[mou] Nicolett and Blue Earth counties today

[rdunlap@gac.edu]

This afternoon I birded both Nicolett and Blue Earth counties.  At Swan Lake in
Nicolett County, I birded from the southeast side of the lake at the
Conservation Club access/parking lot.  From here I walked out onto the grassy
point and scanned the lake.  Present were:

-probably over a thousand American Coots
-a Horned Grebe in nonbreeding plumage
-a single, heard-only Black-bellied Plover--this bird was heard well for about a
minute--the hard part is that there are no mudflats in the vicinity of this
area, which makes me wonder if there is shorebird habitat somewhere in the
middle of the lake--last week I had a flock of unidentified sandpipers flying
around as well

In Blue Earth County, I birded the Mapleton sewage ponds and found a large,
mixed flock of Canada Geese and Cackling Geese.  The Canadas slightly
outnumbered the Cackling--my impressions were that the flock contained just
under 60% Canada and a little over 40% Cackling, with a few Lesser Canadas
mixed in as well.  There were no shorebirds present other than a Wilson's Snipe
that was feeding on the grass at the edge of the ponds.

Bob Dunlap, Nicolett County