Thanks to Wayne Johnson of Thief River Falls public works

for his continuing hospitality in permitting access to birders.

(Sherry Gray photo)

We sort of suspected our 19th Labor Day Weekend MBW in northwestern Minnesota would be challenge. Drought conditions were perhaps worse in this part of the state than any other, and the recent bird reports there were few in number and not very encouraging. And it didn’t help that it was on the windy side much of the time, especially Monday when the winds were up to 25 mph. As a result, we managed to come up with a modest total of 147 species in all, including the 8 found only on Friday’s pre-MBW in Polk Co (which also ventured a bit into Marshall). As expected, this was below the average of 155 species for this MBW, which has ranged between a high of 171 and a low of 138.

Probably the main reason this MBW’s total was on the low side was the relative lack of water birds due to many dried-up wetlands areas. This was most noticeable in the lack of shorebirds, as we could only find 13 species, just one more than our lowest-ever total of 12 (our best-ever total was 25 shorebirds). But at least our composite total of 19 warbler species was about as good as we ever do, since 20 is the most we’ve ever come up with (and we’ve done that several times). One interesting aspect of this was the general lack of warblers in the wooded areas Craig et al. tried in Polk Co on Friday, while they found the most in the sunflower fields they stopped at – including a Northern Waterthrush and Wilson’s Warbler perched on power lines over these fields.

Among our highlights over the four days were Sharp-taiied Grouse walking across a back road in front of half the group, Wild (and not-so-wild) Turkeys for the benefit of Marshall County listers, and Eurasian Collared-Doves in a Thief River Falls neighborhood. Our better shorebirds were a Stilt Sandpiper (seen by Brad), Sanderling at the TRF sewage ponds, and Red-necked Phalaropes there and at Karlstad’s sewage ponds. A Caspian Tern at TRF’s ponds was unexpected, distant Great Egrets were at Agassiz NWR, Merlins were migrating everywhere, a LeConte’s Sparrow near East Park WMA was a good find by half the group, and the best warbler was a Connecticut at Old Mill State Park (but seen only by Craig and Jerry).

Bird List

pre = Polk County pre-MBW (Sept 3)

P = Pennington County (Sept 4, 5, 6)

M = Marshall County  (Sept 3, 4, 5)

K = Kittson County (Sept 5)

Canada Goose          pre P M K  

Trumpeter Swan          pre M K

Wood Duck          P K

Blue-winged Teal          pre P M K

Northern Shoveler          pre P M

Gadwall          pre M

American Wigeon          P M

Mallard          pre P M K

American Black Duck          M

Northern Pintail          M

Green-winged Teal          P M K

Canvasback          P M

Redhead          P M

Ring-necked Duck          pre P M K

Common Goldeneye          pre P M

Hooded Merganser          pre P M

Ruddy Duck          P M

Ring-necked Pheasant          pre

Ruffed Grouse          K

Sharp-tailed Grouse          K

Wild Turkey          M

Pied-billed Grebe          pre P M K

Horned Grebe          P M

Red-necked Grebe          pre  P M

Eared Grebe          P M

Rock Pigeon          pre P M K

Eurasian Collared-Dove          P

Mourning Dove          pre P M K

Common Nighthawk          pre  P M

Ruby-throated Hummingbird          pre P M K

Virginia Rail          K

American Coot          pre P M K

Sandhill Crane          pre P M K

Killdeer          pre P M K

Semipalmated Plover          K

Stilt Sandpiper          pre

Sanderling          P

Baird’s Sandpiper          P M

Least Sandpiper          pre P M

Pectoral Sandpiper          P

Wilson’s Snipe          pre

Spotted Sandpiper          pre P M

Solitary Sandpiper          P K

Lesser Yellowlegs          pre P M K

Greater Yellowlegs          pre P M K

Red-necked Phalarope          P K

Franklin’s Gull          pre P M

Ring-billed Gull          pre P M

Caspian Tern          P

Black Tern          P M

Double-crested Cormorant          pre P M K

American White Pelican          pre M K

Great Blue Heron          P M

Great Egret          M

Green Heron          M K

Turkey Vulture          pre P M K

Northern Harrier          pre P M

Sharp-shinned Hawk          P M K

Cooper’s Hawk          pre P K

Bald Eagle          pre P M K

Broad-winged Hawk          P M K

Red-tailed Hawk          pre P M K

Great Horned Owl          M

Belted Kingfisher          P M K

Red-headed Woodpecker          pre

Red-bellied Woodpecker          P

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker          pre P M K

Downy Woodpecker          pre P M K

Hairy Woodpecker          pre P M K

Northern Flicker          pre P M K

Pileated Woodpecker          P M K

American Kestrel          pre P M K

Merlin          pre P M

Peregrine Falcon          pre

Great Crested Flycatcher          pre

Eastern Kingbird          pre M

Olive-sided Flycatcher          pre K

Eastern Wood-Pewee          pre P M K

Alder Flycatcher          P

Least Flycatcher          pre K

Eastern Phoebe          pre M K

Yellow-throated Vireo          P M K

Blue-headed Vireo          pre P K

Philadelphia Vireo          pre P M K

Warbling Vireo          pre

Red-eyed Vireo          pre P M K

Blue Jay          pre P M K

Black-billed Magpie          M K

American Crow          pre P M K

Common Raven          pre P M K

Horned Lark          P

Tree Swallow          pre P M

Barn Swallow          pre P M K

Black-capped Chickadee          pre P M K

Red-breasted Nuthatch          P M K

White-breasted Nuthatch          pre P M K

House Wren          pre P

Sedge Wren          pre M K

Marsh Wren          pre P K

Ruby-crowned Kinglet          P K

Eastern Bluebird          P K

Swainson’s Thrush          pre P M

American Robin          pre P M K

Gray Catbird          pre P K

Brown Thrasher          pre

European Starling          pre P M K

Cedar Waxwing          pre P M K

House Sparrow          P K

Purple Finch          P K

Pine Siskin          P

American Goldfinch          pre P M K

Chipping Sparrow          P M K

Clay-colored Sparrow          pre P M K

White-throated Sparrow          P K

Vesper Sparrow          pre P K

Leconte’s Sparrow          M

Savannah Sparrow          pre P M K

Song Sparrow          pre M

Lincoln’s Sparrow          pre M K

Swamp Sparrow          pre P M

Yellow-headed Blackbird          P

Bobolink          pre P M

Western Meadowlark          pre M

Baltimore Oriole          pre P

Red-winged Blackbird          pre M

Brewer’s Blackbird          pre K

Common Grackle          pre M

Ovenbird          P

Northern Waterthrush          pre P M

Black-and-white Warbler          pre P M K

Tennessee Warbler          pre P M K

Orange-crowned Warbler          P

Nashville Warbler          pre P M K

Connecticut Warbler          M

Common Yellowthroat          pre P M K

American Redstart          pre P M K

Cape May Warbler          M K

Magnolia Warbler          pre K

Bay-breasted Warbler          K

Blackburnian Warbler          P

Yellow Warbler          pre P M K

Chestnut-sided Warbler          pre P M K

Blackpoll Warbler          M K

Palm Warbler          pre M K

Yellow-rumped Warbler          P M K

Wilson’s Warbler          pre P

Rose-breasted Grosbeak          pre P M

PHOTO GALLERY

*          *          *

Northwestern Minn. MBW / Polk pre-MBW Summary

September 3 - 4 - 5 - 6, 2021

(Rose Shea photo)

Solitary Sandpiper – one of only 13 species on this MBW

(Jeff Stephenson photo)

One of many migrating Merlins

(Jeff Stephenson photo)

(Jerry Pruett photo)

(Rose Shea photo)

Bay-breasted Warbler – not a Blackpoll for a change

(Jerry Pruett photo)

Polk County warbler habitat

(Jerry Pruett photo)

LAKE OF THE WOODS & ROSEAU MBW SUMMARY

September 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5, 2022

This was our 20th consecutive MBW on Labor Day weekend to relatively remote northwestern Minnesota, and, as always, we came up with an interesting assortment of birds. The weather mostly cooperated, with light to moderate winds on all five days, and there was no rain to slow us down. It may have been too warm in the 80s on Thursday afternoon, but temperatures moderated nicely the rest of the weekend, although it was somewhat disappointing that Friday’s cold front failed to produce much migration – so maybe some rain showers might have grounded some migrants and would have been welcome.  

Our composite species total of 163 was only 8 shy of this MBW’s all-time record of 171, but this was primarily the result of having an extra day of birding this year. This MBW is normally 3 or 4 days long, not 5, and the average species total is 155 – so remove the extra day, and we would probably have been in the 150s.

Our target every year is to find both 20 shorebirds and 20 warblers, but we have never quite managed to do both on this MBW. We came up with 19 warbler species this time, which is probably close to average (an even 20 is the most we’ve had, and we’ve done that several times). We found no real significant waves of warblers and other migrants this year, save for the few miles worth of non-stop passerine activity along Pitt Grade Forest Road on Thursday morning. Indeed, our usually dependable sites for migrants at Zippel Bay State Park, Warroad, Springsteel Island, and Roseau City Park were mostly disappointing.

Meanwhile, our total of 17 shorebirds was quite respectable, given that none of the sewage ponds we checked in these counties or the drawn-down pools at Agassiz held more than a few species. But we chanced upon the pair of flooded fields at South Shore WMA on Friday afternoon, plus the mudflats in fields along MN Hwy 310 on Saturday and on 360th Ave the next day. These combined to give us a total of 12 Buff-breasted Sandpipers, both American Golden- and Black-bellied plovers, as well as Stilt, Baird’s, Solitary, and other sandpipers.          

Some of our other highlights included unseasonal Snow and Cackling geese, a Eurasian Collared-Dove in Roseau (a rarity in northwest MN), lots of Sandhill Cranes, Great Egrets at Roseau River WMA (also rare this far north), an unexpected Black-backed Woodpecker along MN 310, a Peregrine Falcon at Agassiz, and two concentrations of Black-billed Magpies: about 40 or so just east of Roseau River WMA, and at least 30 going to roost near the Roseau sewage ponds.    

Bird List

• L = Lake of the Woods County, Sept 1-2 (121 species)

• R = Roseau County, Sept 3-4 (126 species)

• Mon = Monday only (mostly at Agassiz NWR, Marshall Co.)

Snow Goose          R

Cackling Goose          R

Canada Goose          LR

Trumpeter Swan          LR

Wood Duck          LR

Blue-winged Teal          LR

Northern Shoveler          LR

Gadwall          LR

American Wigeon          LR

Mallard          LR

American Black Duck          R

Northern Pintail          LR

Green-winged Teal          LR

Canvasback          R

Redhead          LR

Ring-necked Duck          LR

Lesser Scaup          R

Bufflehead          LR

Common Goldeneye          LR

Hooded Merganser          LR

Ruddy Duck          R

Wild Turkey          Mon

Ruffed Grouse          L

Gray Partridge          R

Pied-billed Grebe          LR

Horned Grebe          R

Red-necked Grebe          LR

Eared Grebe          R

Western Grebe          Mon

Rock Pigeon          LR

Eurasian Collared-Dove          R

Mourning Dove          LR

Black-billed Cuckoo          Mon

Ruby-throated Hummingbird          LR

Virginia Rail          R

Sora          R

American Coot          LR

Sandhill Crane          LR

Black-bellied Plover          R

American Golden-Plover          LR

Killdeer          LR

Semipalmated Plover          LR

Stilt Sandpiper          LR

Baird’s Sandpiper          L

Least Sandpiper          LR

Buff-breasted Sandpiper          LR

Pectoral Sandpiper          LR

Short-billed Dowitcher          L

American Woodcock          R

Wilson’s Snipe          R

Spotted Sandpiper          LR

Solitary Sandpiper          LR

Lesser Yellowlegs          LR

Greater Yellowlegs          LR

Red-necked Phalarope          R

Bonaparte’s Gull          LR

Franklin’s Gull          LR

Ring-billed Gull          LR

Herring Gull          LR

Caspian Tern          L

Forster’s Tern          LR

Common Loon          L

Double-crested Cormorant          LR

American White Pelican          LR

American Bittern          R

Great Blue Heron          LR

Great Egret          R

Green Heron          LR

Turkey Vulture          LR

Northern Harrier          LR

Sharp-shinned Hawk          LR

Cooper’s Hawk          LR

Bald Eagle          LR

Broad-winged Hawk          L

Red-tailed Hawk          LR

Great Horned Owl          R

Belted Kingfisher          LR

Red-headed Woodpecker          R

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker          LR

Black-backed Woodpecker          R

Downy Woodpecker          LR

Hairy Woodpecker          LR

Northern Flicker          LR

Pileated Woodpecker          LR

American Kestrel          LR

Merlin          LR

Peregrine Falcon          Mon

Eastern Kingbird          LR

Olive-sided Flycatcher          L

Eastern Wood-Pewee          LR                                            

Least Flycatcher          LR

Eastern Phoebe          LR

Yellow-throated Vireo          Mon

Blue-headed Vireo          L

Philadelphia Vireo          LR

Warbling Vireo          LR

Red-eyed Vireo          LR

Blue Jay          LR

Black-billed Magpie          LR

American Crow          LR

Common Raven          LR

Black-capped Chickadee          LR

Bank Swallow          L

Tree Swallow          LR

Purple Martin          L

Barn Swallow          LR

Cliff Swallow          LR

Ruby-crowned Kinglet          LR

Golden-crowned Kinglet          LR

Cedar Waxwing          LR

Red-breasted Nuthatch          LR

White-breasted Nuthatch          LR

Brown Creeper          LR

House Wren          LR

Sedge Wren          LR

Marsh Wren          LR

Gray Catbird          LR

Brown Thrasher          Mon

European Starling          LR

Veery          L

Swainson’s Thrush          L

American Robin          LR

House Sparrow          LR                                   

Purple Finch          LR

Pine Siskin          LR

American Goldfinch          LR

Chipping Sparrow          LR

Clay-colored Sparrow          L

White-throated Sparrow          LR

Vesper Sparrow          LR

Savannah Sparrow          LR

Song Sparrow          LR

Lincoln’s Sparrow          LR

Swamp Sparrow          LR

Yellow-headed Blackbird          L

Bobolink          LR

Western Meadowlark          R

Baltimore Oriole          L

Red-winged Blackbird          LR

Brown-headed Cowbird          L

Brewer’s Blackbird          Mon

Common Grackle          LR

Ovenbird          LR

Northern Waterthrush          LR

Golden-winged Warbler          L

Black-and-white Warbler          LR

Tennessee Warbler          LR

Nashville Warbler          LR

Common Yellowthroat          LR

American Redstart          LR

Cape May Warbler          R

Magnolia Warbler          LR

Bay-breasted Warbler          LR

Blackburnian Warbler          L

Yellow Warbler          LR

Chestnut-sided Warbler          LR

Blackpoll Warbler          R

Palm Warbler          LR

Yellow-rumped Warbler          LR

Black-throated Green Warbler          R

Wilson’s Warbler          L

Scarlet Tanager          L

Rose-breasted Grosbeak          LR

Craig Mandel’s fashion advice for MBWers when out birding

in 90+ degrees: a warm winter jacket, of course!

“Yes, we saw it! It was great!!”

So, was that Jeff’s comment on Craig’s wardrobe in Thief River Falls on Monday? Or his general assessment of this MBWeekend’s birding? Or what? It couldn’t have been the hot weather, which not only slowed us down at times but also resulted in a limited showing of fall migrants in general. And the heat failed to be all that impressive, since it fell short of reaching the all-time MBWeekend high temperature record. The highest online temperatures I could find in the places we were at the same times: 90 on Friday, 95 Saturday, 90 Sunday, and 82 Monday. Monday’s measly 82 was because we only birded in TRFalls until noon, and Saturday’s reading of 95 was in Karlstad about the time we passed through town on the way back to TRFalls late in the afternoon.

Saturday’s reading was only one degree shy of the MBWeekend record set on July 30, 2006, when it hit 96 in Ortonville on the day we were doing a truncated MBW in Big Stone Co. Because of the forecast for the next day, Sunday the 31st, I decided to cancel the birding that day – when the high reached 106 degrees with a heat index of 110! Now that would have been a MBWeekend record that I can’t imagine we’d ever come close to breaking. (By the way, the hottest day ever recorded on any MBWeek was 113 degrees on the Big Bend trip in 2009.)       

Despite the heat, I was impressed that we were still out birding each afternoon, probably due to the relatively low humidity/dew points, when I had thought we’d have to take some afternoons off. These dry readings reflected the chronic drought conditions, which have been worse the last couple years in NW MN than anywhere else in the state, and I think this negatively impacted the birds at least as much as the heat. Whatever the case, we didn’t witness much fall migration and found some resident species to be conspicuous by their absence. Note that we entirely missed Western Grebe, Chimney Swift, any kind of owl, Brown Creeper, Eastern Bluebird, Red Crossbill, and Indigo Bunting. In addition, the numbers of Sandhill Cranes, gulls/terns, flycatchers, Black-billed Magpies, Common Ravens, swallows, kinglets, wrens, thrushes, sparrows, Bobolinks, meadowlarks, orioles, blackbirds, and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks seemed generally lower than normal.

Our goal during each of these 21 annual Labor Day MBWs has always been to come up with 20 species of both warblers and shorebirds, even though we’ve never been able to accomplish that for both groups in the same year. We did OK on warblers with a total of 19 species – which, curiously, is about average on this MBW and simultaneously only one short of our best total of 20 warbler species. Our 16 shorebird species was probably about average as well, although this MBW’s best effort was no fewer than 25 species in 2008 – which I think is an all-time record for any MBWeekend statewide.

Counting everything, we had a composite total of 155 species, which is probably another average number. But this overall total is difficult to fairly compare with other years, since the duration of these NW Minn MBWs has varied between 3 and 5 days. This MBW’s best total was 171 species in 2008 (the same year that came up with those 25 shorebirds), while the slowest of these MBWs have only managed composite totals in the 130s.

Bird sightings aside for a moment, there were also some interesting non-avian experiences... An endless debate about whether or not the Tallgrass Aspen Parkland really exists as a legit biome; even Calla, who we met at Thief Lake and does research on this alleged biome, failed to show me the error of my ways. Learning about the King of Trails, a.k.a. U S Hwy 75, which we briefly experienced in Hallock, though we never got the chance to travel the Tombstone Highway (a.k.a. Kittson CR 51). A lesson on what a Ruddy Ground Dove sounds like – no, not from Merlin, but from an endless recording on my phone playing in my pocket that was truly disorienting as we searched for a collared-dove (sorry!). Craig’s recovery of his temporarily lost phone at Lake Bronson. My 3 lifer sewage ponds en route to TRFalls on Thursday – now it’s 402 down, and only 2 to go. (So, would anyone care to register for a Waseca & Goodhue counties MBW, where the Waldorf and Oakland ponds are located?).

We met two new MBWers – Kristin and Jane – who missed their chance to be baptized as official members of our MBW cult at the TRFalls sewage ponds. And we owe Wayne Johnson our thanks for granting access to these ponds as he always has (remember to text him for access at 218 689 8967 the next time you’re in town). Thanks as well to Jeanie: she’s the one who not only showed us around her yard, but who also so closely resembles Rick when receiving the coveted JTLMB. And it goes without saying that these MBWs would not be the same without Craig – maybe not measurably better, but “not the same” is good enough and about all we can expect considering how little he’s paid!

To be sure, there were several memorable bird sightings as well – especially the cooperative group of Sharp-tailed Grouse seen by all in the road while en route to Agassiz on Sunday, Eurasian Collared-Doves in both Hallock and TRFalls, the lone American Avocet on the Marshall Co side of the Agassiz Valley impoundment (that refused to budge south just a lousy 100 yards or so for the benefit of Polk Co listers), the Red-bellied Woodpecker in Jeanie’s yard (like the collared-dove, a rarity this far north in MN)... Oh, and let’s not forget what had to be Jeff’s highlight of the entire MBW. A cardinal. You know, that common bird you take for granted in your Twin Cities backyard. (“It was great!!”)  –KRE

Itinerary

M = Marshall County

K = Kittson           “

Pe = Pennington  “

Po = Polk             “

R = Roseau         “

Friday

Newfolden sewage ponds (M)

Pembina Trail (M & K)

Karlstad sewage ponds (K)

Lake Bronson sewage ponds & state park (K)

Lancaster sewage ponds (K)

Joe River WMA (K)

Hallock: collared-doves & sewage ponds (K)

Saturday

TRFalls sewage ponds (Pe)

CR 8 near Pembina Trail (Pe)

Angus-Oslo & Brandt-Angus impoundments (Po)

impoundment (Po)

Agassiz Valley impoundment (Po & M)

Island Park, Warren (M)

Warren sewage ponds (M)

Old Mill State Park (M)

Viking sewage ponds (M)

Sunday

Jeanie’s yard (Pe)

CRs 20 & 12 to Agassiz (Pe & M)

Agassiz NWR: Farmes Pool, CR 7, HQ area (M)

Thief Lake WMA (M)

Greenbush sewage ponds (R)

Twin Lakes WMA (K)

Karlstad sewage ponds (K)

Monday

Residential TRFalls: Northland Trails, cardinal & collared-dove detours, Greenwood Trails (Pe)

TRFalls sewage ponds (Pe)

Bird List

Canada Goose (a.k.a. Honker)

Trumpeter Swan (a.k.a. White Starling?)

Wood Duck

Blue-winged Teal

Northern Shoveler

Gadwall

American Wigeon

Mallard

Northern Pintail

Green-winged Teal

Canvasback (only 1 small flock at Agassiz?)

Redhead

Ring-necked Duck

Lesser Scaup

Bufflehead

Common Goldeneye

Hooded Merganser

Ruddy Duck

Wild Turkey

Sharp-tailed Grouse

Greater Prairie-Chicken (seen briefly by a few in Kittson)

Pied-billed Grebe

Horned Grebe

Red-necked Grebe

Eared Grebe

Rock Pigeon

Eurasian Collared-Dove

Mourning Dove

Common Nighthawk (sleeping on a tree branch in TRF)

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Virginia Rail

Sora

American Coot

Sandhill Crane

American Avocet

Black-bellied Plover (1 at Agassiz)

American Golden-Plover

Killdeer

Semipalmated Plover

Stilt Sandpiper (our final species of the MBW, at TRF ponds)

Baird’s Sandpiper

Least Sandpiper

Pectoral Sandpiper

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Wilson’s Snipe

Spotted Sandpiper

Solitary Sandpiper

Lesser Yellowlegs

Greater Yellowlegs

Red-necked Phalarope

Franklin’s Gull (Brad only at TRF ponds)

Ring-billed Gull

Caspian Tern (John only at TRF ponds)

Black Tern

Forster’s Tern

Common Loon

Double-crested Cormorant

American White Pelican

American Bittern

Great Blue Heron

Great Egret

Green Heron

Turkey Vulture

Northern Harrier

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Cooper’s Hawk

Bald Eagle

Broad-winged Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

Belted Kingfisher

Red-headed Woodpecker

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Downy Woodpecker

Hairy Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

Pileated Woodpecker

American Kestrel

Merlin

Great Crested Flycatcher

Eastern Kingbird

Eastern Wood-Pewee

Least Flycatcher

Eastern Phoebe

Yellow-throated Vireo

Blue-headed Vireo

Philadelphia Vireo

Warbling Vireo

Red-eyed Vireo

Blue Jay

Black-billed Magpie

American Crow

Common Raven

Black-capped Chickadee

Horned Lark

Bank Swallow

Tree Swallow

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Barn Swallow

Cliff Swallow

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Cedar Waxwing

Red-breasted Nuthatch

White-breasted Nuthatch

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (seen by Rose at Lake Bronson State Park?)

Sedge Wren

Marsh Wren

Gray Catbird

Brown Thrasher

European Starling

Veery

Swainson’s Thrush

American Robin

House Sparrow

American Pipit (1 only, a Warren sewage ponds fly-by)

House Finch

Purple Finch

Pine Siskin

American Goldfinch

Chipping Sparrow

Clay-colored Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco (seen by Jeff en route between impoundments in Polk)

White-throated Sparrow

Vesper Sparrow

Savannah Sparrow

Song Sparrow

Swamp Sparrow

Bobolink (a few migrants heard overhead; also 1 seen by Rick at the TRF ponds)

Western Meadowlark

Baltimore Oriole

Red-winged Blackbird

Brewer’s Blackbird

Common Grackle

Ovenbird

Northern Waterthrush

Black-and-white Warbler

Tennessee Warbler

Nashville Warbler

Mourning Warbler (1 only, at Thief Lake WMA)

Common Yellowthroat

American Redstart

Northern Parula

Magnolia Warbler

Bay-breasted Warbler

Blackburnian Warbler

Yellow Warbler

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Blackpoll Warbler

Palm Warbler (perched briefly on my scope at the TRF ponds!)

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Black-throated Green Warbler

Wilson’s Warbler

Scarlet Tanager (1 along Pembina Trail in Marshall)

Northern Cardinal

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

*          *          *

Also see the 2022 and 2021 MBW summaries

which follow the summary of the 2023 MBW

__________

NORTHWEST MINN. MBW SUMMARY

September 1 - 2 - 3 - 4, 2023