As possibly the last person in MN to go look for the Tropical Kingbird, yesterday (15 July) I spent from 7:00 AM to 1:45 PM in the vicinity of trail marker 36 at Murphy-Hanrehan Park Reserve.  During that time I saw the kingbird for about one minute at roughly 8 AM, and it was not at the familiar cottonwood tree NNW of the picnic table; instead, it was about 260 yards away to the ESE – I measured the distance using Google Maps – all of the way across the field, at the edge of a small “peninsula” of brush and scattered trees that projects outward from the treeline along the field’s far side.  A few minutes after the kingbird disappeared I walked over there and spent about an hour looking around, but came up empty, at which point I returned to the picnic table in the vain hope that the kingbird would make a return visit to its old haunts.

Anyway, the main point of this is to make a plea.  I’d be willing to go back in the hope of getting additional looks – with such a great rarity, I’d like to “soak it in,” rather than be restricted to a shortish look from long range –  and maybe, just maybe, hearing something.  So if anyone goes to look for the kingbird and has success, then please post something to mou-net.

Phil Chu
Department of Biology
St. John’s University




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