[mou] birding with the hockema brothers{again}

[Steve and Sherry Watson]

Hello All,

     This last weekend was another one of my spectacular great and extremely 
fun weekends of birding, except for the **** black-headed gull at Spirit 
Lake.  John Hockema, Chris Hockema, Bob Dunlap, Brian Smith, and Bill Marango
watched the dang thing for 6 strait hours as the blasted bird preened and 
foraged in the lilly pads for food on the Iowa side occasionally taking 
flight and getting our hopes up just to go ten feet and sit back down 
again... dang bird.  Of course after several hours we finally pretty much 
lost hope and got hungry and decided to go eat but just to make things worse 
we get a call in the middle of my worst dairy queen meal I've ever eaten 
that Denny Martin sees the thing fly over the boarder.  So we go all the way 
back to lay in the hot boaring and PAINFUL sun as the dum thing goes sits 
around no different than before we ate.  So anyway about the highlights and 
good parts about my trip that probably sounds like a real bust right now and 
not the WORST part of the trip.  My dad and I drove down on the 7th but 
didn't do much birding.  The 8th we took a short trip into Carlos Avery to 
see and get a very good look at a red-shouldered hawk as it flew down the 
road showing off its banded tail and red shoulder patches, it then banked to 
fly into the dense forest and we saw the rufous on the breast and 
underside.  We also found an eastern wood-pewee and two families of nine 
total trumpeter swans.  That evening we met up with John Hockema at Lake 
Calhoune where I got a life bird lesser black-backed gull.  I had a 
beautiful view of the bird right off the bat which was cool and we also had 
a really good look at an adult thayer's gull which was a year bird.  We 
gazed at these awhile and a very late nighthawk and my dad left me with the 
crazy hockema who then dumped me with brother Chris at mid-night and we took 
off in search of screech owls.  We blasted the song from Chris's car and no 
more than ten minutes we had my life bird singing back to end a great day 
and start the weekend off well.  We got up early Saturday morning getting a 
little later start than hoped for and Chris cruzed us out to Spirit Lake 
where the Longgggggggg boaringggggggg sit came in watching the dog gon 
blasted rat of a black-headed gull while it probably laughed at us as it 
cuaght minnows dilly dallying in the Iowa side.  So after the frustrating, 
which John and I are now grumpy at, gull flew over the boarder while we were 
eating lunch we sit awhile and finally Bob, Bill, Chris and I abandon John 
sleeping on the rocks waiting for Ben Fricthmen {his wake up alarm if the 
gull fly's over} to yell its going, its going, its going, its gone {which 
not surprisingly never happened except for probably in Johns dreams}.  
Anyway us four went on quickly to seek out a great-tailed grackle.  We 
pulled up along a large pasture with a pond in the corner and lots of 
blackbirds flying around to immediately discover seven on the fence line 
adding at least a little excitment for the day but still not making up for 
the long wait at the gull sight even though these grackles were lifers.  A 
male several females, and a couple juveniles made up the bunch as we watched 
a couple minutes as they then flew out to forage along the pond edge.  No 
more than a half hour later we were back at well you've probably guessed the 
gull spot and waited AGAIN... to no avail.  From their we sped up to red 
rock prairie in cottonwood county and John and I hiked out in the ankle and 
knee high grass kicking up several sparrows which from what I could tell in 
the evening light were mostly savanahs.  It was a spectacular false way to 
end the day watching four silhouetted short-eared owls and their erratic 
flights over the grassland in the orange sun set with the gorgeous western 
meadowlarks singing their liquide, flute like gurgling songs and a few 
sparrows "seeting" and flushing out of the grass.  I even found a couple Le 
Conte's sparrows but then things got trashy agaiin when we hiked the mile 
across to the road on the other side hoping Chris would have enough sense to 
drive around and pick us up... but no that'd be to easy instead the little 
rascal doesn't even turn his lights on and we have to trek the mile back 
getting pricked by poky thistles in the dark to find him with the seat 
kicked back and him snoozing... that didn't go over very well!  But we 
forgave him...we had to he was the driver.  From their we shot down to 
Luvern to spend the night but I stayed up later to hang with bill and bob 
getting two and a probable third eastern screech owl just out of town in 
Rock County.  What was cool was between the two, the one in Rochester I 
heard the night before and then these ones I heard both of the sounds they 
make.  I then went to bead to catch some sleep and to rest for the long day 
which is now today.  We hit a couple sewage ponds early not finding tons and 
then started pracically at Blue Mounds State Park to find a Le Conte's 
sparrow, a lincoln's, Harris's, white-crowned, white-throated, and a couple 
other things.  We also had a large bunch of pine siskins which was 
interesting.  We were then heading to the beach when Chris and I spied in 
unison a eurasian collared-dove perched on a utility pole along the road 
which we watched awhile and the hockemas made me document.  That was pretty 
fun.  So after several stops later the time was now about mid afternoon and 
we again found our selves at last nights famous red rock prairie again which 
we all began to hike spreading out in hopes of scaring up an early smith's 
longspur.  I trekked along dodging thistles and enjoying the day of overall 
good fun birds and the nice weather and being thankful for the life birds 
and year birds I'd picked up so far.  About half way I'm not seeing a thing 
but just enjoying myself when I suddenly get the feeling to glance behind me 
which I did to see Bob excitingly waving his arms.  I'm thinking he either 
has something good or is just fooling around but when he keeps it up and I 
suddenly see John and the others heading back towards him standing along the 
fence line I think it must be something good and I begin charging back being 
the first to arrive but out of breath as I ask what all the comotion is to 
hear the answer Spragues pipit and I suddenly find my self frantically 
searching for the bird that was supposidly in the short grass about twenty 
feet way long the fence line.  Where is it, got to see it, halve to see it, 
please don't fly, oh come on where are you, I'm thinking hoping for at least 
a glance before it fly's but bill and his expert directions I find my bino's 
suddenly pointed right at the bird and me staring at it in aw at how 
unbelievable well I'm seeing one of probably the toughest birds to ever get 
a good view of.  Instead of a few glimpses the bird skulkily moves through 
the grass appearing in spurts right in plain open view for every one to 
see.  I could see all the feild marks perfect as day light and could 
destinguish at fifteen feet it as a juvenile with its white back and black 
scaling, real patterned and pale face with buffy kind of overall appearance 
and stocky bright pale orange bill and white wing bars, dark crown and pale 
legs.  I with the others observed it for a good fifteen minutes in aw and 
total exhilaration surging and boiling with excitment I don't know how I 
contained it but man it was sweet making up for the dissapointing black-
headed gull probably tougher especially when you see it, the whole it in 
plain open view not one blade of grass covering a peice of it at fifteen 
feet.  It was amazing.  it then decided it had enough of the excited group 
and as probably several of you know the hockema boy's you've probably seen 
them in full action when their extremely excited oh ya.  We expereinced the 
stair step like flight and large white outer tial feathers several times.  
Well that tops things off and was a spectacular way to end a great weekend 
despite the miss with the gull but it was a life bird though not in 
Minnesota.  Well good birding to all,

Josh Watson
Grand Marais

Oh P.S.

Thanks to all who joined and let me join them on this great weekend birding 
with the hockema brothers, again.