE5CEDFFC55B7
Content-transfer-encoding: quoted-printable
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII






Birded the northern half of Lake Pepin above and below Lake City yester=
day.
Two groups of 200+ Common Mergansers north of Lake City on Wisconsin si=
de
and one huge group at milepost 71 (171?) on U.S. 61 about 3 miles below=

Wild Wings wildlife art store on Minnesota side.  No easy pullover and
shoulder just wide enough for a car's width so use extreme caution here=
 or
park farther south at pullovers and use a scope.  Estimate was rushed b=
ut
I'd guesstimate 20,000+/-- 5,000 with tens of hundreds of gulls soaring=

above and the activity frenetic.  Small flocks of Canada Geese, Mallard=
,
and C. Goldeneyes on northern part of lake which was wide open (backwat=
ers
frozen).  The mergansers gather here each fall feeding on gizzard shad
before the lake freezes and estimates in past years have ranged from 40=
,000
to 100,000 mergansers.  Bob Russell, USFWS=

--0__=09BBE5CEDFFC55B78f9e8a93df938690918c09BBE5CEDFFC55B7
Content-transfer-encoding: quoted-printable
Content-type: text/html; charset=US-ASCII
Content-Disposition: inline

<html><body>
<p>Birded the northern half of Lake Pepin above and below Lake City yes=
terday.  Two groups of 200+ Common Mergansers north of Lake City on Wis=
consin side and one huge group at milepost 71 (171?) on U.S. 61 about 3=
 miles below Wild Wings wildlife art store on Minnesota side.  No easy =
pullover and shoulder just wide enough for a car's width so use extreme=
 caution here or park farther south at pullovers and use a scope.  Esti=
mate was rushed but I'd guesstimate 20,000+/-- 5,000 with tens of hundr=
eds of gulls soaring above and the activity frenetic.  Small flocks of =
Canada Geese, Mallard, and C. Goldeneyes on northern part of lake which=
 was wide open (backwaters frozen).  The mergansers gather here each fa=
ll feeding on gizzard shad before the lake freezes and estimates in pas=
t years have ranged from 40,000 to 100,000 mergansers.  Bob Russell, US=
FWS</body></html>=

--0__=09BBE5CEDFFC55B78f9e8a93df938690918c09BBE5CEDFFC55B7--