[Mnbird] Lake Byllesby shorebirds, 180th St. Marsh, Dakota Cty

[Laura Coble]

On April 1st, the engineers for the Lake Byllesby dam started filling the lake to the winter level. The lake will later be filled to the summer level, but for now, it has some good shorebird habitat.

Early this pm, I saw several flocks of shorebirds on the west side of Byllesby, accessed from the gate entrance beyond the railroad tracks, along Hwy 88, 1/4 mile east of Randolph. Follow the road to the birding trail(s), on the right or left.  The birds were to the left (east), where there is some water, seen from both beach lookouts.  I also viewed them from the beach, accessed by hiking the mowed grass trail at the left side of the gate for about 1/4 mile. A grassy side trail will take you down to a lookout. 
Seen today:  Both Yellowlegs, Wilson’s Snipe, Pectoral Sandpiper, Killdeer.  34 White Pelicans were also present. The wind was pretty fierce. 

There is still a nice variety of waterfowl at 180th St. Marsh, along with hundreds of coots, a few pied-billed grebes, many Red-winged Blackbirds and a few Yellow-headed Blackbirds, which should soon be everywhere. I did see Rusty Blackbirds as I entered 180th St. from Hwy 85. I did not see the Wilson’s Snipe today, and missed the American Bittern again. It was a pleasant day though, in spite of the  the wind, and as often happens, I enjoyed meeting another birder looking for the same birds! 

FYI:  Highway 86 is closed, due to a long period of construction for an overpass on Hwy 52.  Detours are marked.