[Mnbird] Red Wing area birding 6/3, C. Gallinule, Tufted Titmouse X2

[linda whyte]

Yesterday morning Rob and I were able to hear calls from the 2 of the
reported Common Gallinule in the wetland off Cannon River Blvd and Tyler
Ave N.  They seemed to be very close to the dirt walking trail, just on the
other side of the first two clumps of Wild Rose bushes.  Though silent at
first, they began exchanging calls as we approached. We peered through the
few open spaces in the foliage with no luck, listening to the sounds, which
were reminiscent of Coot but decidedly different. As we walked on, they
fell silent, but once we were back off the trail we listened to the Sibley
app and concluded that that was what we'd heard.
On the way back to the car, we diverted to the Cannon River bike trail for
a short stretch We enjoyed watching some Cliff Swallows at close range from
the wooden bridge over a stream.They were feeding actively, but also
dropping to a muddy spot on the banks to gather material for the nests they
were building under the cement bridge several yards away. Between Swallows,
other species (Brown Thrasher, numerous Gray Catbirds, Rose-breasted
Grosbeak, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow Warblers, Indigo Bunting, Red-eyed
Vireos, House Wren, Hummingbird) and many dragonflies, we escaped the
relatively few mosquitoes with only one bite.
Afterwards we hiked in Hay Creek and also checked for Tufted Titmouse. We
had no luck on their winter site, at feeders up on Southview Ridge.
However, we did hear them calling from both sides of Hay Creek Trail, just
SW of the Ridge. This is the site where they were originally found on our
CBC many years ago, when documentation was still required for them. On our
way home, we stopped along Collischan Rd to eat lunch by the closed bridge,
and were pleasantly surprised with another calling Tufted Titmouse above
the Ovenbird and E. Towhee sounds. It's reassuring that a once somewhat
scarce species has become more common.
Linda Whyte
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mail.lists.mnbird.net/pipermail/mnbird_lists.mnbird.net/attachments/20200604/eea31db4/attachment.htm>