[mou] Report of dipper seen n. Minn last week

[Jim Williams]

In Wednesday's Minnepolis Star Tribune I wrote about the handful of=20
reported sightings of American Dipper in Minnesota. I suggested that=20
visitors to the Boundary Waters area this summer be alert for the bird.=20=

I received the following reply Wednesday afternoon. After the first=20
message, I asked Mr. Petschl for specifics, like when he saw the bird=20
he describes as an American Dipper.

Like, last week.

I spoke with him this morning by phone. He seems certain of his=20
identification of the bird. He describes it as a chunky, non-descript=20
gray bird, no markings, moving from rock to rock in the stream, and=20
occasionally disappearing beneath the surface. The location of the=20
sighting is a two-hour paddle from the put-in point.

Jim Williams
Wayzata

FIRST MESSAGE FROM WILLIAM PETSCHL

I=92m no experienced birder, but=85 I believe my friends and I have just=20=

seen this bird south of the Gunflint Trail, three portages from the=20
Tuscarora lodge. We were waiting for a slow moving church group to=20
clear out, and paddled around the corner to view the falls. A small=20
grey bird flittered from side to side, from rock to rock, and then=20
under the water. Now I=92ve seen this bird on television (Marty=20
Stoffer?), and I had no idea they were rare in Minnesota. If you like I=20=

can pin point the spot for you. It was near the north end of the=20
portage from Cross Bay Lake to Rib Lake.

William J. Petschl
Vice-President of Investments
Van Clemens & Co., Inc.

SECOND MESSAGE. following request for more info:

Subject: RE: American dipper

Well Jim, it was last Thursday 5/19/05, about 11 am. The water fall
is 6 or 8 feet tall coming into Cross Bay Lake. I think we spooked the=20=

bird
a little by paddling so close to the falls, and when we drifted back,=20
that=92s
when we saw it jumping from rock to rock and the under the water. The
weather was overcast and drizzly, maybe forty degrees. There wasn't a=20
lot
of flying insects at that time, however over the next three days several
hatches had occurred. (I've got the welts to prove it.) The BWCAW entry
point is #50.

William J. Petschl
Vice-President of Investments
Van Clemens & Co., Inc.