[mou] Black-throated Blue, Dakota

[Jim Mattsson]

11:00am
Spring Lake Regional Park, Archery Range unit (Hastings area)

Had a brief look at a male with a small flock of Yellow-rumps. I first saw what looked like a black warbler-sized bird being chased by a YRWA and it landed in front of the trunk of a large tree about 30 m away, providing a nice background. The underside was mostly blocked by leaves but I could see the dark blue mantle (much darker than Cerulean), nape and crown as well as a prominent rectangular white patch toward the back of the wing. After only about 3-4 seconds it was chased away by another YRWA. I searched unsuccessfully for another 1/2 hour. This was the only group of warblers I found in the entire area, so finding the Yellow-rumps might be key to finding this bird if still present. 

Jim
Eagan