Count the birds

BY JOHN KARRIGAN

Every March I write that February was a slow birding month and now I have statistics to prove it. The Minnesota Ornithologists’ Union Listing and Recording Supplement for 2005 just arrived and February was the month with the lowest total of species seen (183) with January a little higher (at 195). Of course nobody saw all 183 species but one local (Minneapolis) expert, Bob Janssen (a nice guy and expert naturalist), saw 159. And as I also often say, I just bird for enjoyment, not to get the longest list. The serious “listers” also bird for enjoyment I am sure, but also really get into “listing.” In 2005, one new species, the Brown Pelican, was added to the list of possible birds to see in Minnesota, bringing the total to 431. Kim Eckert of Duluth (another nice guy and expert naturalist) has seen 401 of them. The aforementioned Bob Janssen has seen 400 of 431. Kim Eckert also holds the record for the Duluth city limits, seeing 315 species there. And he holds the Four Corners County Composite Record at 329. That is the counties in each corner of Minnesota (Cook, Houston, Kittson and Rock). He holds all kinds of other records and is the author of several editions of “The Birder’s Guide to Minnesota. However, he does not hold the sewage pond list record of 62. Sewage ponds are actually good places for shorebird and waterfowl birding, but are much harder “to bird” since 9-11. For some reason, some people somewhere in government have decided that sewage ponds might be targeted by terrorists and many of them, here and elsewhere, are closed to access for birding and other recreational activity.

How is that for lots of information that has little to do with the neighborhood but does fill up space?!

The yard birding has been OK with the regulars getting more into their spring songs and behaviors. House Finches and a Blue Jay were around early in the month and Cardinals, Chickadees, Juncos, Downy Woodpeckers, Crows, Goldfinches, Starlings, English Sparrows, and Pigeons most of the month. I have not had much time to spend in the park and haven’t seen anything new.
Early in February, on a nice day, I was on Nicollet Island, one of the two metro areas, along with the old Cedar Avenue Bridge area, that I say should be annexed into the Powderhorn neighborhood. I was just sitting there in a vehicle, looking at downtown and “waiting for Godot.” Suddenly a Cooper’s Hawk came swooping down in front of me toward a storm sewer catch basin in the small parking area, about 15 feet from me. The hawk lifted up and continued to the other (east) side of the island and landed on a light pole. Looking back, I saw a large raccoon coming out of the catch basin. It looked grumpy, had a slight limp, and stiffly headed across the road and down toward the Mississippi River bank. After thinking about this visual surprise for awhile, I concluded that the hawk, which must have been in a tree right in front of me, had seen or heard something in the catch basin and was going for a meal. Instead of a small tasty mouse, a large grumpy raccoon was emerging from the sewer, and both animals went their separate ways. I don’t know if there is any point to this story, but it certainly was an unexpected few moments of observing nature for me, right on the edge of downtown.

I am still seeing Red-tailed Hawks on freeways near downtown and other areas, and in rural areas, Wild Turkeys, Kestrels, Horned Larks (a sign of Spring), Ring-necked Pheasants, a few Bald Eagles, and one Shrike. I saw Trumpeter Swans near the Mississippi River around Monticello in mid-month.
On to the continuing saga of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker: Ron Nargang, a former Minnesota DNR leader and now the state director for The Nature Conservancy, had an editorial counterpoint to the January 25 Star Tribune editorial in the February 19 Star Tribune. He said somewhat the same thing I said last month, that he thinks the Ivory-billed Woodpecker exists. He said it better than I did, and the Sunday Star Tribune might have a few more readers than the Southside Pride, but I am glad that the “all-great-minds-think-alike” cliché still holds true.
Please remember the Chickadee check-off on your state income taxes.
Comments and observations are always welcome. Send them to me, in care of the Southside Pride. Thank you.