Bird Watching: DAILY PICS VOL 45, 1 by DMurray407

DMurray407 wrote:
Beautiful photos everyone! I especially love the sandhill cranes. I've never seen a "real" one (just stuffed ones in a museum) but I'm hoping to find some this year. They supposedly come up here for the summer . . .they are just gorgeous!

Here is one I took a few weeks ago. This is the Mississippi River in Monticello MN. This is actually someone's backyard-this wonderful woman receives funds from donations and the DNR to feed the waterfowl all winter. The water stays open because there is a nuclear power plant just slightly upstream that drains warm water into the river. It is mostly a project to support the restoration of Trumpeter Swans, but lots of ducks and geese gather here as well. The swans are beautiful-and noisy. The lady usually starts feeding at around 11am every day (she has a trailer full of corn that has a conveyor shute that carries the feed to her backyard-she then hand carries buckets of feed down to the river's edge for the birds) and the amount of noise is amazing!. There is a little park next to her house that is set up as a viewing area. Last year, the power plant had to shut down for repairs for the entire winter and the river froze solid-thankfully this year everything is up and running again.
Deb