this case, the kestrel is often seen by the

railroad tracks, and it is known to nest in

urban areas. The peregrines have nested

less than one-half mile away on the

Ward's Tower for the last six years. The

Vesper Sparrow would have to have been

a migrant, although l do not recall ever

seeing one in the area during the 33

years I have taught at Concordia. The

Yellow Warbler was also obviously a mi-

grant.

It ca n be seen that the best repre-

sented order is Passeriformes, suggesting

that no other order has been able to uti-

lize the urban habitat as well.

It was also noted that the American

Kestrel, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Downy

Woodpecker, Least Flycatcher, Swainson's

Thrush, Brown Creeper, and House Wren

were only seen in or near the small park.

This may underscore the importance of

urban parks, at least for a few species.

In April, courtship displays were ob-

served among Northern Cardinals, House

Sparrows, and House Finches (male feed-

ing female). April nesting activity was

seen among House Sparrows, American

Robins, and European Starlings.

Birds frequently observed in pairs in

April included America n Kestrels , Rock

Doves, Northern Cardinals, and Black-

capped Chickadees. In addition, the pair

of kestrels acted very territorial , never

leaving a certain area, and flying back

and forth and screeching when the stu-

dent observer was near.

The possible breeding species are

noted in Table 1; however, I suspect

there are others the students missed, such

as Mourning Dove, Blue Jay, Black-

capped Chickadee, and Common

Grackle, which are always present during

the breeding season.

Further Study

Hopefully, future classes will be able

to continue this study and watch for any

changes in species utilization. In addi-

tion, it would be interesting to check if

certain species primarily utilize certain

trees and/ or shrubs.

I would also encourage M.O.U. mem-

bers living in an urban area to select a

small area (at least six to eight square

b locks) and conduct similar surveys. If

they do, I would encourage them to

share their data.

Lite rature Cited

Buff, Sheila, 1993. Birding for Beginners.

NY: Lyons and Burford.

Hilton, Bill Jr. and Robert Askins, 1983.

Birds of the Minneapolis-St. Paul

Region.

Hunken, Jorie. 1992, Birdwatching for All

Ages. CT: The Globe Pequot Press.

Peterson, Roger Tory, 1980. A Field

Guide to the Birds of Eastern and

Central North America. Boston:

Houghton Mifflin Co.

2997 N. Ch atsworth, St. Paul MN

5511 3.

Proceedings of the Minnesota

Ornithological Records Conunittee

Kim R. Eckert, MORC Secretary

The following records were voted

on by mail January - July 1995

and found to be acceptable:

Barrow's Goldeneye, 1-2 January 1995,

South St. Paul , Ramsey County (Th e

Loon 67:61-62).

Lesser Black-backed Gull, 16-22

November 1994, Minneapolis, Henn-

epin County (The Loon 67:63-64).

Lark Sparrow , 17-18 December 1994,

near Faribault, Rice County (The

Loon 67:67).

Fal/1995

165