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Christmas Bird Count update, Dec 29, 2019 - Searching for owls at 3am - that's how this year's Christmas Bird Count started for some of our volunteers ... and they succeeded in finding Great Horned, Barred and Screech Owls. The rest of us started the day at 7:15 with 9 teams searching a 15 mile radius area centered on Rochester. It was a gray day with light flurries, temps in the teens, and a north breeze that felt pretty cold at times. This year there was a lack of diversity in waterfowl, and normally common birds like Goldfinches were not very common. Some rarities including a Varied Thrush, a Red-headed Woodpecker, a Merlin, a Hermit Thrush, and several Northern Shrike were spotted. One team even spotted an Otter (not a bird... but still!).
A total of 50 species were found on count day. Three additional count week birds were reported after December 14, but no new count day species. The count week birds are: Song Sparrow, Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker, and Red-winged Blackbird. The tally include six feeder reports. Click here for the final species tally for the 2019 The most unusual species were hermit thrush, varied thrush, and trumpeter swan. A varied thrush was found in only one previous Rochester bird count (2005). The 66 bald eagles found was the highest ever for the Rochester Christmas bird count. Check out our Facebook album with more photos is here. Many, many thanks go to Clifford Hanson for organizing the count, to our section leaders: Sandy Hokanson & Dave Gross, John McCormick, Jerry Pruett & Rod Bolterman, August Krueger, Jim Peterson, Joyce & Terry Grier, Brendan Lanpher, Dave Squillace, & Lance Vrieze, and to all the many volunteers who helped today! A special thank you to the staff at Quarry Hill Nature Center for the use of their facilities! 
Nov. 3, 2019 - Tundra swan Field Trip - It was a good day for viewing Tundra Swans today - not to cold or windy, and the sun came out for a good chunk of the day. Our group of seven saw thousands of swans and many ducks at the overlooks near Brownsville, MN and at the Shady Maple Overlook on the Wisconsin Side of the Mississippi. They were not as close to shore as we'd have liked, but we had several scopes and everyone got good looks at the birds we saw. We predict that the numbers of swans and ducks will increase significantly with the next 3 weeks so highly recommend a trip to see them while they are passing through if you can find the time. It's a beautiful area.
Species sighted today were: Tundra Swans, Canada Geese, Buffleheads, Gadwall, Widgeon, Hooded Merganzers, Ringnecks, Coots, Scaup, Canvasbacks, Northern Shoverlers Pintails, Mallards, Pelicans, Bald Eagles, Blue Jays, House Sparrow, Crows, Pigeons, Kestrel, Ring Billed Gulls. Starlings Many thanks to Joyce and Terry Grier for leading. Nov. 2, 2019 - Quarry Hill Bird walk - 16 people came out for our walk this morning. The wind was a bit raw, temps were in the low 30s and we didn't see any uncommon birds - but still had an enjoyable walk through the park. The highlight was finding a large number of Cedar Waxwings (30) and Robins (50+) feasting on berries in a tree not far from the trail. Also seen were Chickadees, Juncos, House Sparrows, Goldfinches, Downy, Hairy and Red-Bellied Woodpeckers, Blue Jays, Cardinals, Canada Geese, Mallards, Crows and a Red-Tailed Hawk. Thanks to Terry & Joyce Grier for leading this walk.
Oct. 22, 2019 - Quarry Hill Nature Center - John Weiss shared stories about his long association with Zumbro Valley watershed at our program last night at Quarry Hill. He talked about river monitoring and the changes in clarity and nitrate levels over the years. While some things have changed for the better - others have worsened - so there is much work yet to be done. If you'd like to learn more - visit http://www.zumbrowatershed.org/
Oct. 6, 2019 - Quarry Hill Bird walk - Saturday was too soggy for a bird walk... but today is perfect ... so I went on a quick walk through Quarry Hill and turned up 21 species. Get out there while you can and enjoy the changing colors. Species seen included: Bald Eagle, Turkey Vulture, Robins, Cedar Waxwings, Chickadees, House Sparrows, White Throated Sparrows, White breasted Nuthatches, Blue Jays, Mallards, Goldfinches, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Cardinals, Downys, Flickers, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Hermit Thrush, Blue-headed Vireo, Philadelphia Vireo (need confirmation), Ruby Crowned Kinglets and a Coopers Hawk.
Sept 28, 2019 - Sparrow walk at Kalmar - We had a beautiful morning Saturday for our walk at the Kalmar Reservoir. Bright and cool. We ran into a bit of a snafu at first because there was a Cross Country running event planned for the same parking lot. 80 kids preparing to run. We moved to the upper lot with no trouble. Good thing too because the fencing around the upper area was hopping with birds. Mostly Savannah sparrows. But as we moved around the fence one lone Le Contes Sparrow hopped up and gave us a nice show. There were 10 participants on the trip and we recorded 24 species in all. Only 4 of those were sparrows, but everyone was satisfied with what we saw.
Wesaw: 8 Canada Goose, 3 Northern Shoveler, 4 Pied-billed Grebe, 1 Sora, 1 American Coot, 6 Sandhill Crane, 2 Turkey Vulture, 1 Northern Harrier, 3 Northern Flicker, 1 Eastern Phoebe, 5 Blue Jay, 1 Tree Swallow, 1 Barn Swallow, 1 House Wren, 1 Sedge Wren, 1 American Robin, 1 LeConte's Sparrow, 15 Savannah Sparrow, 2 Song Sparrow, 12 Swamp Sparrow, 6 Eastern Meadowlark, 5 Red-winged Blackbird, 2 Palm Warbler, 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler  Brendan Lanpher & Rob Schultz
Sept 24, 2019 - Quarry Hill Monthly Program - We had a great meeting at Quarry Hill on Sept 24 (despite the stormy weather)! Rob Schultz, Executive Director of Audubon Minnesota gave a very informative talk about what's happening at the state and national levels, what's planned for SE Minnesota (Bottomlands restoration). He also talked about the upcoming Climate 2.0 report (full release on Oct 10)... we'll share those details later. Although much change is coming he was upbeat and hopeful about what can be done to save birds and the environment from further damage.
Sept 21, 2019 - Root River Bird Walk - It was a misty gray morning for our walk at Root River County Park today. Viewing conditions were not ideal and we struggled to identify the birds against the gray sky and leafy cover - but still found 24 species including several warblers and vireos - and I'm sure we missed many more. Also seen were several Monarchs roosting in the trees on the edge of the prairie. The birds were quite active, no doubt feeding on the abundant gnats. (if you go take bug spray!) Didn't get any bird photos today - a little too wet. Our bird list included: Bluejays, Cardinal, Goldfinches, Wren (probably house), Red Tailed hawk, Cedar Waxwing (large flock), Robins, Chickadees, Downy WP, Red Bellied WP, Yellow Bellied Sapsucker, White Breasted Nuthatch, Rose Breasted Grosbeak, Redstarts
B&W Warblers, Northern Parula, Chestnut sided warbler, Black Throated green warbler, Red Eyed Vireo, Yellow Throated Vireo, Blue Headed vireo, Eastern Phoebe, Catbird, Crows Sept 7, 2019 - Quarry Hill Bird Walk - We had overcast skies to start out this morning's walk on the west side of Quarry Hill, and the dense cover didn't help our search for migrating warblers. There were plenty of Goldfinches up in the Savanna, but most of the warblers we found were in small groups lower down the slope. Warblers we did get a brief look at included Black & White, Chestnut-sided, Redstart, Magnolia, Tennessee, Blackburnian and a possible Orange-crowned. We also saw Yellow-throated Vireos, Swainsons Thrush, a Great Crested Flycatcher, some Blue Jays, Robins, Chickadees, Crows, Catbirds, White-Breasted Nuthatch, Cardinals, Downy WPs, Hairys and a Flicker. I was not able to get a single usable bird photo ... but the mushrooms and flowers were all more obliging. If you haven't visited the west side of the park we highly recommend it. Thanks to Terry & Joyce Grier for leading and pointing out the interesting plants and trees to be seen between bird sightings. And thanks to master birders Brendan Lanpher and Michael Degerstrom for helping us spot those elusive warblers!
August 27, 2019 - Monarchs at Quarry Hill - We had a fantastic day for tagging and releasing Monarchs today. Around 250 kids and adults came out to learn about the Monarch's life cycle, make some crafts, watch caterpillars gobble up milkweed leaves and walk inside a special tent to meet dozens of live butterflies up close and personal. Our volunteers did an excellent job of catching this year and everyone present had a chance to hold and release a Monarch ... a brief rain shower moved us indoors for a short period of time... but we were soon back outside having fun again.Thanks to all the volunteers who caught, tagged, recorded numbers, set up chairs, assisted with crafts and displays, cleaned up and much more. Special thanks to Keith Anderson for bringing his unique display of eggs through caterpillars (a few of which even made their chrysalis while we watched)! And also to Pam Meyer and Joel Dunnette for organizing this event and sharing their expertise and stories. You can see additional photos on our Facebook page here.
August 24, 2019 - Chimney Swift Sit - We had perfect conditions (cool, clear, few bugs) Saturday night for watching migrating Chimney Swifts enter the Assisi Heights tower. Eleven people brought their binocs and lawn chairs and we counted 725 swifts as they gathered and swirled around the tower and entered for the night. Before the counting started we also saw Wild Turkeys, Goldfinch, Bluebirds, Chipping Sparrows, Robins, Blue Jays and 2 8 point white tailed deer.. After the count a Great Horned Owl hooted several times from the nearby spruce trees and several Night Hawks called overhead.
We'll host another count at this location in the far northeast parking lot of Assisi Heights on Saturday, Aug 31 from 7-9 pm. Please remember - this area is private property - so do not visit the site on your own without permission. On August 31 we held a second "Sit at this same site and our group saw 905 swifts enter the roost! (And those of us who stayed around chatting also heard the Great Horned Owl again - and watched it fly off across the lot into the dark.) August 3, 2019 - Quarry Hill Bird Walk - Our Walk at Quarry Hill on Saturday didn't turn up many birds - only 18 species - and some of those were only heard - not seen. August is always a challenging month as many birds are molting in preparation for migration, others are feeding young (which means they are quieter so as not to attract attention, and then there's the problem of fully leafed out trees blocking our view. But there's always something to see and we spotted several damsel and dragonflies, a tree frog, a monarch caterpillar and many plants.
REMINDER: our Sept. walk will start at the WEST Entrance to Quarry Hill (not by the nature center). We'll be looking for early migrants - see you there! July 21, 2019 - Chester Woods - A small group of curious kids and adults took part in our Bug Out today at Chester Woods. Everyone had a net to catch whatever insects they could find, and then we all got closeup looks at them. Most insects are beneficial and do no harm ... even though some look quite fierce when viewed with a magnifier. It was a fun afternoon and we want to thank Joel Dunnette for leading this group.
July 21, 2019 - Annual Butterfly Count - Stormy weather on Saturday forced us to change our count day from Saturday the 20th to Sunday the 21st - a much nicer day with sunny skies, pleasant temps and much lower humidity. Monarchs, Great Spangled Fritillaries, Red Admirals, Azures, and Northern Pearly Eyes were fairly numerous. Surprisingly, we saw very few Eastern Tiger Swallowtails, and Cabbage Whites were also quite scarce. Overall, despite limited coverage due to the change of date (and less availability of observers), and also due to very wet conditions which prevented us from visiting several areas, this year's count came out as pretty average. We found and identified 29 species, with 633 individual butterflies sighted. This compares nicely to our 20 year average of 29.4 and 619 respectively.
Compilation of this and past year's counts View photos here. Many thanks to Joel Dunnette for organizing this event and to all of our volunteer counters! July 6, 2019 - Quarry Hill Bird Walk - It was a great day for a walk at Quarry Hill this morning. The park is in full summer splendor with thick foliage, many blooming flowers, and birds calling. When we couldn't see birds due to the leaf cover there was always something that drew our attention. About 20 people came out and saw or heard at least 23 species of birds, 7 species of butterflies,Several dragon and damselflies, frogs, fish in the pond, turtles and mammals (we won't mention the gnats that were a nuisance early on but didn't bother us too much later). Terry Grier (our leader) was celebrating his 70th birthday today so we wished him well.Birds: Goldfinch, Cowbird, Turkey Vulture, White Breasted Nuthatch, Robin, Cardinal, House Wren, Chickadees, Downy, Woodpecker,
Hairy Woodpecker, Red Bellied Woodpecker, Indigo Bunting, Cedar Waxwing, Song Sparrow, House Sparrow, Grackles, Spotted Sandpiper, Catbird, Oriole, Rose Breasted Grosbeak, Redstart, Ruby Throated Hummingbird, Blue Jay Butterflies: Monarch, Painted Lady, Hackberry Emperor, Viceroy, Tiger Swallowtail, Clouded Sulphur, Red Admiral You can see more photos on our Facebook page Thanks to everyone who helped out on this walk! June 30, 2019 - Butterfly Class at Chester woods - Did you know there are 725 species of butterflies in North America? 163 of those can be found in Minnesota and on our annual butterfly in July we generally find between 23 - 47 species on just one day. Twelve people took part in Joel Dunnette's Butterfly Class this afternoon at Quarry Hill (during a thunderstorm no less!). Joel was prepared with a powerpoint and film ... so we learned a lot even though we didn't get hands on experience. I arrived early while the sun was still out and got these live photos. Butterflies come in many shapes and sizes, they live in meadows and woods, some are colorful and some are drab... all are fascinating! Our 2019 Butterfly Count is on July 20. Find out how to participate here
Submitted by Sandy Hokanson June 29, 2019 - Field Trip To Yellow River State ForestIt was hot. It was steamy.
But a small group of birders still managed to have a great time exploring and searching for birds on our field trip to the Yellow River State Forest and Effigy Mounds National Monument in NE Iowa on Saturday, June 29. Yellow River State Forest is an 8,500 acre recreation area near Harper's Ferry, IA. It has a diverse habitat including forests, bluffs, marshes & trout streams. It is a beautiful area that we think would be nice to visit again nextMay during the warbler migration or in fall for the gorgeous foliage. Our guide identified several Cerulean Warblers for us and helped us learn their call. Unfortunately we didn't get any photos - they were very difficult to see in the dense cover). Effigy Mounds National Monument has a well constructed boardwalk for viewing birds over the river with a short walk up to a nearby burial mound. For a longer hike, people can ascend a 400 foot hill to see numerous burial mounds within a beautiful wooded area. This is a very interesting area with a lot of history which our guide explained (while also identifying bird calls). Many thanks to Patty Trnka and Joan Leof for organizing the trip and to John Trnka for taking the photos. June 23, 2019 - Damsels & DragonfliesCloudy skies didn't keep about 2 dozen people from attending our annual dragonfly event at Chester Woods today. The kids (and adults) grabbed nets and headed out in to the fields and along the lake shore. Our catch included
several damselflies - mostly Bluets and Forktails. The bigger showier dragonflies were less numerous - as they prefer to fly on hot sunny days - but we still caught several including Horned Clubtail, Common Baskettail, Eastern Pondhawk and White-faced Dot Tail. The kids were fearless and nearly everyone held a dragonfly before releasing it. See more photos on our Facebook page. Many thanks to Joel Dunnette for organizing and sharing his knowledge about these interesting creatures. Thanks also to a visitor from the MN Dragonfly Society who had some great handouts for everyone. And also to volunteers Erik Matteson, Terry Grier, Brendan and Kate Lanpher, and Sandy Hokanson who helped setup and catch dragonflies before the families arrived. June 2019 - Banding Kestrel Chicks
Kirk Payne from Quarry Hill recently led a class of kids interested in falconry. They visited some of the Kestrel Boxes we put up last year and banded several chicks! June 1, 2019 - Whitewater Field Trip
John Hockema and Lance Vrieze led an "off trail" field trip through a little used section of Whitewater today. Their small group of eight had a great time hiking, fording streams and seeing birds. They even found a wild turkey nest with eggs. 
June 1, 2019 - Quarry Hill Bird walk
This morning our walk turned up a rarity that surprised everyone - a Cerulean Warbler! There is no record for one ever before being seen at Quarry Hill so it was by far the star of the day. Thanks to Terry & Joyce Grier for leading. Photos of the Cerulean Warbler by Brendan Lanpher. 
May 28, 2019 Flower Flies of Minnesota
Scott King talked about this charismatic and beneficial group of insects while sharing his stunning photos of the more commonly encountered and eye-catching species. About 50 people attended and there were lots of questions about these tiny creatures that mostly go unnoticed in our gardens... yet are vitally important pollinators. May 18, 2019 - Warblers at Kutzky
Warblers have finally appeared in larger quantities at Kutzky Park over the last few days and many birders have been seen there watching and photographing small these colorful birds. With the trees leafing out quickly it will soon be a challenge to find them, and by the end of May most will have left for nesting grounds up north and we'll have to wait until fall to see them again on their return. May 11, 2019 - Hok-si-la Field Trip
There was a big crowd of birders at the park today but we struggled to find large quantities of birds - having to content ourselves with the small clusters we were able to locate. Perhaps the continued cool weather is causing migration to be later than expected. Still, we did find about 50 total species including 16 species of warblers: Yellow-rumped (numerous), Redstarts, Northern Waterthrush, Yellow, Black and White, Palm, Blue-winged, Nashville, Orange-crowned, Common Yellowthroat, Tennessee, Chestnut-sided, Black-throated Green, Northern Parula, Magnolia, and a Prothonotary (at Sand Point). Thanks to Terry and Joyce Grier for leading this trip. More photos to come! Keep on birding! More pics here. 
May 4, 2019 - BIG Birding Day
We had an awesome day for our 2nd Annual BIG Birding day with approximately 40 participants - finding a total of 77 species including 7 species of warblers, 1 Blue Headed Vireo, several Bobolinks, and an Otter (I know - it's not a bird - but when was the last time you saw and Otter in Rochester!). Get the full details and more pics here. April 28, 2019 - Root River Field Trip - Birding was good at Root River County Park this morning. Twelve of us spent three hours walking the two mile trail and saw 33 species of birds and many spring wildflowers. The trails were a bit muddy and we did still see snow in a few patches. Highlights included a quick look at a Barred Owl as it flew into deeper cover, a pair of Eastern Towhees, 2 Brown Thrashers, a Pileated Woodpecker and several Hermit Thrushes and Eastern Phoebes. We only saw one species of warbler (Yellow-rumped) ... but we're pretty sure more are on the way for our BIG Day coming up n May 4! To see more photos visit our Facebook album here.
Species list Field Sparrow, Blue Jay, Red Winged Blackbird, Chipping Sparrow, Northern Flicker, Cardinals, Pileated Woodpecker, Ruby Crowned Kinglet, Song Sparrow, Brown-headed Cowbird, Eastern Towhees, Crows,,Chickadees, House Wrens, White Throated Sparrows, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Downy Woodpeckers, Turkey Vultures, Hairy Woodpeckers, Yellow Bellied Sapsuckers, Red-bellied woodpeckers, Red Tail Hawk, Robins, Hermit Thrushes, Northern Rough winged Swallow, Eastern Phoebes, White Breasted nuthatch, Eastern Bluebirds, Canada Goose, Goldfinch, Barred owl, Meadowlarks, Brown Thrashers April 27, 2019 - Reservoir Field Trip - Nine bundled up birders came out on our Reservoir Field Trip this morning. Things started well with just sprinkles and a few snow flakes, than the wind picked up and the snow started falling heavier and we eventually had to concede at 10:30 am - we just couldn't see through the heavy snow (and we were getting cold!). We did see some good birds including a Horned Grebe and Palm Warbler at Eastside WMA; Pelicans, a Snipe flyover and a Brown Thrasher at Silver Creek; a Loon and a flock of 50+ Cedar Waxwings at Willow Creek; Ruddy Ducks and Meadowlarks at Kalmar. Many thanks to Lance Vrieze for leading this walk. Full lists below:
Eastside WMA: Robin, Crow, Palm Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Ruby-crowned Kinglet., Marsh Wren, Sora Rail, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, Grackles, Coots, Redhead Ducks, Blue-winged Teal, Canvasbacks, Ringneck Ducks, Bufflehead, Gadwall, Canada Geese, Horned Grebe, Barn Swallow, Tree swallow, Northern Rough-winged swallow, Mourning Dove, Goldfinch, Bald Eagle Silver Creek: Red-winged blackbird, Kestrel, Snipe, Robin, Crow, Grackles, Killdeer, Pelicans Mallards, Ruddy Ducks, Bald Eagle, N Cardinal, Blue Jay, Pheasant, Starlings, Cormorant, Brown thrasher, Ringneck Ducks, Shoveler Ducks, Pied Bill Grebes, Scaup, Bufflehead, Song Sparrow Willow Creek: Robin. Cardinal. Crow, Blue Jay, Chickadee, Brown-headed Cowbird, Scaup, Bufflehead, Wood Ducks, Common Loon, Mallard, Cedar , waxwings, Pheasant. Sandpiper species, Yellow Rumped warbler, Killdeer Coopers Hawk Kalmar: Blue-winged Teal, Ruddy Ducks, Ringneck Ducks, Pied Bill Grebes, Scaup, Cormorant, Brown-headed Cowbird, Meadowlark, Killdeer, Song Sparrow, Tree swallow, Barn Swallow, Canada Geese April 26, 2019 - Arbor Day Event in Rochester - Friday was super busy with hundreds of noisy, happy kids (and some adults) spinning our bird wheel. We gave out hundreds of tree "cookie" necklaces and bird-themed bookmarks. The highlight of the day was when a bald eagle soared over the park several times. The ZVAS volunteers all pointed to the sky while exclaiming "Eagle!" Thanks to Joel, Lance, Terry, Joyce, Cindy and Patty for volunteering at this event. It is an important way to start kids thinking about birds.
April 25, 2019 - Kestrel Box Update - Our Kestrel boxes are being used! Joel Dunnette recently checked some of the boxes we put up and found one box with 3 Kestrel eggs (pictured). Two more boxes are being used by Bluebirds... not quite our preferred customer... but an OK substitute for now.
April 6, 2019 - Quarry Hill - Fantastic walk at Quarry Hill this morning. The rain stopped and our group of 16 saw a lot of new species for the year ... birds are definitely on the move! Highlights were a pair of Ruby-crowned Kinglets, several Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, Flickers, a Kingfisher and a flyover by an Osprey. Full list below. Afterwards a smaller group of us also checked out the Eastside WMA and Silver Creek Reservoir where we found several returning species of waterfowl. Sorry my photos aren't the best - but we had a very fun morning! Posted by Sandy Hokanson.
At Quarry Hill: Red-winged Blackbirds, Chickadees, Blue Jays, Robins, White Breasted Nuthatches, Cardinals, Hairy Woodpeckers, Downy Woodpecker, White-throated Sparrows, Juncos, Mallards, Canada Geese, Pine Siskins, Red-bellied woodpeckers. Turkey Vultures (14), Song Sparrow, Northern Flicker, Killdeer, Kingfisher, Ruby-crowned Kinglets (2), Yellow bellied Sapsuckers, Brown Creeper, Osprey Later at the marsh and reservoir we also added: Mourning Doves, Tree Swallows, Bald Eagle, Pied Bill Grebe, Coots, Scaup, Common Mergansers, Ring Necked Ducks, Bufflehead, Gadwall, Hooded Mergansers, Kestrel, Wood Ducks, Blue Wing Teal, Grackles, Pheasant, Gulls (possibly Herring) & possibly a Peregrine Falcon March 26, 2019 - Quarry Hill - If you weren't at Quarry Hill Tuesday night you missed a fascinating talk by Mike Osterholm. He described the process of restoring 3 trout streams and native prairie on his land in Ne Iowa. Over several years he experienced several failures (or learning opportunities as he called them) and eventually found the exact right way to do this type of work in a karst environment. Now, with streams and prairie restored to how they would have been in the early 1800s, the area is easily able to withstand the massive flooding that now occurs on a regular basis... and also supports more trout, birds and insects than ever. The before and after pics were astonishing. Learn more about his project here:
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/life/2017/04/19/iowa-landowner-who-brought-creek-back-life/100388248/ March 23, 2019 - Eastside WMA - Rochester - Today volunteers Jerry Pruett and Jim Peterson installed two educational signs on the observation deck at the Eastside Wildlife Management Area in SE Rochester. Jerry and Jim did a huge amount of work last spring repairing the deck and were able to use some of the reclaimed wood for this project. The signs, designed by Sandy Hokanson and paid for by ZVAS, contain photos from several of our local wildlife photographers, including Don Anderson, Denise Dupras, Brendan Lanpher, Keith House and more. Truly a collaborative effort - well done everyone!
March 2, 2019 - Quarry Hill - There was plenty of snow and the sun was shining on our walk at Quarry Hill Saturday morning. The walking was not bad since the ski trails had been groomed so seven of us hiked out and back on the main trail heading west, but we saw the most birds at or near the feeders by the nature center. We saw 10 species of birds, and heard 3 other woodpeckers with the highlights being good views of two White-throated Sparrows and a lone American Tree Sparrow. Also seen were Northern Cardinal, Black-capped Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, Red-breasted Nuthatch, House Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Pine Siskin, American Tree Sparrow, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy WP, Red-bellied WP, Pileated WP..... Reported by Terry Grier, who also took the photos.
March 2, 2019 - Owl Fest!
We had lots of fun at the International Festival of Owls in Houston, MN today and there's still time for you to visit on Sunday. Live owls, lots of fun kid activities, owl merchandise, owl sculptures, tons of fantastic owl art, and much more! Be sure to visit the ZVAS booth and spin our famous bird wheel and spend some time talking about birds. Many thanks to the volunteers that staffed our booth!  Andy Bingle from the International Crane Foundation
February 27, 2019 - Quarry Hill - Despite poor road conditions our speaker and at least 20 other people were able to make it out to Quarry Hill last night to hear Andy Bingle from the International Crane Foundation talk about cranes from around the world, our native Sandhill and Whooping Cranes, and the impact they have on society. He also talked about the scope of the International Crane Foundation, how it got started (2 grad students who got interested and passionate about cranes) and why it’s located in Baraboo (one of those guys’ family had a farm there). It’s the only place in the world that has all 15 species of cranes in one place. It’s closed to the public during 2019, undergoing a $10 million renovation. Will be open in 2020. Hopefully ZVAS can plan a field trip there next year.
He then spent some time focusing on the sandhill and whooping cranes. At one time there were estimated to be only 16 whooping cranes left! They need large areas of wetlands, as opposed to the sandhill cranes that are perfectly happy will much smaller areas. You can learn more about cranes here: https://www.savingcranes.org/  John Ryder inspecting a Kestrel Box at Chester Woods.
February 21, 2019 - Spring cleaning time! John Ryder and Kirk Payne recently made the rounds to clean out the Kestrel nesting boxes we put up last year and refresh them with new wood chips for bedding, Thanks guys!!
February 02, 2019 - Quarry Hill - Our walk this morning was quite pleasant as the temp was in the 30s (though no one was wearing shorts). Eighteen people found 15 species including: Juncos, Chickadees, Cardinals, White & Red Breasted Nuthatches, House Sparrows, White Throated Sparrows, Downy, Hairy and Red Bellied Woodpeckers, Blue Jays, Red Tailed Hawk, Bald Eagle, Mourning Dove and the best find, a flock of 8 Cedar Waxwings Thank you Terry and Joyce for leading!
January 19, 2019 - Golden Eagle Survey - Our ZVAS Team participated in the Golden Eagle Survey on Saturday and were elated to find and photograph two Golden Eagles not far from Rollingstone, MN. We initially weren't sure of one bird, but expert Scott Mehus looked at the photos and declared it a Golden. Other birds seen included 9 Bald Eagles, 12 Red Tail Hawks, 2 Pileated Woodpeckers and 5 Bluebirds (plus assorted other songbirds). Thanks go to Terry and Joyce Grier, Dave Gross and Sandy Hokanson for heading out in the frigid weather to search for these beautiful birds.
January 12, 2019 - Golden Eagle Class - Today four members of ZVAS attended the Golden Eagle Identification/Survey training class at Whitewater State Park. Instructor Scott Mehus from the National Eagle Center in Wabasha gave us some great tips for sorting out Goldens and immature Bald Eagles (which can look very similar). After the class we all went on a short drive hoping to spot a Golden - but alas - only found a few Bald Eagles and Red Tail Hawks. The gloomy overcast day was not helpful and very few birds were flying. Next Saturday our team will head back to do an official survey.
Wish us luck! January 5, 2019 - Quarry Hill Walk - 32 people came out to enjoy a walk around Quarry Hill this morning. It felt like a sunny spring day (and we did see one robin) but we had to watch our footing as many trails were ice covered. We saw some good birds including: Chickadees, Downy, Hairy & Red-Bellied Woodpeckers, White Breasted Nuthatches, Juncos, a House finch, a White-throated Sparrow, House Sparrows, a Robin, Crows, Cardinals, Canada Geese, Blue Jays, and a small flock of Cedar Waxwings. Get outside while you can - this isn't typical winter weather!
 Golden Eagle by Dave Gross
January 1, 2019 - Whitewater Christmas Bird Count - Several ZVAS members participated in the count today at Whitewater State Park. All of the teams combined found 44 species! The feeders were well stocked and we enjoyed close up views there - then everyone was out exploring their assigned territories. The weather was bright and cold - but not so cold that it was uncomfortable. See more photos on our Facebook page here.
Highlights included: 6 kestrels 2 golden eagles 45 bald eagles 2 northern shrike 6 horned larks 4 tufted titmouse 1 brown creeper 1 American robin 3 Eastern bluebirds 24 American tree sparrows 1 pine siskin 13 cedar waxwings 8 white-throated sparrows 2 white-crowned sparrows 1 ruffed grouse Thank you to all the drivers, counters and support staff who organized this event! |
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