The several thousand Common Mergansers that had gathered in a flock on Lake Minnetonka, seen Wednesday, have by today (Friday) dwindled to perhaps 200. The remaining stretch of open water at the site now is at least a quarter mile offshore. My ID today was made by enlarging photos that found certain birds to be mergansers, but did not allow definitive ID of most birds in the flock. Since the vast majority of birds there Wednesday and on several preceding days were Common Mergansers I'm assuming that is the case today. There was one Canada Goose on the ice, and one Bald Eagle flyover. On Wednesday there were at least 17 Bald Eagles on the ice or adjacent shorleine. The location is the main body of the lake east of the Arcola Bridge on County Road 15. The birds are best seen from the south shore. A spotting scope is necessary.
Lake Minnetonka merganser flock vastly smaller today
Perhaps 200 birds can be seen in a distant piece of open water
December 15, 2017 at 5:53PM
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jim williams
It’s too soon to tell how much the immigration crackdown is to blame.
