[mou] St. Paul - RW Blackbirds, Raptors, Gulls, etc...

[Derek Bakken]

Hello all,

I was feeling a bit under the weather today and after spending all 
morning in bed I decided to take a short walk and get some fresh spring 
air.  I headed down to the Mississippi River in downtown St. Paul (near 
the highway 52 bridge over the river).

I was gone for just over an hour and only walked about 2 miles 
roundtrip but I saw 13 species of birds.

Bald Eagle - 2 Adults
RT Hawk - 1 - Soaring high
Peregrine Falcon - 1 - Heading east in a hurry
Gulls - 10 - Soaring too high to tell what species.  At least one was a 
Herring Gull.
Mourning Doves - 2 - In trees along the walking path
RW Blackbirds - 4 - Singing from the little marshy patches between the 
road and the walking path
Canada Geese - 5
Mallard - 4 (2 pairs)
Unknown Sparrows - 3 - They flushed from the weeds while I was 
photographing the RW Blackbirds.  I did not get a good look but they 
were not House Sparrows.  I have seen 3 American Tree Sparrows in the 
same area earlier this year.
Rock Pigeons
Crow
House Sparrow
Starling

I felt much better after that.


Derek Bakken
St. Paul, MN