During a visit to Crex Meadows Wildlife Area (Grantsburg, Wisconson) Wednesday, one species we expected to see was Trumpeter Swan. We found three, many fewer than expected. We either were in the wrong places or the birds are yet to return. Water is low at Crex, but there certainly not low enough to inhibit nesting. This bird was feeding, its head strained with the mud from the bottom of the shallow wetland were we watched it. Footnote: 24 hours later a drive on the same route produced 32 swans plus Yellow-headed Blackbirds not seen Wednesday. Wednesday night was good for migration.

A friend told me the location of a pair of Brown Creepers building a nest. I spent yesterday morning with them, in Frontenac State Park, south of Red Wing. Brown birds working on a brown/gray tree trunk in dim light filtered through a green canopy made good color difficult for me, but my subjects were cooperative. The pair of birds made a trip to the nesting cavity — beneath a piece of bark pulled loose by a break in the tree — about once every five to 10 minutes. They brought strands of grass and what looked like fluff from thistle plants. They were working at this Sunday as well as yesterday. They stuffed a lot of material into that hole. Here is one of the color shots, and two in black and white. I told someone last week that bird photos don’t work in b&w. Well, it depends. Frontenac, by the way, was very birdy. It’s an excellent birding location during migration.Â

We’re back from a week of birding in North and South Dakota. We began at Devil’s Lake, working our way south through Jamestown and down to Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge in South Dakota. The amount of water on the ground is overwhelming. Every refuge or game preserve we tried to visit was unreachable because of flooded roads. Sand Lake NWR is pretty much under water. The lake is a wide spot in the James River, which begins north of Jamestown. Most of the water we saw in ND will have to flow through the Sand Lake refuge before it can return to normal. Staff there says that could be this fall. High water did not stop Western Grebes from courting, however. At the SD Highway 10 bridge over the James River at the north end of the refuge, a couple of dozen pair of grebes were courting. This was the first time ever that I’ve seen the water dance these birds do, the rush across the top of the surface. Time and location finally coincided. We parked at the bridge (truck traffic is terrible on this road), and watched the show from our vehicle. The birds danced not more than 50 feet from us. It was worth the trip. There is a lot of calling and posturing that precedes the dance. Then, boom, they jump up and run across the water for two or three seconds. Here are shots of preliminaries and the main event. Â

Check out the feet on this American Coot. We see coots most often in the water, feet not visible. This one had come ashore at Lake Benton a few days ago to nibble on lakeshore vegetation. Notice the lobes on its long toes. They spread the bird’s weight, allowing it to walk atop lake vegetation, lily pads for example.

The color of a Mourning Dove matches closely the colors of Red Pine bark. That explains this nest site. These is a nesting dove in each of these photos, taken this morning from two sides of a Red Pine branch extending over a neighbor’s driveway. I used a long telephoto lens. The bird is almost impossible to see unless you know exactly where to look. Can you find it?

The males of many bird species present their very best appearance during courtship. Hooded Mergansers become one of our most beautiful birds at this time. We found this courting male on a neighborhood pond Thursday afternoon. He was with two hens, one who apparently had accepted his wooing, a second who swam ashore and ran away whenever the excited male approached. He wasn’t a bit discouraged by her, displaying in courtship high gear, fluffing his headdress, puffing his neck, doing the head tipping and bobbing routine that is meant to demonstrate his fitness as a mate. Hooded Mergansers are not hard to find this time of year (small ponds in wooded areas are best places to look), but you’ve really not seen the bird until you see him courting.

Hermit Thrushes are moving through the area now, among early migrants. This one was photographed at the Thomas Sadler Roberts Bird Sanctuary on the north side of Lake Harriet. It’s a fine place to bird, easy access, easy walking, good brushy habitat. Although I didn’t see it happen, these thrushes have a particular technique for finding the insects they eat. They’ll tap their feet in the leaf litter where they forage, hoping to drive insects into sight. Snowy Egrets do the same thing in shallow water, sticking their toes into tight places beneath log and rocks to flush hiding prey. You can see a neat video of an egret at http://web.mac.com/wingedthings Â

Heavy migration of birds was seen on Thursday night on weather radar. Apple Valley’s Roger Everhart, who follows radar reports to track bird movement, reported last night that birds were moving out of Cuba and over Key West, Florida. He says birding should be good this weekend as migrants move north. We are a ways from the southeast coast, but the push is on. Wet weather this weekend is likely to ground migrants. Rain or not, it’s going to be a good weekend for birding. You can see the radar images on Mr. Everhart’s Web site. Go to www.minnesotabirdnerd.blogspot.com.

A reader photographed this American Robin in her yard. It is a leucistic bird. If an albino, the bird would be totally white with bill, legs, and irises pink. They’re pink because the lack of pigment allows the red of the blood vessels to show through. If a partial albino, some of its features would be white. In leucism, the plumage is pale, normal pigmentation being diluted. On this bird you can see the faint glow of the red breast and the brown color on its head.

Waxwings — Cedar and Bohemian. Why the wax?

Males of both species have red waxy tips on the secondary wing feathers (outer feathers that end about mid-wing). The photos show the bird with tips visible and a closeup of the tips. Biologists know of no particular purpose for them. Speculation is that they serve as courtship adornment. This bird was feeding in a crab apple tree in our neighborhood on Saturday.