I decided to check out a few spots in Cass County this morning. The birdin= g was pretty slow=2C but there were a few highlights: =20 - A beautiful=2C lone Hoary Redpoll flew up out of a plowed field (I immedi= ately assumed Snow Bunting) and flew overhead. A couple of pishes got it t= o sit in a small balsam poplar near where I was standing. After about a mi= nute=2C it was joined by a couple of Common Redpolls. This observation occ= urred along the access road to Goose Lake of the Mud-Goose WMA. The road i= s straight across 65 from 52. =20 =20 - A Golden-crowned Kinglet was hanging out with a flock of chickadees and n= uthatches in a conifer bog along CR 158=2C 1.3 miles south of CR 3. =20 - An unusual sighting was the lone Rusty Blackbird that popped out of the w= eeds along gravel 139 in the Mud-Goose WMA=2C just south of the dam. I tho= ught it must be injured=2C but it energetically flew away when I approached= . =20 - At the dam=2C most water was frozen. The only waterfowl I found were 2 R= ing-necked Ducks and a Canada Goose that appeared injured. =20 =20 - Small flocks of White-winged Crossbills were present pretty much anywhere= I exited the vehicle near spruces. =20 =20 - A Rough-legged Hawk was perched in a tree at the corner of CR 3 and 139. =20 - A Pileated Woodpecker and 2 Ruffed Grouse were a funny sight foraging tog= ether in a small crabapple tree north of Spruce Street in Remer. =20 Almost all water is frozen in Cass and Itasca Counties. Even the spots I h= ave been to on Leech and Winnie were frozen too far out to see. A few spot= s along the Mississippi=2C Prairie=2C and Leech Rivers are open=2C and Trou= t Lake near my home in Bovey is open. That's pretty much it. Shawn Conrad= =20 http://users.2z.net/itasca_chippewa_birding/ =20 _________________________________________________________________ Color coding for safety: Windows Live Hotmail alerts you to suspicious emai= l. http://windowslive.com/Explore/Hotmail?ocid=3DTXT_TAGLM_WL_hotmail_acq_safe= ty_112008 =