[mou] Late Western Grebe plus "northern" birds, Blue Earth County

[rdunlap at gac.edu]

I went birding today around Blue Earth County to see what effect  
today's unseasonably warm weather, not to mention the warmer fall  
overall, is having on the birds. There's something a bit disconcerting  
about it being almost mid-November while the outside temperature is  
somewhere in the mid-60's.

Yet despite this the birding was what I would expect for this time of  
year in south-central Minnesota. The only late bird I found was a  
Western Grebe on Madison Lake in northeast Blue Earth County. I also  
saw a Red-headed Woodpecker on Hwy.22 south of Mankato, but this  
species might be a permanent resident in these parts.

Around Madison Lake near where I found the grebe, I also found a  
Rough-legged Hawk and a Northern Shrike. On the way back to St. Peter,  
there was a decent-sized flock of Snow Buntings flying across Hwy. 22  
in Le Sueur County. And, at my house in St. Peter, there have been  
Pine Siskins flying around almost daily for the past month.

Bob Dunlap, Nicollet County