Hey birders,

On our way back from a bioblitz in western Yellow Medicine County, Tom Dahlen and I stumbled into an awesome area with flooded fields about 1 mile west of Wabasso on Hwy 68.  There’s a single flooded field on the north side of Hwy 68 that had a few shorebirds, but heading south along the same crossroad will reveal a much larger complex. 

Species present: ~300 Blue-winged Teal, Ruddy Duck, Northern Shoveler, Mallard, ~500 shorebirds: 300+ Pectoral Sandpipers, Baird’s Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper, Solitary Sandpiper, Wilson’s Snipe, a single Sanderling, and 4 Red-necked Phalaropes.  There were also about 500 mixed swallows on the power lines in that area.

We also stopped at the quarry area west of the entrance to Minneopa State Park in Blue Earth County along 216^th St.  The male Blue Grosbeak who has been around this summer was quite cooperative singing about the middle of the southern berm.

Happy birding!

Chad Heins

Mankato

Chad Heins

Associate Professor of Biology

Bethany Lutheran College

700 Luther Drive

Mankato, MN 56001

Office: 507.344.7327  | Toll Free: 800.944.3066

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