February 2002
Crows, Sparrows and Ducks lonely in park

by John Karrigan
Like last year, January birding has been quite slow in the park and the backyard. My optimism about finding the Hawk in the park again was misguided. I have not seen a sign of it since Jan. 2.
Every day that I go to the park, I see a few Crows, but not large numbers. Sometimes I see a few English Sparrows. One day I heard a Woodpecker, and on Jan. 22 I saw two Juncos. I have not seen any Tree Sparrows, Nuthatches or Brown Creepers at the park this January. On Jan. 8, one of the warm days, I saw 15 Mallard Ducks circle the lake several times. There were some large puddles on the ice in a few places. The Ducks looked at these, but were smart enough not to try to land on them.
A couple of non-bird items at the park: I learned that thousands of dollars worth of athletic equipment was lost in the last toilet shelter burning. It was in the storage building that still stands between where the toilet shelters used to stand. And I learned that the season of the year makes no difference to irresponsible dog owners. One afternoon, late in the month, I heard a dogfight and looked to see two large dark unrestrained dogs attacking a light-colored dog with a leash and responsible owner. Luckily I don’t think much harm was done. The bozo (I’m sorry, I mean the unrestrained dogs’ owner) chased the loose dogs from the light-colored dog, and the loose dogs proceeded to the school bus loading area on the west side of the park to scare various children. I was too far away to identify the dogs or people involved.
The backyard has not been visited by a flying squirrel this year, as it was last January. I think the heavy snow of Dec. 2000 drove it from the park and to backyard birdfeeders last year. Harvey, the rabbit, is coming to the yard quite often but the flying squirrel was more exciting. A male cardinal was singing his “What cheer cheer cheer” spring mating song on Jan. 29. Last year I first heard that call on Jan. 6. Juncos, House Finches and Blue Jays come by once in a while, but not as often as they would in a “normal” winter. European Starlings, English Sparrows and a few Rock Doves come no matter what the winter is like.
I ventured outside the neighborhood again in late January to the Old Cedar Avenue Bridge area. The open water there attracts a wider variety of birds than the frozen Powderhorn Park. There were Robins, American Tree Sparrows, Flickers, Hairy Woodpeckers, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Mallards and the usual Crows, Cardinals and Juncos. I did see a Bald Eagle, but did not get nearly as good a view as I had last month.
A little south of that area is Black Dog Lake, which has open water because of the Black Dog power plant. An immature Black-crowned Night Heron was reported there in mid-January. I think it could easily be the one that stayed at Powderhorn off and on through early December. It is the only one that has been mentioned on the Rare Bird Hotline this winter.
On the last Sunday in January, I attended an owl class at the Raptor Center on the St. Paul campus of the U of M. The class was interesting, well done, and they had live examples of almost every owl that can be found in Minnesota. The live owls are ones that have been rehabilitated, but the birds’ injuries are such that they could not survive if returned to the wild, or they are owls that people tried to keep as pets which never learned owl skills. (There I go again about irresponsible pet owners.) Anyway, they assured people that there are owls almost everywhere in the metro area, we just don’t see them very often, and they are probably right. I have seen owls of several species at several areas around the Twin Cities, but never in Powderhorn. However reliable people have seen owls in Powderhorn. A number of years ago (probably 5 or 6), a pair of Saw-whet Owls was in the southwest area of the park near the houses on 11th Avenue. A lack of food in their normal range may have caused them to come to Powderhorn, but they did not fare well and both were found dead a short time after they arrived.
The class moved to a nature area in Minnetonka after the classroom session and I was able to see a Saw-whet Owl alive and well in the wild. The women teaching the class had scouted the area and knew there was a pair of owls there. Even with that knowledge and a group of observers, it was very hard to find one owl, let alone a pair. I did learn some owl behavior and camouflage tricks that I hope will help me find some in Powderhorn.
Now, on to another really hard or impossible-to-find bird, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. On Jan. 17, an intense 30-day search was launched by an international team of experts in a Louisiana swamp to find a bird that many think has been extinct for about 60 years. The start of the search was well covered by Public Radio and in a front-page story in the Wall Street Journal. A hunter who believes he saw a pair of Ivory-bills in 1999 is the impetus for the search. It will be interesting to see what turns up. They are using electronic listening and recording devices to augment expert human observation. The bird would be the largest member of the American Woodpecker family if any exist. The ornithologists will accept a sighting or a recording of its distinctive call to verify that some birds still live.
(As an aside, many think that I would have been chosen for the international woodpecker search team if the esteemed publisher of Southside Pride did not misspell my name every few months, thereby detracting from my voluminous “body of work” as a bird expert. Just kidding.)
Thank you to the various people that have complimented me on my column lately, and to Earl. I don’t have an answer about the Swallows but I am working on it.

Comments and observations are always welcome. Send them to me, in care of this newspaper.

January 2002

Backyard wilderness

by John Karrigan

Happy New Year to all!
First—corrections to last month’s column.
It was my fault that Eagan was spelled two different ways in my column last month. Of course, the town and the park named after the town’s founder are both spelled E-a-g-a-n.
It was not my fault that my name was spelled wrong. It is true that my only sister used to tell people back in South Dakota that her last name was spelled with an “e” and that she was not related to the three Karrigan brothers. However, I have always spelled my name with an “a”and accepted all my relatives.
Now back to wildlife (this does not mean the Karrigan brothers).
The immature (this also does not refer to the Karrigan brothers) Black-crowned Night Heron did not leave after the November snow storm as I had thought. It was still on the island and sometimes on the fishing dock until at least Dec. 7. The varying degrees of freezing and thawing on the lake must have convinced him or her to finally head south.
Another late November item: On Nov. 29, just after I had finished writing my December column, a flock of about 50 or 60- Snow Geese flew over the neighborhood going straight east. I don’t think they had been at Powderhorn. Of course I don’t know what they were up to, but they could have been going from Lake Calhoun to the Mississippi River. That’s just a guess. This was in daylight and they were low enough to identify but it was the sound that alerted me to look up. The sound is hard to describe but is way different than the sound of Canada Geese. On some fall nights, but not in 2001, I have heard what must have been thousands and thousands of Snow Geese passing over the city in a more conventional north to south direction.
And my final belated (after deadline) November report: The mystery Sparrows I mentioned two months ago finally came out in the open and stood still for identification. They were American Tree Sparrows. They summer in Northern Canada and Alaska and, according to bird books, could stay here all winter. But I think they moved on after about two months around the western edges of the lake. They may winter anywhere from here to northern Arkansas.
Canada Geese and Ring-billed Gulls were at the lake, in widely varied numbers along with the resident Mallard Ducks, until the cold and snow just before Christmas.
Joining the Mallards on Dec. 6, one of the ice-free days, was a pair of Northern Shoveler ducks. You had to be observant to spot them. They were usually at the edge of the Mallard flock. That was the only day I saw them, and the only fall I have seen them at Powderhorn, though there usually are some each spring that stay for a few weeks. A pair of Brown Creepers was also enjoying that day on trees north of the lake.
The tardy but inevitable arrival of winter slowed down park bird watching drastically, but I made one last minute look around on Jan. 2 to help with my usual writer’s block. Many great writers have resorted to heavy drinking when they have writers block, but being a sensitive new-age Powderhorn type of guy, I just walk around the park. I found about what I expected—few friendly people, a few friendly dogs, a Downy Woodpecker, some Chickadees and one surprise. The surprise was a Hawk. I am sure it was a Hawk, and quite sure it was one of the Cooper’s Hawks that was around in November, but I’m not positive. It came from the northwest, flying low and fast and went into the pine trees southwest of the teahouse. I was a long ways away and that was all I could see. I walked over to the grove of pine trees and spent quite a bit of time looking from every direction into the grove with no luck. The bird could have passed through the trees and kept going but I don’t think it did. With patience I think I will find it again and be able to identify it.
I had better luck the day before, New Year’s Day, at the Old Cedar Avenue Bridge area of the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge. I was scanning treetops, looking for Hawks, Owls, Eagles or anything else, when I saw something flying a long distance away. It was just a dark dot in my binoculars, but it was headed somewhat towards me and looked like it could be an Eagle. It was in Dakota County when I first saw it. It slowly worked its way across the Minnesota River across Long Meadow Lake and landed in a tree three or four hundred yards away. By that time, I could see all the features and colors of a beautiful mature Bald Eagle. On my way back towards the prestigious Powderhorn Park area, I saw a Red-tailed Hawk on a light post on Cedar Avenue between I-494 and the Crosstown Highway. Freeway and highway Hawk watching was quite good in December in all directions.
The first grit chamber (part of the lake water clean-up project) was supposed to be delivered to the park in late December. There was a delay; it might arrive in January. And, as many readers probably noticed, the second toilet shelter was burned to the ground in late November. The first one was burned in August of 2000. I don’t think the November fire did as much tree damage as the 2000 fire. Our new city council member and park board commissioner are now in office and I think we will get good cooperation from them on various important park issues. Of course, it is always beneficial to let them know how important the park is to people and creatures in this neighborhood.

Comments and observations are always welcome. Send them to me, in care of this newspaper.

December 2001

Backyard wilderness
by John Kerrigan

I was going over my December 2000 column before I started this one, looking for similarities and differences. November started out mild last year also, but the lake was two-thirds frozen over and I was shoveling snow by Nov. 19. This year of course was even milder. I doubt if the lake will freeze at all this month (I am writing this on Nov. 28) and I did not start shoveling until the 26th.
Regardless of the weather, the Wood Ducks left on Oct. 28 or 29, about the same time as last year.
The rest of the usual suspects are still on and around the lake. The Mallard numbers have stayed about the same; Crow and Ring-billed Gull numbers vary quite a lot, somewhat related to weather. Canada Goose numbers have varied from two on Nov. 19 to about 200 on Thanksgiving Day. During the heavy snow, there were still six Canada Geese. I think this is the family that has been around most of the time since spring.
Brown Creepers, Downy Woodpeckers, Juncos and Nuthatches should stay around all winter, but I sometimes go for days without seeing any, and then see all of them active on the same day.
Mice have been more prevalent and active this year than ever, probably because of the natural areas starting to take hold on some of the hillside and lakeshore. I have seen them almost every time I have been to the park in November, including the heavy rain on the 24th when they were building very small boats. I might be exaggerating about the boats, but I did see mice that day. Some of their lakeshore homes were temporarily flooded. The presence of more mice might explain the two Cooper’s Hawks that have been in the park on several days through at least the 24th. Though Cooper’s Hawks also prey on small birds, I have not seen them catching anything.
I have seen the Hawks at various locations in the park, including the willow tree on the island and by a small puddle south of the park building. They sometimes fly together but do not perch together, though I have seen them use the same tree branch. One comes in; the other one leaves, and goes to a tree across the lake. I am trying to figure out if they are mates, or an adult and an offspring. If they stay through any of December, look “high and low” as the saying goes. I have seen them in low branches of small- and medium-sized trees, the tops of big trees, and on the ground as I mentioned earlier.
Another unusual late November bird has been a juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron. It was on the island every day that I looked for it through the 24th. Maybe it was there all fall but hidden by the leaves. I could not find it during the first snow, but visibility was poor. Or it might have had enough sense to head south. It had a ways to go if it joins most Night Herons on the Gulf Coast.
The last unusual November visitor to the lake was a wayward automobile. It was just north of the end of the fishing dock, spotted by someone in the now clear water Friday night, Nov. 2. I was walking around the lake on Sunday, Nov. 4 when all sorts of sheriff's vehicles started arriving in the late afternoon. Divers went in and attached cables. A tow truck came and went. I hung around for a while in total darkness, and then gave up. I can't tell you what “species” of car it was, but they eventually got it out. That’s two this year that I know of.
The pair of Peregrine Falcons have continued to be heard and seen south of the park several times just before sunset. This is also when the Crows start to gather, and they harass the Falcons when they spot them.
A Robin was in the backyard on Nov. 8. Another was in Patrick Egan Park (in Eagan) on the 11th, and more were near the old Cedar Avenue Bridge on the 12th. Supposedly, most migrating Robins should be gone by the end of October. An aside: The City of Eagan is thinking of turning Patrick Egan Park, a beautiful wooded undeveloped area, into a golf course. I will have to enlist my former Powderhorn neighbors, who now live near that park, to fight this bad idea.
My freeway birding has been slow this month. No Falcons, but I did see two Red-tailed Hawks along the Crosstown Highway in mid-month.
Another away-from-the-neighborhood note: I attended a retreat at the Riverwood Conference Center on the Mississippi River near Monticello on Nov. 17 and 18. The night of the 17th was the night of the Leonid Meteor shower. I stood outside for an hour between 10 and 11 p.m., and 1-1/2 hours beginning at 3 a.m. No meteors, just lots of stars between 10 and 11. Then between 3 and 4:30, meteors everywhere, and a small flock of Snow Geese passed overhead. Not being able to see stars and meteors very well must be one of the few disadvantages of living in Powderhorn.

Happy Holidays!

Comments and observations are always welcome. Send them to me, in care of this newspaper.

November 2001

Park board opens bidding for grit chambers
by John Karrigan

As park walkers will have noticed, some work has finally started on the lake water quality improvement project. New sidewalk, curbing and a new drain are in place and almost complete on the northwest corner of the lake. This is a first small step in a major project and is intended to cut down on erosion in that area. Bids have been opened and a builder for the grit chambers has been chosen. Grit chambers will filter storm water runoff from the large area of south Minneapolis that drains into Powderhorn Lake. The park board says work on the chambers can be done in the winter and hopefully it will be. The project also includes a new and improved aeration system, native plantings around parts of the shoreline, water treatment and other components. A lot to look forward to, but there is much to see at the park now, even without the improvements.
Some days, there doesn’t seem to be much but the usual Crows, Ring-billed Gulls, Mallards, Wood Ducks and Canada Geese. Other days, there is all sorts of bird activity, or some activity of unusual interest. The Canada Goose population has gone from zero in August, to six in September, to around 80 in late October. This is the highest number I can recall, but they will all be gone too soon, or not soon enough if you worry about all the goose “evidence” they leave behind. In the meantime, flocks of various sizes pass low right over the yard, always a thrill to see, in my opinion.
One day in mid-October, besides the usual suspects, the lakeshore was almost crawling with Dark-eyed Juncos and Ruby-crowned Kinglets. There were also Downy Woodpeckers, Brown Creepers, White-breasted Nuthatches and some sort of sparrow with a striped breast that I could not see well enough to identify.
While all this was going on, a Pied-billed Grebe was swimming and diving in the lake. There are usually a number of Pied-billed Grebes that stay for several weeks in the spring but this is the first time I have seen one here in the fall. I thought this was a one-time fall sighting, but the Grebe was still here in late October. Its colors are dull and it spends a lot of time under water so it is not easy to spot, but it may be there every day.
On the same late but mild October day (Oct. 23), there were two turtles (one Painted and one Snapping) sunning on the island, and at least four kinds of flowers blooming along the shore, west of the teahouse. The flowers were attracting many bees, but no birds. And, no, I don’t know what kinds of flowers they were. I have enough of a challenge trying to learn about the butterflies in the neighborhood. I do know a little about bees and beekeeping, and I suspect I would have to learn about flowers to go much further with that. And no jokes, please, about me being an expert on the birds and the bees!
Another interesting find on that day was a young Sharp-shinned Hawk, maybe the same one that I mentioned last month. It was not in the same tree where I sometimes spot Hawks and Falcons, but it was close. I found the Hawk because I saw two Crows acting oddly in a large tree. The Crows, I soon found out, were harassing the Hawk. The Hawk was fighting back and chased one Crow twice for short distances, but then gave up, flew north and kept on going. It probably went at least a quarter of a mile before I lost sight of it. If it behaves like the one last fall, it may stay in the area through the first week of November.
I have not seen many new and different birds in the backyard in the last month. Of course, I was out of town on one long and one short trip, and could have missed a lot in the yard and in the park. The experts said the Grackles would be gone by the end of September, and I believed them. Then today (Oct. 23), I saw one in the alley. It was about six feet away, so I am sure it was a Grackle. The escaped Ringed Turtle Dove has not been by for some time. I don’t know if it found a better neighborhood or went to the big bird feeder in the sky. I have since learned, perhaps too late for this bird, that there is an organization that deals with escaped pet or companion birds. It is the Midwest Avian Adoption and Rescue Services Inc. (MAARS) at 651-275-0568, or www.maars.org. This situation does come up ever so often. A number of years ago, a bright blue parrot-like bird (which I later found out was a Love Bird) was hanging around the area and a few years ago a fancy tame Pigeon wandered into the park building and they did not know what to do with it.
I spent part of October on one of my more or less regular fall trips to the Winter Park area of Colorado. Last year, I wrote about the different birds that are common in that terrain and altitude. Maybe next month I will write about the mammals of that area, including the elk mating rituals and the family of bears hanging around outside my door. Or, I could expand on my thoughts on the value of nature, and the outdoors, be it Minnesota or Colorado, in these very troubling times.
Please remember to vote and consider the candidates’ stands on environmental and park issues. Thank you.
Comments and observations are always welcome. Send them to me, in care of this newspaper.

October 2001

Birds of prey seize the day
by John Karrigan

    First of all, some follow-ups to last month’s observations.
    So far, my hopes for Hummingbird sightings in the yard have been for naught. Last year, a bird arrived on Sept. 13; this year no Hummingbirds at the specially-chosen-for- Hummingbirds flowers, or at the carefully maintained nectar feeders. There is still time, of course, or there may have been some that I missed, but I was hoping word would get around in Hummingbird circles and they would be common visitors. However, the White-lined Sphinx Moths, which some people mistake for Hummingbirds, were quite common through mid-September.
    The Ring-necked Turtle Dove I mentioned last month is still in the neighborhood. It is obviously an escaped bird and now visits several yards on the block. It follows me around sometimes, and I think it would follow me into the house, garage or car if I let it. Sometimes it greets me as I walk out the back door, obviously waiting for me to toss some seed onto the patio where it feeds. I don't know what the best course of action is for the bird’s welfare. Can it survive with its newfound freedom, or would it be better off back in captivity with a caring and knowledgeable “owner?”     One of the things the Turtle Dove and other neighborhood birds have to escape is the Peregrine Falcons. I wrote last month about seeing and hearing a pair near the park. This month I have seen or heard them every few days near the house but have not seen them take any prey. Suddenly, a once very rare and threatened species is almost a regular in the neighborhood. I usually hear the Falcons first and then find them visually, about an hour or two before sunset. Once I spot them I can often count on them remaining until just before sunset.
    Now to bird observations in the park itself, but don’t go away if you’re into birds of prey. (How about that, a rhyme in the bird column!)
    Ring-billed Gulls continue to be present in or about the park, but the numbers and locations vary greatly from day to day. The Double-crested Cormorants were common the first third of September but I think they are now gone. Wood Ducks and Mallards (including the Pale Mallard) continue in their usual numbers. I have not seen a Green Heron all month or an Egret since mid-month, but the other two members of the Heron family, the Great Blue Heron and Black-crowned Night Heron, are at the lake almost every day, often semi-hidden in trees on the island rather than their usual shore-side positions.
    Six Canada Geese have been on the lake in late September and I think it is the same family that nested and hatched on the island, and then left Aug. 2. But many Canada Geese do look quite similar, as they say about bags at the airport luggage claim area.
    Goldfinches are a continuing presence, but I hear them more often than I seen them. On the hillside north of the lake I saw a male Wilson’s Warbler on Aug. 28 and a female on Sept. 20. I don’t know if they were migrating or a resident pair, but that is all I saw of them. I saw a few Yellow-rumped Warblers on Sept. 20 and a moderate number on Sept. 24. Last year, on the 24th, there were probably a couple hundred Yellow-rumps, the most common fall migrating warbler. White-throated Sparrow numbers similarly increased from one on Sept. 20 to 20-50 on the Sept. 24. The White-throated Sparrows got me thinking about Chipping Sparrows and the lack of them in the park. Last year they were there all summer and everywhere else I went in Minnesota. This year, I have seen very few anywhere. I don’t have an answer, just something to think about.
    A large flock of Flickers were on the hillsides north of the lake and east of the ball fields on the 20th, and Kingbirds are still in the area, but I don’t see or hear them very often.
    Of course, Sept. 11 was a bad day for me and most people in the world. I was listening to two radios and switching TV channels for hours and needed a respite. The first thing that entered my mind was to go birding in the park. That was a good choice. The park was peaceful and beautiful. People were walking dogs, the birds were still there, and things seemed normal. I don’t have any great moral or words of wisdom to impart. I just know that for me, anyway, nature is an important ingredient in a balanced life, in good times or in bad. On that day full of bad news, I was able to find some good things, like a Black Swallowtail Butterfly near the Swingley Memorial Garden and a male Kestrel in a tree near the lake. I don’t know where I’m going with this, so I guess I’ll get back to writing about birds.
    The Kestrel was in the same spot, in the same tree where I spotted a Sharp-shinned Hawk late last October. Three days later, on Sept. 14, there was another (or was it the one from last year?) Sharp-shinned Hawk at the same spot. I have not seen either raptor again. Last year the hawk showed up about six weeks later and stayed for several weeks, usually on the same branch. It is not the tallest tree in the area, but it must have some important qualities for Hawks and Falcons.
    Somewhat off the subject again, there is still no progress on the lake improvement project. Nothing has been started and no start date has been set as far as I know. We have a new city council member and a new park and recreation board member to elect in November. If you talk or write to any candidates, please mention this important project and encourage them to move it forward as soon as possible when they take office. Thank you.

Comments and observations are always welcome. Send them to me, in care of this newspaper.

September 2001

by John Karrigan

    On July 29, after I turned in my August column, I spotted two immature birds in the backyard. I had seen the same birds, or two just like them, on the northwest edge of Powderhorn Lake on July 24. I did not write about them because I could not figure out what they were. They had two white wing bars and pale yellow tails with pale orange-yellow breasts. I went through every warbler and various other types of birds in my books with no luck.         When I saw them the second time, something, probably the shape of the beaks, reminded me of Orioles. It was a lucky break. According to the Sibley book, they were first-year Baltimore Orioles and my July conjecture about the male Oriole finding a mate and nesting northeast of the park might be correct.
    Two baby Blue Jays also came to the yard that day and have been returning regularly.
    Later, on Aug. 19, a White-breasted Nuthatch was in the yard. Nuthatches are usually only fall and winter yard birds.
    That evening there was a White-lined Sphinx Moth, sometimes called a Hummingbird moth, because its large size and hovering behavior makes is easily mistaken for a Hummingbird.
    Speaking of Hummingbirds, they are migrating now and will continue to for quite a while. A neighbor on the 14th Avenue edge of the park saw one Aug. 26 and I have faith that some will pass through the yard this year.
    The gardener of the house has again done a great job with plants to attract butterflies and birds, and we have several hummingbird feeders. Last year we got a hummer with plants alone (no feeder) so they should be a sure thing this fall, I hope, I hope. The flowers in the yard are bringing in Monarchs, Tiger Swallowtails and various smaller butterflies that I can't identify yet, plus bees of many types.
    One more backyard sighting of note, actually a neighbor’s backyard across the alley, has been visited for the last three days by a Ringed Turtle Dove. This bird is slightly larger than a Mourning Dove, quite pretty with a pale fawn color and a black partial neck ring. The bird books say this is an “introduced species” and any one we see here has escaped from captivity somewhere. Colonies of these escaped birds have formed flocks and survived in downtown Los Angeles and a few southern cities.

Back to the Park
    The six-member Canada Goose family left the park voluntarily on Aug. 2, the park department assures me. The two adults and four surviving young had grown all the needed flight feathers and “went where the wild goose goes” as Frankie Laine (or John Karrigan) would say. The park department says the Goose Gestapo will no longer come in and take all the Geese on the lake, as has happened occasionally in past years. Other groups of geese will no doubt “drop in” during fall migration.
    Double-crested Cormorants have also been absent from the lake since early August.
    The usual four species of the Heron family continue to visit the lake with some regularity. In August, there were two Green Herons almost every day I went to the park. They sometimes sit together on the same branch, staring intently into the water. Again this year an immature Black-crowned Night Heron is coming to the island. This year, I did not see it until late in the month; last year a young Night Heron was present early in the month.
    The Wood Duck and Mallard groups seem to be doing fine. The last half of the month, a very pale duck has been part of the group. By size, shape, and markings, it appears to be a female Mallard with some sort of feather color aberration.
    I often see or hear an Eastern Kingbird or two near the north or west side of the lake. On Aug. 3, when I was away from the lake, in the upper part of the park, near Swingley Memorial Garden, and the area was crawling with Kingbirds. It was hard to say how many but it was a lot. This is the same place that was crawling with Flickers one day this spring. In both cases, it seems to be an inexplicable one day phenomenon. Was it a good bug hatch? A social gathering? How did the birds communicate this? That is what makes nature interesting.
    Speaking of interesting, Aug. 19 was one of those days. Flocks of migrating Common Nighthawks were wheeling around over the lake and other areas of the park when I heard a pair of Peregrine Falcons calling to each other. I finally spotted one of the Falcons as it called and landed at the top of a tall pine tree somewhat north of the park building. The other member of the pair was somewhere just south of the park.
    By the time I got to the area where I had spotted one landing, they were no longer calling and I could not even figure out which tall pine I was looking for. It was in someone's backyard north of the park border. Also on that day, about 40 to 50 Monarch butterflies were hanging out in the trees north of the park building, the same site where they gathered one day last August.
    All month long, the more melodic, and somewhat similar, calls of Goldfinches and Chimney Swifts were common in the neighborhood.
    The park department assured attendees at the Aug. 14 Save Our Lake meeting that all the lake and park improvements were still going to happen and would be starting soon. They say many parts of the overall plan can be accomplished in cold weather. City of Minneapolis Public Works Department staff did not attend the meeting, but their part of the project is supposedly moving forward after some delays.
    Please help make sure city and park board candidates are informed and aware of park issues and projects.


Comments and observations are always welcome. Send them to me, in care of this newspaper.

August 2001

Backyard wilderness
Kestrel brings life-or-death drama to the park

by John Karrigan

    July is usually a slow but pleasant month for birding. Most adult birds are busy raising little birds, most food sources (insects, seeds, etc.) are plentiful and the weather, at least for birds, is not life threatening. However there are still some things worth noting.
    Some shore birds that nest above the Arctic Circle have already started south and had reached Minnesota by the Fourth of July, 14 days after the summer solstice. These are not birds that stop at Powderhorn, and this is right on schedule, but somewhat disconcerting if, as I do, you yearn for the “Endless Summer” of surf movie fame.
    I mentioned the lack of Common Nighthawks last month, but by July 2 they were in the park and neighborhood. I have continued to see and hear them occasionally all month, though the numbers are way down from most years. I miss the nightly calls and erratic insect-catching flights that in some years seem to occur almost every evening.
    Another night flier I have missed is the bat. However, late last month when I was out late in the evening helping look for a neighbor’s lost dog, I saw bats both in the neighborhood and in the park. It was a beautiful evening, the bats were a welcome surprise, and someone found the lost dog.
    The rest of the backyard birding has been fairly routine with a couple of exceptions. The baby birds are growing quickly. Most are adult size but with less distinct colors and fluffier feathers. One new baby this year is a male Downy Woodpecker. I have not seen a raccoon in the yard so far this year, but a cute baby rabbit has been in a neighbor’s yard.
    The big nonroutine exception was a Kestrel, late in the day on July 1. We were sitting peacefully in the backyard when a big commotion of birds and bird noise arose at the edge of the alley, about 35 or 40 feet away. The Kestrel, the smallest member of the Falcon family, flew right past us, probably within 15 or 20 feet, to a neighbor’s tree 35 or 40 feet in another direction. It was carrying a small bird, an English Sparrow or House Finch. It sat in the tree for just a few seconds and then left, flying west. The whole event was so sudden and fast moving, you didn’t have time to focus or even fully realize what you were seeing. The area was very quiet for awhile, probably 20 minutes. Then the usual backyard birds returned to their usual songs and behavior.
    I have seen a Peregrine Falcon take a Blackbird over Powderhorn Lake, and twice have seen Peregrines right after they took birds in the backyard. I wrote about one incident (in my March 2000 column) but I had never seen a Kestrel with anything but large insects, though the bird used to be called the “Sparrow Hawk.” I wonder if this type of life-or-death drama happens often in the park and neighborhood, or if it is a rare occurrence?

Back to the Park
    The pair of Canada Geese has lost another gosling. They went from six to five in June, and to four for most of July. Again I don’t know what happened, but being a curmudgeon, I blame it on rotten kids. I also saw a dead adult female Mallard floating in the lake a few days ago. Every few trips to the park, I have to yell at the kids who are throwing rocks at waterfowl. I see other gentle Powderhorn folks trying to talk nicely to the offenders.
    I no longer talk nicely to them. I get very explicit, which at least has some immediate results, but does not come close to replacing watchful parents. That is most of my ranting for this month.
    Most of the Mallards and Wood Ducks, young and old, seem to be thriving. From one to three Double-crested Cormorants are on the lake most days, and the four species of the Heron family continue to frequent the lake but are still not as consistent or numerous as in past years.
    Away from the lake, Goldfinches are more numerous than ever. I see Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers quite often but I have not seen a Flicker in the park for quite a while. Chimney Swifts are somewhat regular, usually very high, but once in a while skimming right over the water, grabbing bugs from the surface. Eastern Kingbirds and Chickadees are usually somewhere near the north side of the lake, and one day, mid-month, I saw four White-breasted Nuthatches at once, a new Powderhorn record for me.
    As the wildflower and native plantings become more established in the park, not only do some bird numbers increase but the numbers of bees and butterflies are up greatly. Most of the butterflies that I can identify are Monarchs or Red Admirals. I have a lot to learn before I can identify the rest of them. So far they seem more difficult to identify than birds, plus I need some good butterfly books.
    This leads me to rant number two. By this time of the year, I had hoped to be writing about the big improvements the Park Board and City would be doing to the park and lake. A very large amount of money was allocated and work was to start in May with most of the project done in a year. As anyone can see, nothing has been started, nothing is about to start, and when (if?) it does start, they say it will take much longer than a year. The improvements look and sound fantastic for water quality, fish, birds, animals and people, but the delays are quite troubling and mostly inexplicable. The Save Our Lake (S.O.L.) group is trying to get some answers and some accountability. I hope to know more specifics next month. This is a city election year and concerned residents could ask candidates what has happened to the promised park improvements.

    Comments and observations are always welcome. Send them to me, in care of this newspaper.

July 2001

Powderhorn bird watch
Ducklings missing, Snapping Turtle suspected

by John Karrigan
    In the past month, various people asked me about the truck in the last half of June, and the four usual visitors from the Heron family (Great Blue Heron, Green Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron and Great Egret) have been on the lake at times all month, but not as consistently as last year. Usually there are at least two Heron species every time I go to the lake. Last year all four species were often there together and sometimes there were more than one of each type.
    The numbers may be down but the quality is still there. One day in June I saw a Great Egret go through an elaborate grooming procedure, holding plumes out in various positions, reminiscent of an Audubon painting, but in the flesh right before my eyes.
    Barn Swallows and Chimney Swifts are sometimes over the lake, catching insects, but usually not at the same time. I have not seen any Terns in June, nor have I seen any Common Night Hawks over the lake or around street lights. I have seen and heard them in other parts of the metro area. Most years they are common, as their name suggests, in the Powderhorn area.
    A pair of Eastern Kingbirds have returned to their usual area, generally west and north of the lake. I hear them more than I see them, as they seem to prefer the types of trees that young lovers like to sit under, and I am uncomfortable staring at the trees with my binoculars. The various young lovers would probably be uncomfortable also.
    Goldfinches continue to be consistent in the park, but not consistent to any one area. I usually hear or see a small group of them, but it can be anywhere.
    Hairy and Down Woodpeckers can also be observed in many parts of the park, but not as regularly as Goldfinches.

The unusual
    My most unusual sighting last month was a pair of hawks on June 18. I first saw them as they wheeled out over the northeast part of the lake and headed northeast. I went in that direction to the trees north of the park building. At first, I could find no sign of the hawks, but two Crows in the area seemed very agitated. They no doubt had a nest nearby and were making all kinds of calls and noises, along with diving and swooping.
    I spent a long time trying to figure out where the Crows’ agitation was directed, without much luck. At one point, I thought I saw a hawk move within a tree and later I thought I saw something leave the trees heading northwest. The Crows calmed down and I headed northwest. Amazingly, I actually found the hawk (I believe the second hawk was long gone by this time). It was in the park in the tree closest to where 33rd Street forms a tee with 14th Avenue.
    I looked at it for a few seconds, it looked at me for a few seconds, and was on its way, flying low and going northeast. It was a first year Sharp-shinned Hawk. Without its mate nearby to compare sizes, I could not tell if it was male or female, and I have no idea if it was the same sharp-shinned hawk that was in the park last October. I have not been able to locate the bird again.

The mundane
    Now to more mundane things. The backyard birding has not been very exciting. A garage construction project has made it disruptive for birds and humans but that should be done eventually and then things will improve. The baby birds in the yard are cute, even the English Sparrows and Starlings, which I don’t particularly like, and the Robins, which of course, I do like.

Park issues
    Last month, I talked about some troubling human behavior in the park. I saw additional incidents the last two days of May. These were caused by kids in their early teens and younger, and the actions were way beyond kids being kids. The new park director, Al Bangoura, was already taking action and has added five new people for observing and supervising around the park. These outdoor supervisors provide an average of 20 work hours of supervising every day, seven days a week throughout the park, and it is working. But those of us who love and use the park must stay vigilant and report any problems to Al, the supervisors or the police.
    In future months, I will write about some of the exciting changes that will be coming soon to improve water quality, habitat and other physical aspects of the city’s greatest park.
    Comments and observations are always welcome. Send them to me, in care of this newspaper.

May 2001

Backyard Wilderness

by John Karrigan

Last month (April) could be divided into two periods, before ice-out in the park and after ice-out.
Mallard Ducks began flying over the lake and landing on the ice the last few days in March, as did Ring-billed Gulls. On April 1, 50 Canada Geese flew over the house while 15 Ring-billed Gulls were circling in the early evening.
Later that night, from about 9:30 to 11:00 p.m., large flocks of Snow Geese were passing over the city. There were probably thousands of them. I did not see any, but the sound was incredible and beautiful whenever airplanes, buses and inconsiderate people with loud cars were not present. The calls of Snow Geese are completely different than the Canada Geese we are familiar with. The same day, my parents saw and heard large flocks of Snow Geese passing over them on the central flyway in South Dakota. The flyway over Minneapolis is naturally called the Mississippi flyway.
By April 6, Wood Ducks begin arriving in the park, mostly just sitting or walking on the island. On April 8 a pair of Canada Geese were claiming territory on the island and waiting for the ice to melt. They now have a nest on the east end of the island which can easily be seen from the fishing dock.
There was some open water on Lake Nokomis on April 9, where Red-breasted Merganser ducks were waiting until they could get to the much more desirable Powderhorn Park. The next day I saw two Great Blue Herons flying near Prairie Island, probably also waiting for the opening at prestigious Powderhorn.
The last of the Juncos and the first of the Robins were in the backyard in early April. On the 6th a Fox Sparrow was with a small group of Juncos along the southwest shore of the lake.
The usual small song birds, Chickadees, Brown Creepers and White-breasted Nuthatches were near the park building, along with a bat at dusk on April 8. The bat was probably not having much luck catching insects with almost complete ice coverage at the lake and cool weather, but it was trying. Between flights it would hang on the west wall shingles of the park building. If I had not seen it land there I never would have spotted it; the bat and the shingles are almost a perfect color match.
Also in early April, on the 5th, one or two Peregrine Falcons were in the block in the early evening. I only saw one at a time, but, unless it was a ventriloquist, there were two, calling back and forth for half an hour from various tree tops and wires. Three days later, I saw and heard one Falcon a block to the west and saw and heard one flying over the park parking lot on April 20.

ICE OUT

The ice went out completely on April 12. By the next day, Lesser Scaup and Red-breasted Mergansers, both diving ducks, and Pied-billed Grebes had joined the Mallards, Wood Ducks and Canada Geese on the lake. A day after that, Buflehead Ducks and Hooded Mergansers were also on the water, and song Sparrows were along the shore. On that day, the 14th, a third Canada Goose landed on the lake. One of the two geese that had been there about a week, I assume it’s the male, immediately started chasing and harrassing the new goose. The established pair of geese apparently succeeded in driving away the other goose.
At dusk on the 18th, I spotted a Ruby-crowned Kinglet and then saw a Black-crowned Night Heron fly over the lake. Just after that, two Black-crowned Night Herons landed in a tree on the island. Were these the same three Black-crowned Night Herons that spent much of last fall on the island?
Two days later, April 20, was the first 70 degree day and the first day I saw Goldfinches in the park. I saw two and both were males, one in full summer plumage, the other in partial summer plumage. Were they father and son?
Also that day I saw a few Flickers around the lake. After a trip around the lake I went to the higher northeast quadrant of the park near Swingley Memorial Garden. The trees and grass were full of Flickers, at least 50, probably hundreds. Later in the day, a friend went to the same area and saw no Flickers. A day later, a male-female pair of Goldfinches were in the backyard.

A WAY-BEYOND-DEADLINE UPDATE (4-25-01)
The Lesser Scaup and Bufflehead Ducks seem to have headed north. The Pied-billed Grebes, Red-breasted Mergansers and one pair of Hooded Mergansers are still at the lake and one Green Heron has returned.
Comments and observations are always welcome. Send them to me in care of this newspaper.

April 2001

Backyard  Wilderness

by John Karrigan

Dreamer that I am, I thought spring would have sprung by the time I wrote the April column. As we all know this did not happen, so I went several days beyond deadline (thanks to a tolerant editor and publisher) waiting for it. In fact the last full weekend in March was one of the most bitter cold of the year in my opinion.

Park Birds
I went to the park three days in a row, in the aforementioned bitter cold, looking for some sign of spring to write about. On Saturday there was one Ringbilled Gull over the lake, forlornly looking for open water, and a handful of Crows. On Sunday there were three Ringbilled Gulls walking on the ice wondering if they were ever going to find open water, and the usual handful of Crows. I was about to give up, I could barely see because my eyes were watering like mad due to the wind chill, when I saw some color in the small trees on the north shore of the lake. I found two Robins, my first for the year, and it made my day. On my still very cold Monday follow-up walk, the Robins and Gulls were gone, nothing was around but the Crows.
About mid-March, at 5:15 p.m., nine Canada Geese went over the house, in the direction of the park. That was one of the warm days of the month. It was 48 degrees. I was going to check on the park anyway and walked over there after I saw them. As I expected they were gone. Two more Canada Geese came by while I was there, looked for open water, wheeled and headed in the direction of the Mississippi.
For most of March, at least when I have been observing, the Crow population in the park has been down from hundreds to a few handfuls. Several times early in March I was returning to the prestigious Powderhorn neighborhood on 28th Street around dusk and saw thousands of Crows around the old Honeywell headquarters area. One of the TV stations had a promo about a Crow gathering area in South Minneapolis and I made a point of watching the piece. Sure enough it was the old Honeywell site. Whether in person or on TV it was quite an image, thousands of Crows everywhere, on land, in trees and in the air, it was reminiscent of the old Hitchcock movie classic The Birds.

Backyard Birds (and critters)
The weather has slowed backyard arrivals and observations just as it has in the park. On one of the nice days early in the month a Downy Woodpecker and a male House Finch were singing in the same tree. The first Grackle of the year was in the yard on March 21 and lately Crows have been coming to the heated bird bath. The Crows dump large hunks of white bread into the bird bath. I don’t know where they get the bread but they obviously prefer it wet to dry. They eat some of it, English Sparrows and Starlings eat some of it, and most of it just makes a mess in the bird bath. A couple of years ago I noticed an almost complete loaf of moldy bread near the top of the neighbors pine tree. The only conclusion I could draw was that a Crow did it. The bread remained there for some time, but I think they ate all the “good” parts.
I have only seen the Flying Squirrel once, about mid-month. it was just after 8:00 p.m., the earliest I have ever seen it. I was throwing bird feed in one side of the platform feeder and something flew out of the other side. Of course it was the squirrel. It promptly climbed the nearby tree and flew to the neighbor’s pine tree, the same place it has always gone when I have been lucky enough to see it.

Eagles
On the first weekend in March I made another trip to Wabasha and back. This time it was a bird trip, not a work trip, and I could stop and look when I wanted to. We picked up a friend in Hastings and would not have had to go beyond that point as there were about twenty Bald Eagles around the open water at the lock and dam. But we continued on with stops at Covill Park in Red Wing, various roadside pull offs, Reeds Landing and on to Wabasha. We found Eagles at every stop, from a couple to a lot in some places. Our destination was the National Eagle Center in Wabasha. The Center is now in a temporary home near the Eagle observation platform at the river’s edge in downtown Wabasha. The Center has a couple of injured Eagles you can get up close to, information and displays about the birds, T-shirts, souvenirs and more. The part I found most interesting was the plan for the permanent facility. Of course the only Eagles they will keep are birds with permanent injuries that cannot survive in the wild. These birds will not have to live in small enclosures, they will have a natural outdoor area with “accessible” trees with ramps to them so the Eagles can perch in trees like they did before they were injured. There will also be ramps and walkways making the area accessible to human observers. I wish them success in raising money and building the center.

Comments and observations are always welcome. Send them to me, in care of this newspaper.

March 2001

Backyard wilderness
by John Kerrigan

Backyard Birds
Juncos, House Finches and Mourning Doves have made a few appearances in the backyard in February. Some years, all three species are common all winter; this year I have not seen any until this month. The male Cardinal is doing his spring mating song regularly now and Blue Jays are more vocal than they were in early winter. Of course the English Sparrows and European Starlings are always present.
Park Birds
Once again, Crows dominate the park bird scene, with hundreds gathering there everyday. On one walk, a handful of English Sparrows were the only birds observed besides Crows. On my most recent walk, one White-breasted Nuthatch was the only other bird I saw. But the Nuthatch was giving his or her contact call, so there must have been at least one other Nuthatch in the area. Experts say the Crows will soon be separating into smaller family groups and dispersing for nesting. It might be interesting, but difficult, to try to determine how many Crows are in the park at one time.

Strange Migrating Patterns
The birds in my bird call wall clock apparently left for the winter also. The clock was working fine but I realized it had not been making noise for some time. New batteries solved that, and it just did its eight o'clock Song Sparrow song.

Highway Birding
I have not seen any urban freeway raptors this month, but I did see a Red-tailed Hawk on my way to Rochester and quite a number of Bald Eagles along Highway 61 on my way to and from Wabasha in mid-February. One of Minnesota's top birders, and a nice guy, Oscar Johnson, saw 215 Bald Eagles on the 21st of February between Red Wing and Wabasha along the Mississippi River.

Minnesota Bird Trips
Like last month I don't have many birds to write about, so I will share information about another Minnesota birding event. It is the Detroit Lakes Festival of Birds (which will be held May 18-20 this year). Knowledgeable local birders pick the weekend that they think will have the most migrating birds, which in the Detroit Lakes area is about three weeks later than the Salt Lake-Madison-Marietta event I wrote about last month. Of course the weather and birds don't always completely cooperate with the organizers, but there is always something to watch.
Again, like the April event I chronicled last month, the area has a wide variety of terrain. Detroit Lakes is located close to three major ecosystems, the tallgrass prairie, mixed hardwood forest, and coniferous boreal forest. Trips using vans and buses are organized to visit top birding spots in each ecosystem. Last year the weather and birds did cooperate and it was a great time. Guest speakers were Donald and Lillian Stokes, authors of many bird and nature books, including Stokes Field Guide to Birds, one of the top field guides. The Stokes found so much in the Detroit Lakes area, they featured it for two weeks rather than the usual one on their public television program (Stokes Birds at Home, 2:00 p.m. Fridays on Channel 2.)

15 Minutes of Fame
Among the field trips and events was a shorebird identification workshop we participated in. The workshop started with one hour of classroom instruction, then a trip to the Hamden Slough National Wildlife Refuge in a very fancy and comfortable bus. The Stokes happened to be videotaping at the refuge while we were there, and, because of my rugged good looks, I was on their program a few weeks ago. Actually, it was probably because I happened to be at the right place at the right time. Our workshop instructors, Bob Janssen and Doug Buri, were doing an outstanding job of finding and identifying not only shorebirds, but also waterfowl, raptors and prairie birds. The Stokes joined our group and filmed away, as we all had a great time communing with nature on a beautiful Sunday morning.
In the next month, there will almost certainly be more birds around the park and the neighborhood to write about and enjoy.

Comments and observations are always welcome. Send them to me, in care of this newspaper.

Last Minute Update
The Flying Squirrel which I have not seen since January 6 is still around. I thought I was done writing, looked out the back window, and there she or he was, chowing down on birdseed after a weekend of terrible weather, freezing rain and snow. Now I will have to do the Flying Squirrel research I said I would do two months ago. It's great to see it again!




February 2001
Backyard wilderness
by John Karrigan

The January weather has been quite a bit milder than December's, but the backyard birding has remained about the same. Once the birds make a commitment and leave, they usually are not fooled into returning too early. But there are some signs of the impending spring. A male Cardinal was singing his spring mating song in the backyard on January 6. I have not seen the flying squirrel since early January but I have faith that it is still around.
The park has not provided many new observations in January either, but I did have an interesting day in mid-month. I had walked almost everywhere in the park and Crows were the only wildlife I had seen. Some crows were doing their spring rattling sound, which is not generally heard until mid-February. I was about to leave the park on the east side, near the park building, when I heard the sounds of small birds in the trees north of the building. I found three species -: Chickadees, which I usually find at thepark,White-breasted Nuthatches and a Brown Creeper, which I have been looking for and expecting to see, but this was the first time this winter. Nuthatches and Brown Creepers usually feed on insects in the bark of tree trunks and limbs. Nuthatches usually start high and work their way down the tree, upside down. Brown Creepers usually start at the base of the tree and work upwards.
The Brown Creeper is a fairly dull looking, well-camouflaged bird. However, on this day I had a rare view of its "true colors." It stopped on a tree trunk about 15 feet up and about 10 feet away from me, and went through an elaborate grooming process, revealing various patterns and bright shades of rust and brown as it spread its wings, tail and other feathers. While I think this was all just for grooming, the patterns and colors are probably used for mating displays. I had no idea these little birds had this usually hidden side.
Later in the month, I heard, but did not see a Downy Woodpecker in the same area of the park.
Freeway birding was near normal last month. I saw a Red-tailed Hawk and a Peregrine Falcon not too far from each other on lightpoles on 35W north of the Crosstown Highway in early January. In the middle of the month, a Snowy Owl was reported in that area on the Rare Bird Hotline, but I didn't see it. I did see a Kestrel on a wire over I94 north of downtown St. Paul on January 16. I feel I could see many more hawks and owls along freeway corridors if Southside Pride would hire a driver for me so that I wouldn't have to pay attention to traffic. A Prairie Falcon is again being seen near the grain elevators along Hiawatha Avenue between 35th and 38th Streets. I have not seen it since fall but it has been reported on the bird hotline.
I don't have many bird observations this time of year so I thought I would write about a birding event I have enjoyed in the past and am looking forward to this year. It is the annual Salt Lake birding weekend in late April. That is the little known Salt Lake on the Minnesota-South Dakota border, not the big famous Salt Lake in Utah. Salt Lake is a true salt lake and therefore attracts some migrating birds that may winter or summer on salt water, and find it a comfortable place to stop. In addition to a salt lake, the area has regular lakes, woods, wetlands, prairie, farmlands, the start of the Minnesota River Valley, and large outcroppings of granite. With this variety of terrain, many types of birds pass through the area. Usually over 100 species are found in one day. The record is 156 species in 1994. This is not a fancy "bird festival" with big charter buses, vendor displays, and a banquet with slide show and speakers. This is a small, informal event that starts with coffee and rolls Saturday morning at the Marietta (a tiny town) American Legion Hall where car pools are spontaneously organized, and ends Saturday night with a dinner prepared by the Sons of Norway in the Madison (a not-as-small town) City Hall basement. There, the bird list is tallied and birders plan their Sunday outing when they will try to see the areas and birds they missed on Saturday.
The unofficial leaders of the event are the 80-some-year-old Goodman Larson, and the 90-some-year-old Dr. Walter Breckenridge, retired director of the Museum of Natural History at the U. of M. We usually join the car pool group with these gracious elders and see how much we can learn and enjoy, rather than see how many places we can go and how many species we can "list" in one day. It is always worth it. It is a great opportunity to be educated and entertained by a couple of people with 150 years of experience that share their great knowledge of nature so willingly.
If I don't see many birds in February, I might write about another Minnesota birding event, very different from Salt Lake, but equally enjoyable.

Comments and observations are always welcome. Send them to me in care of this newspaper.

Powderhorn bird watch
by John Karrigan

Of course the weather has been quite cold and snowy in December, way colder and snowier than the last couple of years, and even colder and snowier than the long-term averages from the good old days when winters were always harsh. This means I don't have many exciting bird reports but I do have one very exciting (at least to me) backyard finding and some other information that I hope readers will find interesting.
Backyard Birds (and mammals) The usual backyard birds continue to appear: Cardinals, Blue Jays, Mourning Doves, Crows, Chickadees, Downy Woodpeckers and the ubiquitous introduced species, English Sparrows, European Starlings and Rock Doves (pigeons). On really bad weather days, I don't see many birds, but as the weather improves they return and seem to have survived December more or less unscathed.
On one of the many evenings I was out shoveling last month, a very large flock of Crows passed over the house at about 8:15. They didn't look as artistic or organized as the Canada Geese I wrote about last month but there were a lot more of them, probably at least 500. Watching them as they faded in and out of view in the snow and haze was eerie and interesting.
Also in December, a Raccoon was crossing the alley on one cold night, and on another very cold night, a White-footed Meadow Mouse was stealing a small amount of birdfeed that was on the ground in the backyard.
The Park My several walks around Powderhorn Park last month turned up very little in the way of wildlife. A few Crows overhead and a couple of Juncos and Chickadees would be the only birds observed each time. There was "wildlife" however on New Year's Day. There were more people using the park than I have ever seen in the winter. Everywhere I looked people of all ages were celebrating the day with skiing, skating, sledding, dog walking, etc.
The high point was a sledding wedding party, complete with champagne and the bride (in bridal gown) sliding down the hill on a flower-decorated sled. Perhaps the Society Section of the Southside Pride will cover this event in more detail.
The Big Finale Far and away the most exciting backyard event has been the arrival and discovery of a Flying Squirrel on December 27. We have seen it on 4 of the last 7 nights, including tonight as I was writing this column. Flying squirrels are a nocturnal animal and the sightings have been between 11:00 p.m. and 1:45 a.m. It has occurred to me that it could have been coming to the yard for along time, but I don't think so. I actually do look out in the yard in the middle of the night on a fairly regular basis and have been out shoveling on many nights this month. The squirrel seems to be staying in a neighbor's tall, old pine tree. Usually it has been going to a platform bird feeder on a pole about 6 feet high. Tonight it came down to the patio for some old bread crusts. Twice I have seen it fly (actually gliding of course) from a Honeylocust tree in the yard to the pine tree and once from the pine tree to the Honeylocust, which is near the platform feeder. This is a distance of about 25 or 30 feet. This is the first Flying Squirrel I have ever seen outside of captivity and I haven't had time to learn a lot about them yet. They are quite a bit smaller than gray squirrels, around one-third to one-half the size, and typically glide from 30 to 50 feet, but may travel over 150 feet. They are generally loners, but in the winter will join others to stay warm and usually nest in natural tree cavities or old woodpecker nests. There are two types, Northern and Southern. From what little I know so far, I think this is the Southern type (Southern species go all the way up to southern Ontario). I will try to learn more through continued observation and reading.

Happy New Year. Comments and observations are always welcome. Send them to me in care of this newspaper.

Powderhorn Birdwatcher
December 2000
by John Karrigan

The nice fall weather continued after I had submitted my November column and there were some interesting birds in the park in late October. I ran into the Southside Pride offices and yelled, “Stop the presses” but they didn’t listen to me. In fact they escorted me out of the offices and told me I was delusional again. I’ll show them! I’ll write about the late October birds this month!
I went to the park about 6 p.m. on October 26 because one of the TV meteorologists said the end was near and I probably would not be able to leave the house for five or six months. It turns out she was wrong. I am able to venture out of the house occasionally, but it was the last time I went to the park without wearing socks.
At that time, official sunset was 6:09 p.m. Around 6:20 p.m., I spotted a hawk in a tree between the lake and the long set of stairs near the athletic fields, but it was too dark to identify it. At 6:45 p.m., I saw a black-crowned night heron near the park building. I returned four of the last five days of October and learned several things.
The pair of black-crowned night herons that I thought had left for the year were there almost every night. A female belted kingfisher was around the lake for the last four days of the month and the usual wood ducks, mallards, ring-billed gulls, and even a painted turtle were enjoying the relatively mild weather.
But the real reason I kept going back around dusk was to try to identify the hawk, which was in the area almost every evening. In the middle of that time period, two former Powderhorn residents gave me a new bird book as thanks for the cat and house sitting I sometimes do for them. The book is the National Audubon Society’s Sibley Guide to Birds. The recently published book received great reviews and the reviews are correct. There are more than 6,600 illustrations in the work, many of juvenile and first fall birds. This is important because, due to the high mortality rates, many, probably a majority, of the birds migrating through Minnesota are less than a year old. With the help of the Sibley book, I was able to identify the hawk as a juvenile sharp-shinned hawk, probably female.
Earlier in the fall, I had some great views of migrating juvenile hawks at Wood Lake Nature Center in Richfield. With the new book, I’m quite sure I could have positively identified them.
Of course, the weather did eventually get colder and I have not seen any wood ducks in November. The sharp-shinned hawk stayed until at least election day. The lake was about two-thirds frozen on November 19 and one pair of mallards remained along with 20–30 ring-billed gulls. There were hundreds, maybe thousands of Crows that day. They were almost everywhere in the park, many walking on the fresh ice. They didn’t seem to be eating or drinking; they appeared to be socializing, or at least what we humans would call socializing.
Later that night (November 19), I was shoveling some snow in the backyard when I heard Canada geese at about 11:15 p.m. I always love watching flocks of geese and soon spotted these in a perfect formation coming from the west-northwest on a night with very low clouds, snow flurries and wind. They were quite high and when directly overhead began slowly wheeling around and heading northwest toward the park. I asked myself if I was crazy enough to go over to the park and see if they landed. Of course, once I asked the question, I knew that I was crazy enough, and after I finished shoveling, I warmed up for a few minutes, grabbed my binoculars, and walked to the park at midnight in the subzero windchill.
The park was beautiful. Besides me, there was one person walking, another person walking a dog and the flock of geese on the remaining open water. It was no doubt my last chance to see geese on the lake until spring. As I often do, I pondered about the flock. Were they the same geese that have been at the lake off and on this fall, and they overshot the lake because of the weather? Or, was it a new group that somehow saw or sensed the water and needed a place to rest for the night?
Freeway birding is still good this time of year. Peregrine falcons are sometimes on light poles or wires on 35W in South Minneapolis, and I have seen red-tailed hawks in the Crosstown Commons area and on Highway 5 near the airport entrance.

Happy Holidays!

Comments and observations are always welcome.

Powderhorn Birdwatcher......November 2000