[mou] Blue Earth BIG Days 5/17 and 5/21 (a bit long)

[Chad Heins]

Hey birders,

Bob Dunlap already gave you the scoop about Saturday's BIG day (155 species highlighted by a Clark's Grebe on Indian Lake WMA which is no longer present--the grebe that is; the WMA is still there).

More details: 14 waterfowl, 5 grebes, 4 herons, 6 hawks, 12 shorebirds, 3 owls, 6 woodpeckers, 6 flycatchers, 5 vireos, 6 swallows, 5 thrushes, 20 warblers, 13 sparrows, 8 blackbirds, 3 finches.  High winds in the afternoon really presented the greatest challenge of the day.  Pine Siskin was heard at the campus of Bethany Lutheran College and at Minneopa State Park.  Eurasian Collared-Dove was seen in Mapleton, MN near the feed co-op along CR7 just south of its junction with Hwy 22.

That 155 species was a new record for a Blue Earth County big day (per MOU website).  It was also short-lived.

Yesterday, Ben Inniger and I followed the same route with some modifications and were able to find 157 species.  The biggest highlight was the pair of Common Moorhens heard at the Indian Lake WMA while scanning for the Clark's Grebe.

Details: 13 waterfowl, 2 grebes, 4 herons, 7 hawks, 12 shorebirds, 3 owls, 6 woodpeckers, 7 flycatchers, 4 vireos, 6 swallows, 6 thrushes, 25 warblers, 11 sparrows, 10 blackbirds, 2 finches.

Other highlights: 
@ Louisiana Waterthrush below Minneopa Falls (sang twice downstream from the bridge but was never seen)
@ Kentucky Warbler heard at Williams Nature Park (second kiosk on right-hand trail)
@ Yellow-bellied Flycatcher at Williams Nature Park
@ Peregrine Falcon hunting pigeons in downtown Mankato
@ Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow (seen at Indian Lake WMA and 4 individuals calling at Cobb River WPA northeast of Mapleton)
@ Red-necked Phalarope at Mapleton Sewage Ponds
@ Eurasian Collared-Dove in Mapleton, MN
@ All owls were seen and heard (interestingly, all birds that were seen were not heard and all birds that were heard were not seen)

We didn't miss much for warblers and had we known that the warbler record was 26 we may have spent more time in appropriate habitat.  Warbler species missed: Cerulean, Prothonotary, Black-throated Green, Connecticut (at least those regularly occurring).

We hit a wall around 3:30 in the afternoon.  At that point we were at 153 species and just couldn't find anything.  Staked out grebes and Gadwall failed to produce.  We couldn't find a Red-headed Woodpecker or a Belted Kingfisher to save our lives (never did).  A flooded field that had harbored 30+ shorebirds on Saturday was empty).  Fortunately we found just enough to break the record.

A couple other interesting notes: While both of these BIG days were spent solely in Blue Earth County, only the eastern half was birded for the most part.  Doing two BIG days in a week also has made me appreciate how much birds move around between pieces of habitat.  Ducks in particular were gone from the wetlands Bob and I saw them in on Saturday but showed up on entirely different wetlands on Wednesday.

Happy birding!

Chad Heins
Mankato, MN