2007 Tour Narrative
In Brief: I can’t think of a better place to be at the end of May and early June than Minnesota and North Dakota. Bird songs come from every bog, woodlot, prairie, grassland, and wetland … and there is always the unexpected. Among this year’s highlights were 30 species of warblers including an unprecedented late season fallout at Park Point; an apparent hybrid Northern Parula x American Redstart; fabulous studies of sparrows, particularly those in the genus Ammodramus– Baird’s, Grasshopper, Henslow’s, LeConte’s and Nelson’s Sharp-tailed; Black-backed Woodpecker in a spruce bog, displaying Sharp-tailed Grouse, Philadelphia Vireo—and these were just some of this year’s highlights..
In Detail: The Twin Cities makes for a great place to begin a visit to Minnesota. The area lies at the northwestern limit of several species and this year we had great fortune finding many of them quickly. We began at the Nature Conservancy’s Black Dog preserve where Sedge Wrens seemed to sing from every patch of shrubs, and Willow Flycatchers from each shrub. But the star was a Bell’s Vireo, a very local species in Minnesota. From here we traveled to Murphy-Hanrehan where Henslow’s and Grasshopper Sparrow sang from a remnant patch of grasslands, while shrubby patches hosted Eastern Towhees, Field Sparrows and Blue-winged Warblers. Just down the road were a variety of warblers including a stunning singing male Cerulean and Hooded Warblers. With a bit of extra time we headed southeast to Minneopa State Park—a remarkably scenic area along the Minnesota River where we found the specialty of the region, Louisiana Waterthrush. But we weren’t done yet! En route to Duluth and Superior we received a call about a Snowy and Piping Plover, so we made another detour to Park Point, After a bit of search we found a variety of shorebirds including Piping Plover (rare but regular in MN) and Snowy Plover (fewer than 10 records for the state).
The next day we were off to perhaps the most famous birding locale in Minnesota, the Sax-Zim bog. And it certainly lived up to its reputation with singing Connecticut Warblers, Yellow-bellied Flycatchers, LeConte’s Sparrows, Boreal Chickadees and lekking Sharp-tailed Grouse. But the best was yet to come. We headed to Park Point that afternoon where unprecedented late season fallout was taking place that included several new high counts for the state of Minnesota! Among the highlights were over 200 American Redstarts, 25 Blackburnian Warblers, 35 Canada Warblers, and 80 Magnolia Warblers. Also included were a several warblers that we rarely find on this tour including Black-throated Blue (1), Bay-breasted (8), Blackpoll (5), Wilson’s (12) and Tennessee (2), even Gray-cheeked Thrush and 3 Philadelphia Vireo! Perhaps the highlight was a Black-billed Cuckoo that we watched eat a Monarch (many of which were also present as part of this fallout).
The next morning we decided to see if we could have a repeat of yesterday’s performance, but most birds had left Park Point, and neighboring Wisconsin Point. We did find a few unexpected birds over Lake Superior including Red-necked Grebes, distant Red-throated Loons migrating north, and a late White-winged Scoter. We spent much of the morning birding around the Brule River in Wisconsin, where a dozen species of warblers competed for our attention, highlighted by great views of Mourning, Canada and Pine.
The next day we ventured into Aitkin County. Most of the morning we battled heavy rains, but we still managed to find Black-backed Woodpecker, Lincoln’s Sparrows, Golden-winged Warblers and Northern Waterthrush (our 30th species of warbler!). The auditory highlight was to come later that night when a small handful of us ventured into McGregor Marsh. Here, Sandhill Cranes bellowed from the marshes, American Woodcocks twittered overhead, and the soft insect like songs of Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrows emanated from the sedges—but, of course, the real stars were the Yellow Rails.
From here we headed to the prairie potholes and grasslands of western Minnesota and North Dakota. Two days isn’t really sufficient to explore the diversity of birds of the Prairie Potholes of western MN and North Dakota, but we made a good effort and missed little. From the Marbled Godwits calling just overhead, to skylarking Chestnut-collared Longspurs and Orchard Orioles at our picnic site, the Felton Prairie was simply amazing. But the real fun began in North Dakota. Who could forget the skylarking Sprague’s Pipit that landed right along the side of the road!? Or the Sharp-tailed Grouse that seemed to be everywhere this year. Or Baird’s Sparrows singing in the pasture, right where they were supposed to be …or the LeConte’s Sparrows, or the Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrows. Then, all too soon it was time to return to the Twin Cities and our final meal together.
Chris Wood
Updated: January 2008