[Mnbird] gob smacked # of mallards

[John Hamer]

We moved into an apartment in Hopkins.  We are on the 9th floor, NW facing
windows.  To my surprise we started seeing mallards coming by our windows
in singles and doubles and in every combination In the last half hour of
light I would count 50 t0 60 birds right through the winter. Being new here
I had no idea where they were coming from or where they were going.  I was
filling up the car at a gas station and there were mallards all over the
place coming in, going out and I could figure out where they were coming
from.  It was a place on 9 mile creek.  They were mostly just sitting on
the shore.  There were a couple of houses where they were sitting.  I
suspect corn.  Then a couple 3, 4 weeks  ago it went dead.  No birds
anywhere.  Must have run out of corn. Only in the last few days have I
started seeing them again. Before they all left I tried to count them in
batches like you would for big flocks flying.  I estimated 5 to 6 hundred
birds.  Where did they go after the corn ran out?  Because they are coming
back they must not have all died.  One of these days I am going to go talk
to the people I suspect were feeding them.  At one time if my memory is
still good I read that the MN DNR estimates 50,000 mallards stay around the
metro area.  Before I moved here in winters past I would see ducks on
different parts of nine mile creek.

Sorry for so long.  We have also seen mature bald eagles flying past the
windows all winter.

John Hamer
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mail.lists.mnbird.net/pipermail/mnbird_lists.mnbird.net/attachments/20230304/fe09e786/attachment.htm>