From tiger150@comcast.net Sun Jul 1 22:48:37 2007
From: tiger150@comcast.net (alyssa)
Date: Sun, 1 Jul 2007 16:48:37 -0500
Subject: [mou] New Backyard Bird(s)
Message-ID: <001c01c7bc29$94eed6b0$6401a8c0@A2400T2482>
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
------=_NextPart_000_0019_01C7BBFF.ABC7C880
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
I was pretty sure I saw a Carolina Wren today in my backyard in =
Golden Valley, Hennepin Co., but I could not relocate it. However, I did =
hear some strange vocalizations, including a descending "garrr", with a =
trill at the end, (lower and more musical; bubbly than Red-bellied =
Woodpecker.) There were at least two vocalizing. Has anyone heard such =
calls from Carolina Wrens?
While I was looking for them, a Dark-morph Rough-legged Hawk flew =
over my backyard. The wingbeats of this bird are pretty distinctive, as =
I learned with my brief view of this bird. She (most likely) was flying =
westward. A lifer--and a backyard--first! Good birding!
Alyssa DeRubeis
------=_NextPart_000_0019_01C7BBFF.ABC7C880
Content-Type: text/html;
charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
I was pretty sure I =
saw a=20
Carolina Wren today in my backyard in Golden Valley, Hennepin Co., but I =
could=20
not relocate it. However, I did hear some strange vocalizations, =
including a=20
descending "garrr", with a trill at the end, (lower and more musical; =
bubbly=20
than Red-bellied Woodpecker.) There were at least two vocalizing. Has =
anyone=20
heard such calls from Carolina Wrens?
While I was looking =
for them, a=20
Dark-morph Rough-legged Hawk flew over my backyard. The wingbeats of =
this bird=20
are pretty distinctive, as I learned with my brief view of this =
bird. She=20
(most likely) was flying westward. A lifer--and a backyard--first! =
Good=20
birding!
Alyssa =
DeRubeis
------=_NextPart_000_0019_01C7BBFF.ABC7C880--
From cicindela at gmail.com Sun Jul 1 12:17:26 2007
From: cicindela at gmail.com (Steve Roman)
Date: Sun, 1 Jul 2007 12:17:26 -0500
Subject: [mou] Western Kingbird
Message-ID: <000d01c7bc03$b40097d0$0200a8c0@STEVE1>
A Western Kingbird was on the perimeter fence of the Federal Cartridge
Company in Coon Rapids today. This was on the Round Lake Blvd side, near
the corner of Main St (242).
Steve Roman
Champlin, MN
cicindela at gmail.com
http://steveroman.naturescapes.net.
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~decke003//CicindelaTropicale/Home.htm
From JELLISBIRD at aol.com Sun Jul 1 15:07:02 2007
From: JELLISBIRD at aol.com (JELLISBIRD at aol.com)
Date: Sun, 1 Jul 2007 16:07:02 EDT
Subject: [mou] Clarke's Grebes at Osakis (3) one breeding-notes on same
Message-ID:
Having failed several times at both Thielke and Osakis to find a Clarke's
Grebe, I broke down and rented a boat ( Linwood Resort 1-800-458-5136, east
side of Lake Osakis). Friday was calm- glassy to a few ripples. I sorted
through Western Grebes nearest the shores-down the east side from the resort,
through town on the south side, into the reed bays on the SW corner and up the
western side. In the NW corner of the southern lobe of Lake Osakis (possibly
scannable from Douglas 10) I found the first Clarke's Grebe in the company of a
quite smaller Western Grebe with a small downy chick on its back. The Clarke's was
obvious, and made me realize how futile it had been to study the more
ambiguously plumaged Westerns (or possibly hybrids) I'd worked hard on earlier. The
bill was large and orange/gold colored (no yellow or green-yellow.) The white
around the eye was a large scallop of white-a full 3/4 to an inch of white
enveloping the eye on both sides and above. The back and flanks were very clearly
lighter in color than the Western.
While I was studying the Clarke's the Western had started diving and I
realized I'd lost track of the single chick. The (female?) Western brought a
minnow over to the Clarke's and the chick popped out from under the back feathers
or wing of the Clarke's Grebe. The chick had very light colored down with a
few faint darker highlights on the head. The chick was one of the very smallest
I'd seen that day-a few days or maybe several days old.
After a bit I continued North around the reed bed and within 15 minutes
found another Clarkes Grebe- again a larger, golden-billed bird with a white
scallop fully enclosing the eye-the same dimensions as the first. The back and
flank feathers did not seem as light on this bird as the first, but the light
was from a slightly different angle. This second bird was associating loosely
with three other birds-all Westerns. It may have been paired with one of the
Westerns, but they were all actively foraging so it was difficult to be sure.
There were no chicks in evidence with the foursome. After leaving this group I
found a third Clarke's Grebe- this one about 20 minutes later, again off the
reed beds on the western (Douglas) side of the lake. This bird was associating
with a much smaller Western Grebe, had a golden-orange bill, but the white
enveloping the eye was much narrower over the top of the eye, on the order of half
as much white as the first two. The white at the sides of the eyes was about
as wide as the first two-but narrower over the top. The sides and flanks were
lighter in color than the Western, but not as much (relatively) as the first
two. All three Clarke's Grebes were large birds (male?), had very large bills
(orange-gold) and while there was variation, the white clearly surrounded the
eyes.
In the Westerns there was much variability in size and in coloration of
the bills. Bill color ranged from greenish through yellow-green to yellow and
even yellow with golden tones. The dark caps on the heads ranged a lot- curved
down below the eye, straight line below the eye, straight line almost through
the eye, curved line through the eye. Bill size was remarkably variable also.
It would be interesting to know (if anyone does) whether a larger population
of Clarke's Grebes has size, bill size and bill color variation similar to the
Westerns. We hay have only larger Clarke's here in Minnesota.? I would welcome
informed comments. Thanks.
John Ellis-St. Paul
P.S. My outing took 3+ hours and I covered maybe 20-25% of the surface area
of the lake (though a good part of the reedy area of the southern part of the
lake.) The birds are very mobile.
**************************************
See what's free at
http://www.aol.com.