Date: 4/15/24 5:58 am From: Jason Frank <jmfrank84...> Subject: [mou-net] Salt Lake Area Conditions Report
Hello Birders,
Water is high in the Salt Lake birding area. Larger wetlands and the Minnesota River are particularly full. We are forecast to receive over 1 inch of rain in the next 24 hours, so mudflats will be very few and far between this year.
Leaves are also budding early. Swallows, Martins, and large Dragonflies have appeared in the area, and bug splatter showed up very thick on my windshield this weekend.
Yellow-rumped Warblers, Kinglets, and various other small Passerines are moving through as well. Yellow-rumps are being seen hawking insects in cattail stands.
Large flocks of Green-winged Teal are showing up now, and there are still good numbers of ducks in the area, especially in Big Stone NWR and Salt Lake. Canvasbacks, Gadwalls, Shovelers, Buffleheads, Redheads, and Hooded Mergansers were very abundant this past weekend. The Emily Creek delta area, at the west end of Lac qui Parle Lake at Hwy 40, is looking like it'll be a productive backwater for shorebirds.
I still haven't seen any decent-sized flocks of shorebirds in Lac qui Parle, Big Stone, Swift, or Yellow Medicine Counties yet.
I have, however, been dropping GPS pins at productive-looking fields and pastures with standing water in them, and will share a digital map of these coordinates with our guides.
Finally, please be sure to RSVP for the dinner at Sons of Norway Lodge on Saturday night at 7:00, if you're interested. Advance registration is $15 per plate, and pre-payment by check or cash can be sent to Bernice at the following address:
Bernice Oellien 2570 280th St Madison MN 56256 <oelmal...> (507) 829-0676
Full info for the Salt Lake Birding Weekend can be found here:
