Minot, North Dakota

I have spent the last three days doing some intensitive birding. We had a great leader who made sure we all got to see the sparrows. The other people were great and the birds were wonderful! I got some great pictures. I can not even begin to pick my favorite ones. I plan to post some as soon as I solve a tech problem. I went to the International Peace Garden today which is a joint venture with Canada. It is on the border on highway 3 or 281 north east of Minot. So, I guess I birded Canada. :) I got the Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow. I got 4 pictures with two birds in the frame. I can not believe I got them. They are very small, fast and hide in the rushes. I also photographed a baby racoon up a tree right at eye level. It had a cute factor of 10+. I am going to head off tomorrow to bird with Sylvia and Jim for a while. They have their trailer and we will do some of the wildlife refuges in this area. North Dakota is covered with them. They are land that the government bought after the small farms failed in the early part of the last century. It was sad for the farmers because their farms of 160 acres were too small to support a family. But, it is great for the American public because we have these wonderful places to visit. The weather has been great. Not too hot so Hannah has been ok in the car but she is getting tired of going all the time. Since I have been out from 5 am to about 7pm each day I could not leave her in the trailer. I will be birding close to the trailer from now on so she will not have to bounce around on dirt roads anymore. Yesterday I got a photo of the Baird's Sparrow. One person came on the trip just to see this bird. It sat up on a wire and sang for us. Of course I took his picture. I am so happy to have the camera because some of the birds do not stick around and their ID can be verified from a picture. I am waiting for some people to come over and do just that with a bird we are not sure of. The photo may tell us the answer. Anyway it is all fun. More adventures tomorrow. Donelda
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