[mou] Purgatory Cr Shorebird Follow-up

[Howard Towle (Biochem-IHG)]

I arrived at the Purgatory Creek Wetland area in Eden Prarie about 7:30
PM. At first, there was only 1 Semi-palmated Plover and a couple of
Killdeer on the main island. Over the next 90 minutes, the shorebirds
there changed constantly. The first to show up was the breeding plumage
Ruddy Turnstone (a county first for me). This bird stayed throughout. Then
the Wilson's Plover was found. This breeding plummaged female spent almost
all its time on a small mud spit in the southeastern corner of the lake.
The area can be seen better from behind the tennis courts at the racquet
club. However, it did fly to the main island while Denny and Barb were
there to show off. Other shorebirds that came and went included:

Baird's Sandpiper (6, but only for about 5 mins)
Semi-palmated Plover (high count of 12)
Least Sandpiper
Semi-palmated Sandpiper (1 with a really long bill)

Not too bad for shorebird-deprived Hennepin County.

Howard Towle
Golden Valley, MN