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Birdwatching in Black Dog Preserve

I went birdwatching for several hours last Friday morning and early afternoon. Katie had visitors all day and very graciously watched Max while I sneaked away for some R&R (refresh and rejuvenate) time.

The Black Dog Reserve is part of the nearby National Wildlife Refuge that runs along the Minnesota River.

It's been a while since I last posted on my life goals, but I've added on in the interim. It was as I was realizing how much I enjoy traveling but that I don't have the ability to do it as much as I'd like. I thought it would be good to add an "outdoors" life goal that I could accomplish without traveling very far. I decided that birdwatching would be nice. There are 312 species of birds that one can expect to spot in Minnesota. I figured I'd set a goal at 300 bird species that I would like to spot and positively identify in the wild.

The reserve is half prairie and half marsh. It was a coolish late morning, and the birds were out in great number. It was very exciting! Since I started my birdwatching goal, I have never been in a place so teeming with birds. Over the few hours I spent, I spotted 16 species I could identify confidently (including 4 species previously not previously seen by me) as well as four birds that were clearly different but that I didn't get a good enough glimpse of to identify for sure (though I have guesses).

Prairie:

Beaver lodge in the marsh:

12 of the 16 species were ones I'd seen before:
Mourning Dove
Downy Woodpecker
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Indigo Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
American Goldfinch

Here's a Cowbird sitting in the same tree with a Bunting:

Four species were new to me (bringing me to 45 total since I started the goal last year):
Least Flycatcher
Yellow Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Song Sparrow

Perceivable Joys:

1. Yellow

I see a good amount of red (Northern Cardinal) and blue (Indigo Bunting) along the river and deciduous habitats where I spend most of my time, but I don't see much yellow. Here the most common three birds I saw were bright yellow. American GoldfinchYellow WarblerCommon Yellowthroat

2. Caterwauls

I've viewed Gray Catbirds before, but never heard their supposed "catlike" calls. I have heard them singing, which sounds quite nice. On this hike, I heard one making the eerie catcalls that gave the bird its name. It sounds dead-on like a cat in great pain. I wish I'd been quick enough to take a video.

3. Harrassment

As I was standing and admiring the marsh at one point, one bird started harassing me. I was buzzed over and over by one crazy Red Winged Blackbird. I guess I got too close to his nest and he thought he would try to scare me out of eating his children.

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