[mou] Cass County field trip, Connecticut warbler, etc.

[marshall howe]

On June 18, I went to the Boy river region of Cass County to a site
recommended by Ben Wieland for Connecticut warbler.  [Here are his
directions: "The most reliable spot in the Boy River area is county road
135.  From the bridge over the Boy River on county road 8 go 3.4 miles north
and turn east on county road 63.  Follow that road for an additional 3.4
miles to 135.  After 3 miles or so on 135 you will come to a tamarack bog
that extends for about a mile further down the road.  Anywhere along the
next mile you may find Connecticut Warbler.  The earlier in the day you get
there the better."]
Along that mile or so between 6:15 and 7:45 a.m. I heard an estimated 8
separate singing Connecticut warblers, mainly on the north side of the road.
 At one point I heard 3 different individuals calling.  The morning was dead
calm, perfect both for hearing and for mosquitos.  Aggravatingly, the
repellent I thought I had was somewhere else, and this inhibited me from
searching for them (none were calling close enough to the road for
observation -- there is a zone of shrubby willows on each side between the
road and the tamaracks).  Also the ditches on both sides of the road were on
the deep side.  For anyone else visiting this site and wanting to see the
Connecticuts, I recommend both repellent and a firm plank for bridging the
moat.  Some other birds in the bog itself included:

Abundant:  Nashville warbler, hermit thrush, alder flycatcher
Less common:  Winter wren, veery, chestnut-sided warbler, yellowthroat
Miscellaneous:  Black and white warbler, pair of adult gray jays with one
black juvenile

Within a 5-mile radius I also found mourning and golden-winged warblers,
olive-sided flycatcher, and bobolinks.

Marshall Howe
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://moumn.org/pipermail/mou-net_moumn.org/attachments/20080620/5d5dc286/attachment.html