This evening I checked out the WMA one mile north of the town of  
Nicollet on the east side of Hwy. 111 for shorebirds. From a distance  
the water level looked too high to be conducive to attracting  
shorebirds, but on closer inspection I found several areas exhibiting  
either mudflats or very shallow water. The best spot was at the pond  
farthest north; from the gravel parking lot, hike the trail east to  
where it T's at the lake, then go left (north) to the second large  
pond. If you go right at the T (south) there are also some nice areas  
for shorebirds. Present were:

-3 Hudsonian Godwits
-10 Stilt Sandpipers (all in alternate plumage)
-16 Short-billed Dowitchers
-8 White-rumped Sandpipers
-12 Dunlins
-10 Wilson's Phalaropes
-several Lesser Yellowlegs
-several Least Sandpipers

At the Nicollet sewage ponds south of the town on the east side of CR  
23, the only shorebirds of interest were 4 Baird's Sandpipers. There  
was also a lone Eared Grebe in the northernmost pond.

Bob Dunlap, Nicollet County

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