[mou] Say's Phoebe, Tuesday, 7 June

[Chu, Philip]

Following the old saying, "If at first you don't succeed, ...", I tried =
again for the Say's Phoebe in the gravel-pit area just north of the east =
end of CR 108 in Clay Co., and this time saw it - for about 10 mins. =
starting at 9:55 AM, and then again for a minute or two each at 10:50, =
11:40, 12:30, 1:00, and 1:30.  All of these observations occurred along =
the rim of embankments that form the northern and eastern boundaries of =
the pit (specifically, the easternmost 150 yds. of the north bank, and =
the northernmost 100 yds. of the east bank).

In my opinion, a good way to get a look at a phoebe is to go to the the =
northeastern corner of the pit, and to there climb up to the rim of the =
embankment; looking from the rim of the pit provides a much better view, =
particularly of perches that are "set back" from the rim a bit, and that =
are therefore not visible when you're standing down on the pit's floor.

By the way, I never saw two phoebes at once, and my views were never =
good enough to hope to recognize different individuals by plumage.

Phil Chu
Department of Biology
St. John's University
Collegeville, MN 56321=20