[mou] Birding last week in Breckenridge, Mn. area.

[Forest & Kirsten Strnad]

Greetings:
 
  We left Monday morning and stopped at the Albany, Mn. sewage ponds  There we saw Wilson Phalropes 25-30, Savannah Sparrow, Cliff Swallows, a Willet, and Tree and Cliff Swallows.  Across the road from the sewage ponds we saw a Bald Eagle sitting on its nest.
   
  Our host and hostess for the week were Gordon and Artis Martinson, with whom we have birded in their area and in our area for the past 20 years.  They are good birders,  At breakfast Wednesday morning we were happy to see a Black-headed Grosbeak stop by their bird feeder outside their breakfast area.  It was so different from the Baltimore and Orchard Orioles that had been feeding on the oranges  It was a much darker bird, with more black than the Baltimore Orioles. We noted the short grose bill and that it was eating seeds, not feeding on the orange halves.
   
  We had a small warbler wave north of Breckenridge, west of Rothsay including Wilson, Mourning, Magnolis, Yellow, Tennessee and Blackburnian warblers.
   
  Martinsons and we noted the abundance of Bobolinks. 
   
  Friday we birded in Clay County hoping to see the Burrowing Owl as reported by Connie Norheim.  We were fortunate in that we did get to see it. It was located about 30-40 feet south of the pile of dirt Connie mentioned.  We aso were fortunate that we got to see the Red-headed Woodpecker in a dead tree north of Moorhead across from Oak Mound School.
   
  We also found a Sprague 's Pipit and many Marbled Godwits in Felton prairie area. In one of the pot holes south of CR 108, we saw a Common Loon.  We noted that there were more Eastern Kingbirds than Western Kingbirds.
   
  For four days of birding we saw 101 species.
   
  Forest Strnad
Faribault, MN.. 
   
   

       
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