BY JOHN KARRIGAN
Things are still not good in the park but I will try to find some good things. After a long absence of American Goldfinches in the park, I saw one pair on the lakeshore, on the southeast of the lake about 10 days ago. Today (Aug. 30) a modest-sized Goldfinch flock was in the lake area. A similar-sized group has been in the back yard all summer. The lake water was also very high, about as high as it has ever been, after another middle-of-the-night rain. There was also a very nice Bald Eagle over 35th Street near the park this afternoon. There was a moderate Mallard Duck group with a few Wood Ducks on the lake with no other birds seen in the park. A few days ago, there was a good group of Ring-billed Gulls, and there are a few Chimney Swifts on a few days, but not much small bird action. A lot of large hardwood trees have been taken again in August.
Two small groups of Canada Geese show up quite regularly. They usually spend a little of their time remembering the many Canada Geese, often relatives, that were killed in the park earlier this summer.
Since I don’t have much more about birds in the park to report this month, I will report on many birds I recently saw in southeast Minnesota.
We spent the first few days on the north side of Winona, in a nice city-owned park with campground, on the Mississippi River (Prairie Island Park). Bald Eagles and American White Pelicans (from 10 to 100) would make various trips over the area with regular stops. More modest-sized birds, of which I would like to see more in the Powderhorn area, such as Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, Baltimore Orioles (the birds, not the baseball players), White-breasted Nuthatches, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Chickadees, etc., would sometimes pass by as close as 3 to 5 feet, accompanied by complete families, with the young birds naturally begging for food.
Another day and a half was spent in Beaver Creek Valley State Park, a bit farther south and west of Winona, located in the “driftless area,” which is an area not touched by the glacial movement and its debris. Birds were great in this area with its trout streams, rock formations and cliffs. There were Hummingbirds, American Redstarts, Black and White Warblers, Cedar Waxwings, Kingfishers and various other birds. There were many birds, big and small, young and mature, in many places. A great place for a return trip someday.
But my final sighting was not a bird, although I did correctly figure out what I was going to see. I was taking the garbage and recycling material to the garbage and recycling station, a bit on the other side of the nice restroom/shower building, on our way out of the park from our campsite. I saw two normal adult women arrive at the restroom/shower building as I went by. I was in the middle of recycling distribution, with my back to the women, when I heard a very meaningful “Oh my God!” coming from the restroom/shower building. I figured I would see one of the women at the notice posted on the side of the building. And I did. The very well-done poster was about the presence of Timber Rattlesnakes in the park area and what you should do about them (leave them alone). Anyway, neither I nor they saw any rattlers, at least right then, though I do have some good snake stories I could write about if all the birds leave the neighborhood. I did grow up with snakes in South Dakota.
Comments and observations are always welcome. Send them to me, in care of Southside Pride. Thank you.
