Birding, not Finding (Nerstrand)

Melissa and I both have wanted to see Red-headed Woodpecker so we headed down to Nerstrand Big Woods SP to see if we could track down the few that have been seen at the visitors center feeders.

On the way we stopped by Randolph to see about some Longspurs or Snow Buntings. No luck on that front, but we gave a good effort. I did get out to scope a Red-tailed Hawk at one point and saw a small flock that looked good. I saw it land and we moved the car to a point just past the church to get a look. I was able to find the flock that turned out to be American Tree-Sparrow working the grassy burm area. Kind of a miss, but also a good education on tracking a flock of small birds and gettings glass on them.

We got to the park and worked hard for over an hour with no luck. I felt I was getting call response from the woodpeckers, but couldn't see anything and the possible call was faint enough that it may have been wishful thinking.

After leaving we decided to look for Eurasian Collared Dove in Vermillion again as we had missed on the prior trip. This time we walked the main strip to the end and back for a snack at the gas station. As we got back to the car luck favored as Melissa spotted 1 and then another working a feeder just feet behind our parked car at the church. Probably our best looks in the 3 times we have seen them in Vermillion. A good year bird added to the list.

Next up we drove up to Hastings to check out Point Douglas Park and see what we could find in the open water. I was aware of sightings recently for a female Greater Scaup. That was pretty much the first bird we saw and were able to id the bird pretty quick hanging close to a Common Goldeneye. I found out later that day Kevin Smith listed the bird on eBird also within about 45 minutes of when we did. Also helped a local birder id the Scaup and it turned out to be a lifer for him so he was pretty happy.

We scoped plenty of Common Merganser and a few Bald Eagle, but that was pretty much it. On the way to Hudson for some late lunch and early dinner we spotted a 50+ strong group of Turkey that was flagged by eBird for numbers. It was a massive group of birds. They go in as my 58th bird of the year, but 57th for MN. It will be a fun year to see how my all state number grows with the future trip to South Dakota coming up in July.

It was a fun day of birding with Melissa and finding a few things. Guess we will have to target the Red-headed again in the future. Melissa also did show some interest in going to see birds up in the bog and north shore so that might happen if weather can hold a bit in the near future.