[mou] Snowy Egret, Carver County

[rdunlap at gac.edu]

Around 10:00 this morning I found an adult Snowy Egret at Chaska Lake  
in eastern Carver County. From Hwy. 41 in downtown Chaska, go west on  
1st Street to the Chaska ballfields. Park in the parking lot and take  
the main trail south which runs along the eastern side of the lake. In  
about two hundred yards the woods will open up and you will be able to  
view most of the lake looking west. The Snowy Egret was actively  
feeding on the close shore from here. It was still present when I left  
around 10:45.

Also on the lake was a flock of about 45 White-rumped Sandpipers.  
These birds could only be viewed with a scope, as they were feeding on  
the far western shore. Water levels at Chaska Lake are continuing to  
drop, and it looks like this will be good shorebird habitat throughout  
the summer and fall as long as water levels stay low. A scope is  
absolutely necessary though.

There was also a Yellow-billed Cuckoo calling loudly that could be  
easily heard from the lake viewing spot.

Bob Dunlap, back in Carver County for the summer