Growing up in Minnesota in the 50's and 60's were

Growing up in Minnesota in the 50's and 60's were saw almost no Egrets and just a passing Blue Heron migrating north. Now I see Egrets here from April til October and Blue Herons as well, but not as many as the Egrets. I also see more Swans migrating through too, which we never saw when I was a kid. I think the Egrets we slower learners than the duck and geese. The ducks and geese learned they were safer in metropolitan areas where they could not be shot, than out in the farm country surrounding Minneapolis/St' Paul. I was raised on a lake and mallards nesting near us started in the mid 1950's. My dad used to feed them, later he threw rocks at them because they crapped all over our dock. Then a few years later the geese came, even messier,.

My sisters husband was a big hunter and he told me the Geese knew exactly where the Game Refuge lines were when they went out in the afternoon to feed on farmers crops, always staying just out of shooting range.