From sweston2g at gmail.com Fri Sep 1 11:35:55 2023 From: sweston2g at gmail.com (Steve Weston) Date: Fri, 1 Sep 2023 11:35:55 -0500 Subject: [Mnbird] MRVAC Trumpeter Newsletter Message-ID: Trumpeter | September - October 2023 The September/October edition of The Trumpeter, Minnesota River Valley Audubon Chapter's bi-monthly newsletter, is now available to read online. The next MRVAC (in-person/virtual) program will feature Stan Tekiela on September 28th. Craig Mandel's next field trip will at the Bass Ponds at 8 am on September 9th. Remember meetings and local field trips are free and open to all. Details are in The Trumpeter. Read The Trumpeter Online [image: Visit the MRVAC Website] Visit the MRVAC Website *Copyright ? 2023 Minnesota River Valley Audubon Chapter (MRVAC), All rights reserved.* Steve Weston On Quigley Lake in Eagan, MN sweston2g at gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From linda at moosewoods.us Sun Sep 3 10:55:02 2023 From: linda at moosewoods.us (Whyte, Linda) Date: Sun, 3 Sep 2023 10:55:02 -0500 Subject: [Mnbird] Brown Pelican post Message-ID: The recent Brown Pelican post is confusing. The coordinates listed show no nearby water bodies, but reference a dock. Presumably this was a river sighting, but clarification might be appreciated by anyone interested in seeing the bird. Linda Whyte -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gilles_peter_l at msn.com Sun Sep 3 11:39:09 2023 From: gilles_peter_l at msn.com (Peter L Gilles) Date: Sun, 3 Sep 2023 16:39:09 +0000 Subject: [Mnbird] Hadley Lake Report Message-ID: Signs of pending seasonal change: Another brutally hot Summer day, and I have half a dozen nondescript Fall warblers exploring the Maple tree just outside my bedroom window. After not seeing a Robin for a week or more, Saturday, I had a flock of Robin's on my front lawn. My resident Cardinal family is bringing another pair of young Cardinals to my feeders to learn how to fend for themselves. The male is no longer feeding them. I have been putting a few oilers on the porch floor and platform feeder. They seem to find these seeds and are getting them open. Sent from Pete's Galaxy S21 Ultra -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From hamerjohn34 at gmail.com Sun Sep 3 23:53:39 2023 From: hamerjohn34 at gmail.com (John Hamer) Date: Sun, 3 Sep 2023 23:53:39 -0500 Subject: [Mnbird] Hadley Lake Report In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: There is a plant that just started to bloom called white snakeroot. It is native and somewhat abundant. When I see it blooming It is a warning that colder weather is coming and that I should get busy preparing outside. So The warblers are migrating. John Hamer On Sun, Sep 3, 2023 at 11:40?AM Peter L Gilles via Mnbird < mnbird at lists.mnbird.net> wrote: > Signs of pending seasonal change: > > Another brutally hot Summer day, and I have half a dozen nondescript Fall > warblers exploring the Maple tree just outside my bedroom window. > > After not seeing a Robin for a week or more, Saturday, I had a flock of > Robin's on my front lawn. > > My resident Cardinal family is bringing another pair of young Cardinals to > my feeders to learn how to fend for themselves. The male is no longer > feeding them. I have been putting a few oilers on the porch floor and > platform feeder. They seem to find these seeds and are getting them open. > > > > > > Sent from Pete's Galaxy S21 Ultra > > _______________________________________________ > Mnbird mailing list > Mnbird at lists.mnbird.net > http://mail.lists.mnbird.net/mailman/listinfo/mnbird_lists.mnbird.net > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From snoeowl at aol.com Wed Sep 6 13:27:45 2023 From: snoeowl at aol.com (Allen Batt) Date: Wed, 6 Sep 2023 13:27:45 -0500 Subject: [Mnbird] Myre-Big Island State Park References: <32E3392D-7E5E-4BD2-A7AB-3D01C61E9CAE.ref@aol.com> Message-ID: <32E3392D-7E5E-4BD2-A7AB-3D01C61E9CAE@aol.com> ? I?ve been spending my free time birding at Myre-Big Island State Park. There were nice waves of warblers on the Great Marsh Trail yesterday, but some were waving goodbye. The warblers were mostly American Redstarts, but there was a nice mix of other species. The water levels in the ponds are low and the mudflats brought in shorebirds. Many a patient Green Heron maintained its own office space for hunting. Deer walked through the sucking mud, leaving them black-legged on shore after quenching their thirst. Turkeys and squirrels made the same long muddy walk to drinking water. A great flock of Great Egrets perched in the trees and a leucistic Eastern Kingbird glowed in the leafy green foliage. A Red-eyed Vireo sang backup vocals to everything I saw. ?Here I am. In a tree. Look at me. Vireo.? I savored every moment. As I drove home at dusk, Albert Lea presnted a lovely sky of Common Nighthawks. Al Batt Freeborn County Al Batt ?Do something wild today. Look at a bird.? ? Al Batt Twitter http://twitter.com/batt_allen Podcast https://soundcloud.com/kmsu/sets/birding-with-batt Blog http://www.albatt.com/blogs BIRDING WITH BATT If you missed ?Birding With Batt? on the airwaves this week, you can hear it any time you like via the free KMSU radio streaming app. The app is available for Apple and Android devices, allowing you to livestream 89.7 the Maverick, find playlists and listen to shows on-demand. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From birdminn at yahoo.com Mon Sep 18 07:59:25 2023 From: birdminn at yahoo.com (carol schumacher) Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2023 07:59:25 -0500 Subject: [Mnbird] A little migration magic References: <046F7409-D690-4652-A0BA-0F630FACAE38.ref@yahoo.com> Message-ID: <046F7409-D690-4652-A0BA-0F630FACAE38@yahoo.com> Fog this morning bringing a little migration magic? Several Blue Jays whooping it up, finally seeing numbers of Cedar Waxwings and immature Rose-breasted Grosbeaks. The river ridge top is busy with migrants. Ruby-throated hummingbirds continue daily 3-4, as well as the usuals like Tufted Titmouse and close up immaculate Hairy Woodpeckers. Under porch eaves we have hung small peanut feeders attracting all woodpeckers etc. and a Pileated Woodpecker called cruising through. Friday before less than expected rain no less than six Gray Catbirds visited our deck-mounted metal fountain, all in a 2?x2?area. Occasionally ?one? sang amid the 4 mature crab trees where they must have been feeding out of sight. These trees have brought in numerous species over the last 40 years. One wonders what is here hidden by leaves and boughs. Much I suspect. Continuous feeding year round for years make this path a true haven for which we are grateful. My hope...someday other birders will reside here to partake. Carol Schumacher On the Mississippi in Winona From snoeowl at aol.com Thu Sep 21 07:59:52 2023 From: snoeowl at aol.com (Allen Batt) Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2023 07:59:52 -0500 Subject: [Mnbird] Chimney Swift References: <3DD9B981-4FDD-424B-80DB-4AE122D02C4F.ref@aol.com> Message-ID: <3DD9B981-4FDD-424B-80DB-4AE122D02C4F@aol.com> I saw a single Chimney Swift yesterday. It strikes me as odd when I see only one. It?s like eating a single potato chip. ?I can?t see just one,? I tell myself. But for the past several Breeding Bird Surveys, I?ve counted just one swift. The surgeon told me to think of a pleasant place before I went under the knife. I stared at a chimney in my thoughts. I?m no chimney sweep and haven?t even played one on TV, but I travel around each year, hoping for a good crop of chimney swifts. When the swifts zoom into a chimney to roost, it?s a curtain coming down on a magnificent play. I?ve seen flocks of swifts do their disappearing act in many chimneys, but the chimney I thought of was the one at Villa Maria that I visited annually for many years. Swifts may look like flying cigars, but they are memories on the wing. I remember those moments when I need them. Al Batt Freeborn County From cdrussin at centurylink.net Thu Sep 21 09:39:41 2023 From: cdrussin at centurylink.net (DONALD GRUSSING Owner) Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2023 07:39:41 -0700 Subject: [Mnbird] Chimney Swift Message-ID: <2DR4VYWK1LU4.6O6PMIC0CZ18@luweb03oc> Nice memories Al. As a kid in Hopkins I caught heck from the football coaches in junior high school when at practice after school I would get so distracted by the swirling tornado of swifts going down the chimney of the old senior high school next to the practice field (The school and its huge chimney is now long gone), In summer I would watch bunches of swifts flying past the dead twigs high in the elm trees trying to break off twiglets from which to make their nests. And I spent countless summer hours watching swifts, trying to determine if they sometimes flew with alternating wing beats (a topic in some of the bird books of those days.). I hardly ever see a chimney swift now. Don Grussing Minnetonka On Thu, 21 Sep, 2023 at 8:00 AM, Allen Batt via Mnbird wrote: To: mnbird I saw a single Chimney Swift yesterday. It strikes me as odd when I see only one. It?s like eating a single potato chip. ?I can?t see just one,? I tell myself. But for the past several Breeding Bird Surveys, I?ve counted just one swift. The surgeon told me to think of a pleasant place before I went under the knife. I stared at a chimney in my thoughts. I?m no chimney sweep and haven?t even played one on TV, but I travel around each year, hoping for a good crop of chimney swifts. When the swifts zoom into a chimney to roost, it?s a curtain coming down on a magnificent play. I?ve seen flocks of swifts do their disappearing act in many chimneys, but the chimney I thought of was the one at Villa Maria that I visited annually for many years. Swifts may look like flying cigars, but they are memories on the wing. I remember those moments when I need them. Al Batt Freeborn County _______________________________________________ Mnbird mailing list Mnbird at lists.mnbird.net http://mail.lists.mnbird.net/mailman/listinfo/mnbird_lists.mnbird.net -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gleskarider at gmail.com Thu Sep 21 10:38:40 2023 From: gleskarider at gmail.com (Pamela Brustman) Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2023 10:38:40 -0500 Subject: [Mnbird] Chimney Swift In-Reply-To: <3DD9B981-4FDD-424B-80DB-4AE122D02C4F@aol.com> References: <3DD9B981-4FDD-424B-80DB-4AE122D02C4F.ref@aol.com> <3DD9B981-4FDD-424B-80DB-4AE122D02C4F@aol.com> Message-ID: Lovely. Just lovely, your use of words to paint that picture. On Thu, Sep 21, 2023, 8:01 AM Allen Batt via Mnbird wrote: > I saw a single Chimney Swift yesterday. > It strikes me as odd when I see only one. It?s like eating a single > potato chip. ?I can?t see just one,? I tell myself. > But for the past several Breeding Bird Surveys, I?ve counted just one > swift. > The surgeon told me to think of a pleasant place before I went under the > knife. I stared at a chimney in my thoughts. I?m no chimney sweep and > haven?t even played one on TV, but I travel around each year, hoping for a > good crop of chimney swifts. When the swifts zoom into a chimney to roost, > it?s a curtain coming down on a magnificent play. I?ve seen flocks of > swifts do their disappearing act in many chimneys, but the chimney I > thought of was the one at Villa Maria that I visited annually for many > years. Swifts may look like flying cigars, but they are memories on the > wing. I remember those moments when I need them. > > Al Batt > Freeborn County > > _______________________________________________ > Mnbird mailing list > Mnbird at lists.mnbird.net > http://mail.lists.mnbird.net/mailman/listinfo/mnbird_lists.mnbird.net > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From hamerjohn34 at gmail.com Thu Sep 21 10:58:42 2023 From: hamerjohn34 at gmail.com (John Hamer) Date: Thu, 21 Sep 2023 10:58:42 -0500 Subject: [Mnbird] member Message-ID: I have tried to send a post but I am being blocked. Help John Haer -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From sweston2g at gmail.com Fri Sep 22 11:30:18 2023 From: sweston2g at gmail.com (Steve Weston) Date: Fri, 22 Sep 2023 11:30:18 -0500 Subject: [Mnbird] Chimney Swift In-Reply-To: <3DD9B981-4FDD-424B-80DB-4AE122D02C4F@aol.com> References: <3DD9B981-4FDD-424B-80DB-4AE122D02C4F.ref@aol.com> <3DD9B981-4FDD-424B-80DB-4AE122D02C4F@aol.com> Message-ID: One of my fondest memories was watching Chimney Swifts dancing a courtship display over an abandoned one room school in SW Minnesota. Two of the birds joined in mid-air hurtling toward the ground, swooping away from each other only a foot or two above ground. Later research revealed that while this is a common occurrence in Europe where the swift species and social mores are different, I could find no reports of Chimney swifts doing it on the wing. They were reported or suspected of doing it in the privacy of their chimney bedroom. Another observation from those days, while other species were paired up during mating season, chimney swifts always seemed to be going around in threes. Steve Weston On Quigley Lake in Eagan, MN sweston2g at gmail.com On Thu, Sep 21, 2023 at 8:08?AM Allen Batt via Mnbird < mnbird at lists.mnbird.net> wrote: > I saw a single Chimney Swift yesterday. > It strikes me as odd when I see only one. It?s like eating a single > potato chip. ?I can?t see just one,? I tell myself. > But for the past several Breeding Bird Surveys, I?ve counted just one > swift. > The surgeon told me to think of a pleasant place before I went under the > knife. I stared at a chimney in my thoughts. I?m no chimney sweep and > haven?t even played one on TV, but I travel around each year, hoping for a > good crop of chimney swifts. When the swifts zoom into a chimney to roost, > it?s a curtain coming down on a magnificent play. I?ve seen flocks of > swifts do their disappearing act in many chimneys, but the chimney I > thought of was the one at Villa Maria that I visited annually for many > years. Swifts may look like flying cigars, but they are memories on the > wing. I remember those moments when I need them. > > Al Batt > Freeborn County > > _______________________________________________ > Mnbird mailing list > Mnbird at lists.mnbird.net > http://mail.lists.mnbird.net/mailman/listinfo/mnbird_lists.mnbird.net > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From RFABER at smumn.edu Fri Sep 22 14:24:10 2023 From: RFABER at smumn.edu (Raymond Faber) Date: Fri, 22 Sep 2023 14:24:10 -0500 Subject: [Mnbird] swifts are swift Message-ID: Thanks for making us think, Al! I once wrote a paper for an Ornithology class regarding bird flight. After study of the mechanics of flight, my conclusion was basically that chimney swifts are among the best if not the best fliers in the world. Also, many years ago I got a call in early October telling me that many dead and dying birds were on the ground at St. Stan's church in Winona. They were all chimney swifts. It turned out that they had just turned on the heat (probably using coal as the heat source). Ugh! Ray Faber -- Raymond A. Faber, PhD. Professor of Biology Emeritus--Saint Mary's University of Minnesota 36517 Blue Stem Dr Houston MN 55943 Telephone: 507-896-2577 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From sweston2g at gmail.com Mon Sep 25 13:17:07 2023 From: sweston2g at gmail.com (Steve Weston) Date: Mon, 25 Sep 2023 13:17:07 -0500 Subject: [Mnbird] Stan Tekiela at MRVAC this Thursday Message-ID: *The Minnesota River Valley Audubon Chapter (MRVAC) invites you to join us for:* *?How To Forage For Mushrooms and Not Die?Stan Tekiela Minnesota naturalist and best-selling author* *Thursday, September 28, 7:30 PM* Learn the fun and enjoyable way to forage for wild mushrooms and not kill yourself. Stan makes this serious topic fun and interesting. You, too, can safely get out and collect wild edible mushrooms without fear. Learn the seven edible mushrooms and how to safely collect, cook and store them. We will meet *live* at the Minnesota River Valley Wildlife Refuge Bloomington Visitor Center located at 3815 American Boulevard East in Bloomington, which is also accessible after a short walk from the METRO Blue Line (Hiawatha Light Rail) at American Blvd. Join us for a social gathering at 7:00 PM. All MRVAC meetings are free and open to the public. *Seating is limited.* The meeting will be simulcast on *Zoom*. To join Zoom meeting click on this link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86430043149?pwd=QlB5dFZtbnJxRDBveEh1amtFZmNGZz09 Meeting ID: 842 8543 8040 Passcode: 938560 One tap mobile: +13126266799,,84285438040#,,,,*938560# US (Chicago) *Zoom participation is limited.* The MRVAC auction will happen on Thursday, November 9th at 7pm at the Richardson Nature Center in Bloomington. Here is your chance to walk away with your own pair of Swarovski binoculars. We have collected over sixty books on birds and nature, bird houses and feeders, and antique St. Paul Bird Club stickers. *Copyright ? 2023 Minnesota River Valley Audubon Chapter (MRVAC), All rights reserved.* Steve Weston On Quigley Lake in Eagan, MN sweston2g at gmail.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From hamerjohn34 at gmail.com Mon Sep 25 16:52:14 2023 From: hamerjohn34 at gmail.com (John Hamer) Date: Mon, 25 Sep 2023 16:52:14 -0500 Subject: [Mnbird] a new hummer Message-ID: The other day I was watching a good plot of Jewelweed when a female ruby throat came in from the other side. I watched her hit about 40 flowers in short order and left. The day following I was working in one of the garden plots we have here at the Glenn. In the garden plot next to me I thought I saw another female working the red flowers in my neighbors plot. It worked its way right up to me, about three feet away. I looked at it and thought man, that is a big hummer ( about one and a half the size of a ruby throat. It was at the end of the red flowers and it turned and lifted off showing a light lavender wash on the throat. I went through all my books. The best I could do was a blue throated hummer, either a young blue throat male or a regular male not in mating colors. I look forward to hearing what people think. I don't ever remember seeing a recorded blue throat in MN. I'm going to put my feeder out there and see if it is still around. I'm planning on attending the Sept. and October MRVACmeetings. John Hamer -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From hamerjohn34 at gmail.com Wed Sep 27 22:50:09 2023 From: hamerjohn34 at gmail.com (John Hamer) Date: Wed, 27 Sep 2023 22:50:09 -0500 Subject: [Mnbird] swifts are swift In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: It's been a couple decades since I have seen them gathering in Mound downtime. Someone earlier said they look like a flying cigar which is the way I have always described them. John Hamer On Fri, Sep 22, 2023 at 2:25?PM Raymond Faber via Mnbird < mnbird at lists.mnbird.net> wrote: > Thanks for making us think, Al! I once wrote a paper for an Ornithology > class regarding bird flight. After study of the mechanics of flight, my > conclusion was basically that chimney swifts are among the best if not the > best fliers in the world. > > Also, many years ago I got a call in early October telling me that many > dead and dying birds were on the ground at St. Stan's church in Winona. > They were all chimney swifts. It turned out that they had just turned on > the heat (probably using coal as the heat source). Ugh! > > Ray Faber > > -- > Raymond A. Faber, PhD. > Professor of Biology Emeritus--Saint Mary's University of Minnesota > 36517 Blue Stem Dr > Houston MN 55943 > > Telephone: 507-896-2577 > _______________________________________________ > Mnbird mailing list > Mnbird at lists.mnbird.net > http://mail.lists.mnbird.net/mailman/listinfo/mnbird_lists.mnbird.net > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: