Some additional sites have come into my view and I wanted to get them down...
Sunfish Lake Park: I have birded this once and done ok, but I have not come anywhere close to exploring all 9 miles of trails and gotten to know the area and what species to truely expect. I think this place could be a great resource and add to the value of Lake Elmo Park Reserve that is very nearby.
Woodbury Open Space: This is a slice of land on the east edge of Woodbury just off of Manning that appears to be a tract of forest land. Not sure what to expect, but with a small parking area and possible trails loop I would like to explore it and see if anything will put it on the map.
Carver Lake: This area in Woodbury is pretty developed, but with the park and lake it may be hiding some gems. Worth a look one day just to see what it looks like and assess the birding value myself.
Ojibway Park & Tamarack Nature Preserve: These areas are wildcards and maybe small enough that they don't provide much value. Also satellite images seem to indicate the water areas may be very low and grown over. I've heard so little about these areas that I don't know if anyone ever birds them or if they have been birded and are worthless from that respect. That is why I'd like to adventure a bit and see what I can see.
Woodbury Various Open Spaces: Various other open space designated locations exist on the edges of Woodbury that seem to be possible future parks or just designed to provide city owned land that doesn't have developed park facilities. I'm looking at these with the desire to find out if they can be birded/hiked well enough to provide insight on the species found on site. These include Dale Road Open Space, Bailey Lake Open Space, and Valley Creek Open Space.
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Bog Redux
With Melissa looking to see a Bohemian Waxwing and there being a possible location just NE of Duluth and the weather cooperating we planned a day long smash and grab in the bog and Duluth area. I got some email information on the Waxwing flock from the guy that generates the RBA email.
We planned a nice early exit and got out the door by 6AM and rolled past Cloquet by 8AM. On the way north on 33 we saw (well, I saw) a pair of Black-billed Magpie on a deer carcass along with a Raven and Bald Eagle.
Once we got into the bog, the plan was to go direct to Admiral Road the site of the best Great Gray Owl sightings lately. Luck was with us (and me finally) as a crowd was gathered just south of the feeder station. A great looking young Owl was setup just off the road and I finally got my first Gray Ghost in my 4th attempt. Melissa got it on her first.
After the owl we moved up the road to the feeder station. It was slow at first and just as we were about to move on, Mike Hendrickson stopped by and then things got interesting. Gray Jays showed up in a pair and then moments later the Boreal Chickadee came as well. After a bit we got awesome views of a Pine Marten. (No wings, but pretty cool.) Mike noted it was an event more rare than seeing the Owl in the bog.
We then moved on to 444 and Lou's Feeders and picked up Evening Grosbeak, Pine Siskin, Purple Finch, and nearby on the way out Pine Grosbeak. All of these being life birds for Melissa. Pretty cool to add all of these to her life list on a sweet day of birding.
We then drove down McDavitt and worked hard for Black-backed Woodpecker, but it was pretty much the only thing we tried for that didn't happen. Eventually we passed the visitor center and looked around and moved on to see about a Sharp-tailed Grouse. Luck was on our side as we first found a Ruffed Grouse and then a small group of Sharp-Tailed Grouse in the same yard space. Pretty cool as that was 2 more life birds for me.
We moved on to leave the bog and stopped at Loretta's Feeders on Kelsey Whiteface Road. Neat area with a trail to walk and enjoy the wild. We got a surprise though as a Golden-crowned Kinglet was spotted just as we entered. This is a pretty rare find for the area even if it's not a rare bird.
We ran back to the Duluth area and went to track down the Waxwings. On a private stretch of land we used the noted location and started scanning the buckthorn around a field edge. Shortly a huge flock of Bohemian Waxwing flew directly over the top of us and off to the north. Seconds later another flock did the same thing. I tried to run them down and see where they went if it was close. A third flock came over Melissa and that was it. We didn't get stationary long term looks, but could hear them talking a lot and I was able to get binocs on one flock enough to see the yellow on the wings. Another year bird and a lifer for Melissa.
Got done birding just in time as a squall was about to come over the area. Back in Duluth we got some food at Grandma's and looked at the lake for a few minutes. I did spot a pretty dark Mallard that appeared to be a Black Duck and Mallard hybrid male. Pretty cool.
We had an awesome day together and picked up a lot of life and year birds.
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Future Scouting - Washington County
I've noticed several sites with low or really no eBird reports for them from the last several years. I plan to investigate these locations this spring and see what I can find. Sort of a research mission to see if I can hot spot any of the locations or at least cut them into my rotation as a fun place to find birds. Below is my short list of what I've found thus far in rearch that I wish to visit...
1. Pine Point Regional Park - North of Stillwater on Norell Ave. Sounds like a decent place with pine forest, swamps, and a lake with an island. May be a good place for Pine Warbler in migration. I'll make that my early hope anyway. 5 miles of trails should bring a half day of birding to the table.
2. Lake McKusick - Which is just south of the above location, but in town. On Owens St. a parking lot that has paved trail access to the lake length and then a boardwalk on the north end over the swamp and water into another neighborhood. Probably not a great location, but something look at and hope for a Bittern or something. Just a place that is between locations and worth a stop.
3. Valley View Park - Have driven past this park next to the Bayport prison many times, but never drove to it. Located up a hill on the bluff it might be a great hawk watch in the summer. Also noticed the satellite shows some boardwalk/path over some swmap as well. Again, not a massive area to explore, but maybe worth the effort to investigate.
4. Bayport WMA - Part 1 of this area is right across the street from the above mentioned Valley View and prison. This area is not likely huge in diversity, but it could hide some gems given the right circumstances. Looks like a an easy enough place to walk around and check out. Might be some good grassland sparrows or something.
5. Bayport WMA - Part 2 of this area is up the road on 21 (Stagecoach Rd) and may also provide a great expanse to explore in non-hunting time frames. Looks like a good size plot land with woods that may provide a good habitat for Eastern Towhee, Wood Thrush, and any number of other woodland dwellers.
6. St. Croix Savanah SNA - This area just north and east of the above Bayport WMA is a bluff region with a mix of grassland and forest has some promise based on it's proximity to the river. The north entrance area is off of Stagecoach on Inspiration Parkway and then Prairie Way. This again is a guess, but it looks like sparrows and possible Meadowlark territory and then maybe fortune will smile with a good location for Dickcissel as well. The wooded area could also pull in several nice birds.
7. Gateway State Trail - The ending trailhead is at Pine Point mentioned above, but I can get on the trail just north of me on Hadley. That being the case I can see a long day of birding by bike and then maybe an evening pickup from Melissa for dinner in Stillwater area. That could be a blast for me to just bird the entire trails lenght of like 15+ miles or so. It goes through many areas so who knows what birding may bring as it goes past small lakes and wooded stretches, streams, etc...
All areas are places I've researched on state sites and then eBird and satellite locations. I've found them to be dramatically under birded by reporting birders. That may be due to many factors, perhaps due to lack of good birds, but also perhaps due to lack of knowledge on the sites them selves as I've noticed the east metro in general is under birded as evidenced by me being one of very few eBird submitters for Lake Elmo Park. I've pulled a ton more birds at that site than the next closest person. My goal is to put one or two of the above on the map.
1. Pine Point Regional Park - North of Stillwater on Norell Ave. Sounds like a decent place with pine forest, swamps, and a lake with an island. May be a good place for Pine Warbler in migration. I'll make that my early hope anyway. 5 miles of trails should bring a half day of birding to the table.
2. Lake McKusick - Which is just south of the above location, but in town. On Owens St. a parking lot that has paved trail access to the lake length and then a boardwalk on the north end over the swamp and water into another neighborhood. Probably not a great location, but something look at and hope for a Bittern or something. Just a place that is between locations and worth a stop.
3. Valley View Park - Have driven past this park next to the Bayport prison many times, but never drove to it. Located up a hill on the bluff it might be a great hawk watch in the summer. Also noticed the satellite shows some boardwalk/path over some swmap as well. Again, not a massive area to explore, but maybe worth the effort to investigate.
4. Bayport WMA - Part 1 of this area is right across the street from the above mentioned Valley View and prison. This area is not likely huge in diversity, but it could hide some gems given the right circumstances. Looks like a an easy enough place to walk around and check out. Might be some good grassland sparrows or something.
5. Bayport WMA - Part 2 of this area is up the road on 21 (Stagecoach Rd) and may also provide a great expanse to explore in non-hunting time frames. Looks like a good size plot land with woods that may provide a good habitat for Eastern Towhee, Wood Thrush, and any number of other woodland dwellers.
6. St. Croix Savanah SNA - This area just north and east of the above Bayport WMA is a bluff region with a mix of grassland and forest has some promise based on it's proximity to the river. The north entrance area is off of Stagecoach on Inspiration Parkway and then Prairie Way. This again is a guess, but it looks like sparrows and possible Meadowlark territory and then maybe fortune will smile with a good location for Dickcissel as well. The wooded area could also pull in several nice birds.
7. Gateway State Trail - The ending trailhead is at Pine Point mentioned above, but I can get on the trail just north of me on Hadley. That being the case I can see a long day of birding by bike and then maybe an evening pickup from Melissa for dinner in Stillwater area. That could be a blast for me to just bird the entire trails lenght of like 15+ miles or so. It goes through many areas so who knows what birding may bring as it goes past small lakes and wooded stretches, streams, etc...
All areas are places I've researched on state sites and then eBird and satellite locations. I've found them to be dramatically under birded by reporting birders. That may be due to many factors, perhaps due to lack of good birds, but also perhaps due to lack of knowledge on the sites them selves as I've noticed the east metro in general is under birded as evidenced by me being one of very few eBird submitters for Lake Elmo Park. I've pulled a ton more birds at that site than the next closest person. My goal is to put one or two of the above on the map.
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.
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.
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