Bryan -

On 2 April I went down to Mima Mounds N.A. but it was closed;
apparently the caretaker was unable to come around to unlock the gate.

On 22 March, while helping pull Scotch Broom on the very north end I
saw 2 Northern Harrier; 1 male, 1 female. (Plus three deer).

Om 5 March I walked the entire trail loop, finding one male Northern
Harrier, 1 Red-tailed Hawk, 1 female Kestrel, and 3 singing Western
Meadowlark in the southern part (one seen and heard along the west
boundary fence; the other two heard-only on the east side).

Raptor sightings on the Mima Mounds N.A. are quite fortuitous as they
have much additional prairie habitat to the south, so you'll always be
gambling by going just there.

On Prairie Appreciation Day, Sunday, 3 May,
http://www.prairieappreciationday.org/
you can also gain access to the Glacial Heritage prairie a few miles
south of Mima Mounds NA. (This is the only occasion when Glacial
Heritage is open to the public.)

By now I would expect to also find some White-crowned Sparrow on the
prairie. I always have mixed feelings about this species, aka the
Parking-lot Sparrow, more often seen and heard in Thurston County in
shopping mall and grocery store parking lot shrubbery. ;-)

Doug Canning


On 3 Apr 2008 at 11:54, Bryan Owens wrote:

From: Bryan Owens <obryan214 at yahoo.com>
Subject: [Tweeters] mima mounds anyone?
Copies to: Date sent: Thu, 3 Apr 2008 11:54:55 -0700 (PDT)
To: Tweeters at u.washington.edu

> Hello,
> Anybody been to the Mima Mounds lately. I was planning to go next week
> but not sure whats going on down there.
>
> Their are 3 American Goldfinch males and 1 female outside in the
> cherry tree now btw.
>
> Bryan Owens
> Tacoma Wa.
> obryan214 at yahoo.com


*******************
Douglas Canning
Olympia, Washington
dcanning at zhonka.net
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