[mou] Purgatory Creek shorebirds

[Dennis/Barbara Martin]

When Howard called last night we went right down.  By the time we got there
in 15 minutes a large flock of semi plovers (12). bairds, least , and semi
sandpipers had come in. Along with the wilsons and ruddy that made for a
good flock of shorebirds.  By 8:45 all had left except the wilsons.  We had
lost track of the ruddy, while the rest had migrated after the storms.

The point of this is that this mud flat probably will continue to produce a
variety of shorebirds for the next few days as the birds move through the
twin city area.  Just like Randy commented about Kandiyohi County, when you
find a mud flat area the birds will cycle through on a fairly rapid basis
because there is so little mud to be found this year.

The Ruddy, and the large flock of mixed shorebirds, were generally using the
mud flat in the middle of the water not far from the bridge.  The wilsons
preferred the small spit of mud on the east shore behind the athletic club.

This area is just west of the Eden Prairie shopping center.  Go south from
Highway 5 on Prairie Center Drive.  The access to the walking paths is from
a couple of good sized parking lots on the west side of Prairie Center Drive
just over one block south of 5.

Dennis and Barbara Martin
dbmartin@skypoint.com