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
