[mou] Dakota Co. (long & probably too chatty)

[Steve Weston]

On Saturday, about noon, being in Lakeville, I went to check out the prairie 
near Soberg WMA southwest of CR70 and I-35.   I had visited this spot about 
a week ago, and had thought I heard the Henslows singing intermittently a 
couple of times, but found it hard to separate the song out from the 
background activity of the Sedge Wrens.  This time a Henslows was singing 
consistently and the song was unmistakable, east of the intersection and 
south of the road,   although I never did see the bird.

If you haven't gotten your fix of Bobolinks for the year, they were in my 
face most of the time, perching on the fence and scolding me. This time the 
males only approached me, with the females in the background scurrying for 
food.  I suspect that the nest near the road that last week I was too close 
to, has fledged.   Last week I found Dickcissels, food in bill, on the 
fence.  This week they seemed less intent on scrounging, and were actually 
singing on the wire.   Other birds there included a brown Thrasher, noisy, 
but concealed Sedge Wrens all over, and a Marsh Wren.  Also found an Eyed 
Brown Butterfly.  I talked with one of the locals and found out that the 
owners do not hay these fields.

In another marsh in Lakeville I found a Spotted Sandpiper that I suspect was 
trying to draw me away from its nest.

Around the yard on Quiggley Lake the Barred Owls have fledged three, who are 
every night begging right outside our window.  The sound is closest to the 
scream of Red-tailed Hawk.  Last night they were practicing adult calls. 
The Baltimore Orioles are scarfing down the grape jelly.  Yesterday we had 
four females/immatures and Cherie tells me that there are two males.  Hairy 
and Downies with young are visiting the suet and the chickadees with their 
darker young ones are constantly parading through the sunflower feeder.  We 
have one Woody female that hangs around the yard, but I hope she is not the 
one that led between eleven and fourteen little ones out of one of our 
boxes.  Our lake is historically quite inhospitable to your Woodies, 
although I have never figured out why they fare so much more poorly than the 
Mallards.

I hope Cherie's list is not so long that I can't get out.

Steve Weston on Quiggley Lake in Eagan, MN
sweston2@comcast.net