Sept 6, 2009 - Itasca County, MN

I used a photo of this Clay-colored Sparrow a few weeks ago. I thought this one of the sparrow singing its heart out while sitting on the head of a wooden mallard was kind of amusing.

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This flower is called Bird’s-foot Trefoil, often seen growing along the edges of roads. It seems to be able to grow in very poor soil where other plants can’t survive. Sometimes it is used as a ground cover.

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I found this family of Wild Turkeys on one of my birding trips. The two adults and three juveniles didn’t seem very wild, however. They were in a field right along one of the rural gravel roads in Itasca County. When I stepped out of the car to take some photos, they glanced over at me and just continued feeding. If you are familiar with wild turkeys, you know that is not characteristic behavior. I suspect they were being raised by one of the farmers in the area. I decided that I probably shouldn’t include them on my list of species seen in Itasca County.

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Our Itasca Birding Club had a field trip to the Minnesota Power Company plant in Cohasset this summer. One of the non-bird species we saw was this White-tailed doe. She stopped at the edge of the road, looked us over carefully, and then continued down the hill as if she was used to seeing cars and humans.

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Non-birders are often surprised to hear that birders spend time at sewage treatment plants. But lots of interesting birds show up at these “ponds”. On one of my trips to the Grand Rapids sewage ponds I found this Wilson’s Snipe. Snipe are actually pretty common in North America but are not often seen. They stay hidden in marshy areas and they prefer short grasses and sedges instead of tall plants like cattails. They have a long, flexible bill which they use to probe the mud for food. The tip of the bill is very sensitive and allows them to locate worms and other prey. Their eyes are set far enough back on their heads to allow them to see predators approaching from the rear.

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