[mou] Goodhue County

[Steve Weston]

Here is a little more information on locations which we birded on Sunday for 
which Richard Wood provided a list of our birds.

Sand Creek Point is accessed from the trail head and parking lot at the 
Villa Maria turn off (CR2)from US 61 between Frontenac Station and Lake 
City.  We hiked through a high quality flood plain forest habitat out to 
Lake Pepin.  We scoped past the yachts anchored on the beach, examining the 
point into the lake.  Although we could see only Ring-billed Gulls, we 
decided to take the walk and were pleasantly surprised by the birds: 
Franklin's Gull (1), Caspian Terns (3), White-rumped Sandpipers (4), and 
Semi-Palmated Sandpipers (10).

The Red-headed Woodpecker was clinging to a small dead snag in the marsh at 
the bridge just before Villa Maria on CR2.  The bird just stayed on the 
snag, until lunch fley by and then catching it on the fly.

We accessed the Frontenac prairie by driving past the park entrance on CR 2, 
parking on the road by the trail that crosses CR2 just before the road 
enters the town.  Birds on this grassland trail included Bell's Vireo and 
Orchard Oriole both apparantly nesting in bushes and treees in the field 
along the trail. In the grass we found numerous Eastern Meadowlarks and some 
Grasshopper Sparrows.

Another great location was the bike path off of the Cannon Bottoms road, 
which was very birdy.  Although we found little new here,, what we did see, 
was usually great views.  Birds along there included Blue-winged Warbler, 
Redstart, Norhtern Oriole, and Yellow Warbler.

Later I will send details on the butterflies of the day.

Steve Weston on Quiggley Lake in Eagan, MN
sweston2 at comcast.net