[TN-Bird] MN/SD Shorebird Trip

From: OLCOOT1@xxxxxxx
To: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2003 08:24:54 EDT
Aug. 2003
Minnesota and S. Dakota,
Ensley Bottoms, TN


After a 5 day trip to the "Land of 10,000 Lakes' - MN and the "Land of a 
Million Pot Holes"- SD, it was great to return to the "Land of the 20 Pits" 
Ensley 
Bottoms. The trip filled in many new aspects of shorebird migration for me 
with insights to timing, numbers and species plus some new cutting edge 
research 
being done in the region. A shorebird workshop going on at the time allowed a 
great over view and access to areas I probably would not have been able to 
find in all that vast prairie and pot hole country. Meeting birders with a 
weakness for "Wind Birds" plus learning new techniques of research in migration 
strategies, meeting USFW people that are really interested in shorebird habitat 
management, the ornithologist driving the research plus the people actually out 
doing the dirty work in the field, made for a great and informative trip.

I've never seen a habitat I did not like but throw in shorebirds and 5 
nesting species of grebes and I could fall in love with an area. It truly is a 
vast 
incubator for ducks and the vistas across almost sensual, rolling glacial 
moraines and corrupted but beautiful still, prairie grasslands was a great 
first 
time experience for me.

Shorebirds abound but have to be hunted for and you never know what might 
appear just over the hill and there are hills as far as the eye can see. We 
found 
breeding White Pelicans at every turn, breeding Western, Clark's, Red-necked, 
Pied-billed Grebes and at one place in MN, 102 active Eared nests in view at 
one time. Fifteen species of waterfowl and 16 species of "Wind Birds" with 
dozens of Wilson's Phalaropes at most locations and nesting Black Terns in 
varying combinations of black and white plumage plus Forster's and Common Terns 
were 
enjoyed up close and personal. 

Even though the trip was pointed towards shorebirds, I came across 84 species 
just traveling from Minneapolis to Milbank, SD, stumbling across a couple of 
Eurasian Collared-Doves in the process in MN and 117 species were recorded in 
SD including a wayward pied Little Blue Heron and unexpected insights to 
distribution, habits and habitat at every turn.

Over all a great trip but shorebird wise it still could not beat the 7000 
plus shorebirds counted of 15 species, Hap Chambers, Roseanne Denton, Bob 
Casey's 
brother Gary and I had over this past Saturday and Sunday at the "PITS". It 
was a veritable smorgasbord of "Wind Birds" with all the variations in 
plumage's to study and scope views filled with those feathered shorebirds and 
the 
season has yet to peak...........

Still looking for some of the banded shorebirds I saw in SD.

Good Birding!!!

Jeff R. Wilson
OL' COOT / TLBA
Bartlett Tenn.


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[TN-Bird] MN/SD Shorebird Trip

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