WELCOME PACIFIC

     I barely got done working today without having to take a break. If we work 8 hours or more, we are required to take a break. I just docked my work truck with a minute to spare. A quick jaunt home and then a drive down to Lake Nokomis had me hunting for the Pacific Loon. I didn't need to hunt too long to finish the trifecta. Now I have seen all 3 of the loons common to Minnesota; Common Loon, Red-throated Loon, and Pacific Loon. The Pacific becomes my 313th Minnesota bird matching my Minnesota Birds Life list which is also at 313. A dozen birds that are not common to Minnesota are on my Life List meaning I only need a dozen more "Regulars." 

    The thing that was irregular about the whole experience today was the confusion. Was there 1 Pacific Loon or 2? Was there a Common Loon or were there 2? I reached into my bag of tricks and contacted my good birding friend Doug Kieser to sort out all the mess. He informed me that many people have been reporting 2 Pacific Loons but there really is only 1. The photo below shows a Common Loon in non-breeding plumage on the right. The Pacific Loon is on the left; much smaller. Again, not a good photo but I once again had excellent views in my spotting scope. Money well spent!!!

The Quest for the Minnesota Regular Species Continues.....

An idiom is a phrase with a meaning that cannot be deciphered by the individual words. 

Like the phrase "I took a stab at it."

I took a 2nd stab at the Long-billed Dowitcher on Thursday, May 4th.

It was again spotted (on Ebird) at the 140th Street Marsh down in Rosemount so I was itching to go again.

Melinda agreed to ride along and she was actually the one who first spotted it.

First just the one and then two; a brief appearance moving in and out of some sedge; and then they disappeared.

I got a quick photo but it wasn't very good. Then three appeared at the far shore of the marsh.

That was the spot for some far away, but adequate photos to document my find.

Mind you, photo documentation is not always possible but these days I am making my best effort to do this.

Big thanks to Melinda!

And now only 13 Regular Minnesota Species left. Here is the list of what I need to see:

1.  American Three-toed Woodpecker
2.  Boreal Owl
3.  Cinnamon Teal
4.  Great-tailed Grackle
5.  Little Blue Heron
6.  Little Gull
7.  Pacific Loon
8.  Parasitic Jaeger
9.  Piping Plover
10.  Prairie Falcon
11.  Say's Phoebe
12.  Smith's Longspur
13.  Yellow Rail

6 of these birds would also be Life Birds; they are: American Three-toed Woodpecker, Boreal Owl, Little Gull, Prairie Falcon, Smith's Longspur, and Yellow Rail. The other 7 birds I have seen in other states. 

The Yellow Rail is now the only Common-Regular bird, all the others are considered Rare-Regular which only means they are not present all the time. But the Yellow Rail will be a tough one because my goal is to SEE the birds, not just hear them. I have seen many posts by birders who have heard the Yellow Rail but none that I know of have actually seen it. This could be a major challenge ahead of me. 

Only God willing!

Minnesota Birds 309 and 310

 Apparently I was remiss in adding or blogging my Minnesota birds 309 and 310.

On April 30th 2022, I got to see the Yellow-crowned Night Heron right near my old delivery location for Geritom in Bloomington. That was one of those easy finds where you walk a path to a little pond and then just spot the bird on the shore. Take a photo and then bingo you are golden.

On the Fourth of July, (before going to my in-laws for our annual feast and Fourth of July Parade), Melinda and I stopped at Westwood Nature Center in St. Louis Park. Took some patience but finally nailed the much reported Clark's Grebe in the center of the lake. It's a diver so we were looking frantically for a while, while spotting nothing. Then up pops this bird way off - soooo way off that the photo is not much more than a dot, but we know what we saw. Number 310 for my Minnesota Life List.