Sunday evening, my friend Don and I walked at a lake area/park south of town. Trees are not yet fully leafed out so we can still see nests, some vacated, some in use. I aimed my monocular at an especially large nest and discovered it was inhabited by a Great Horned Owl, sitting on her eggs. No camera, of course, but I will go back later this week. Not much later, a boisterous flock of tree swallows swirled above. We discovered a bunch sitting on a tree branch in a straight line, the classic tree sparrow pose. They looked just like the swallows in this photo (although we did not have snow falling):
Monday morning, I rolled out of bed at 5:30 AM to meet up with Don again at a lake north of town, to fish this time. While he successfully hooked another walleye, I found myself distracted by a bird that looked like an Avocet. Had the camera this time, and tonight I uploaded the days photos: yep, an Avocet.
I also watched this lone Tree Swallow looking for a meal.
After Don went his way for the day, I headed over to Long Lake National Wildlife Preserve. During my March visit the ice was only partially melted. Then I saw dozens of juvenile Bald Eagles, feasting on winter kill fish. They are long gone, probably above the Arctic Circle by now. Today I saw the birds who are staying for the breeding season: Terns, a multitude of ducks, Piping Plovers, more Avocets, and lots of Blackbirds (both Yellow-Headed and Red-Winged. Canada Geese of course. Their combined songs are a symphony. I stayed out about 6 hours, some of it spent napping in the van. Here is an overview of my day at Long Lake:
Those piping plovers mentioned on the sign are feeding below, in quite shallow water:
Yellow-Headed Blackbird:
Shovelers, trying to get females to follow.
Canada Geese babies are hatching around here. Here is a mom or dad getting quite time : )
Haven’t’ identified this guy yet. Love the white eye stripe
Serene section of Long Lake:
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