[mou] Favorite Birding Location

[Julian Sellers]

Favorite birding location?



In Minnesota:  The prairies of western and northwestern Minnesota.  Wide 
open spaces, silence (except for wind and bird sounds), and cool northern 
prairie birds.



In the U.S.:  Kissimmee Prairie and Corkscrew Swamp in my home state of 
Florida.  (Yeah, I like prairies-and cypress swamps.)  The Kissimmee Prairie 
(see http://www.audubonofflorida.org/conservation/kp.htm and 
http://www.floridastateparks.org/kissimmeeprairie/) is about as far from 
"civilization" in Florida as you can get.  Wide open spaces, etc., and cool 
southern prairie birds.  Corkscrew 
(http://www.audubon.org/local/sanctuary/corkscrew/) has a 2.25-mile 
boardwalk through part of "the largest remaining virgin bald cypress forest 
in North America."  Cool swamp wildlife, and exceedingly beautiful.



In the world:  Coastal North Friesland in the German state of 
Schleswig-Holstein, on the North Sea, near the Danish border.  It's low, 
wet, windswept, and sparsely populated.  The coastline is diked, with wet 
pastures and some crops inside the dikes.  Outside the dikes the water 
recedes at low tide to expose 500 square miles of mud flats.  A series of 
low off-shore islands, called Halligen (singular die Hallig), were separated 
from the mainland by a huge storm in the year 1362, and further eroded by 
storms through the centuries.  At low tide the mudflats reconnect the 
islands to each other and the mainland.  Several impoundments of fresh- 
and/or saltwater create great habitat for waterfowl and shorebirds. 
Millions of birds that nest from Greenland to Siberia funnel through here 
during the spring and fall migrations, and many species nest here as well. 
The main town in the area is Husum, known to Germans as the home of 
19th-century author and poet Theodor Storm.  Storm's best-known work, Der 
Schimmelreiter, tells the saga of the Dike Master who gave his life in a 
huge storm, and who is seen galloping his white horse (a Schimmel) on the 
dikes whenever a dangerous storm is brewing (wooo).  The traditional 
architecture is low-slung brick with thatched roof built on a raised mound. 
In farm houses, one end is the living quarters, the rest is the barn.  The 
seafood is delicious, the beer is a thing of beauty.  The Germans know the 
special charm of this place, but you won't see any Americans.  (How many 
tours have you seen that go north of the Rhein?)  If I get my act together, 
I will organize a birding trip there, perhaps in May, 2008.



Julian

St. Paul





----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Pastor Al Schirmacher" <PastorAl@PrincetonFreeChurch.net>
To: <mou-net@cbs.umn.edu>; <mnbird@lists.mnbird.net>; 
<wisbirdn@lawrence.edu>
Sent: Friday, June 23, 2006 3:23 PM
Subject: [mou] Favorite Birding Location


> As migration winds down, one starts contemplating - and questioning:
>
> So, what's your favorite birding location?  And, why that spot?
>
> Al Schirmacher
> Princeton, MN
> Mille Lacs & Sherburne Counties
>
> PS Leaning towards Horicon Marsh, but further thought needed.
>
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