GRANT - OTTER TAIL MBW SUMMARY

July 17 - 18 - 19, 2020

(Summary by Craig Mandel)

July 17 pre-MBW  ~  North Ottawa Impoundment

It was fun to finally get the 2020 MBW season under way! With masks in place, we met bright and early at the usual meeting location for an MBW – the Fergus Falls Perkins. And what better place to begin the 2020 MBW season than the prairies and Impoundments in western Minnesota. While the recent rains left North Ottawa full of water, we did find a small dry area on the north end that had a nice mix of 10 shorebird species, including Stilt Sandpipers and a Short-billed Dowitcher. We also hit a couple of local parks and managed to find a few woods birds in those. Our tally of 94 species was nice for a warm summer day, with only a few migrants around at the time.

July 18-19 MBW  ~  Otter Tail County

With somewhat cooler temperatures during our two days of birding in Otter Tail, it made for a pleasant birding experience. We were able to spend some time hiking at Maplewood and Glendalough state parks. Grotto Lake in Fergus Falls was interesting with a large number of immature Black-crowned Night-Herons roosting in the spruce trees and the large egret and cormorant rookery was fun to observe. The Least Bittern was cooperative at Erhard WPA, and we added a Scarlet Tanager, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and a great view of the county at Inspirational Peak. Nancy and I ended the trip at the Parkers Prairie WTP, our 8th sewage pond of the trip.

While our 7 and 8-car caravans and 6-foot social distancing made it challenging at times, our 120 species tally for the three days was quite pleasing for a mid-summer MBW.

Bird List

G = July 17 in Grant Co. (94 species)

O = July 18-19 in Otter Tail Co. (109 species)

Canada Goose - G, O

Trumpeter Swan - G, O

Wood Duck - G, O

Blue-winged Teal - O

Mallard - G, O

Green-winged Teal - G, O

Canvasback - O

Redhead - O

Ring-necked Duck - O

Hooded Merganser - G, O

Ruddy Duck - G

Ring-necked Pheasant - G, O

Pied-billed Grebe - G, O

Red-necked Grebe - G

Eared Grebe - G

Rock Pigeon - G, O

Eurasian Collared-Dove - G, O

Mourning Dove - G, O

Chimney Swift - G, O

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - G

Virginia Rail - G, O

Sora - G

American Coot - G

Sandhill Crane - O

Killdeer - G, O

Stilt Sandpiper - G, O

Least Sandpiper - G, O

Pectoral Sandpiper - G

Semipalmated Sandpiper - G

Short-billed Dowitcher - G, O

Spotted Sandpiper - G, O

Lesser Yellowlegs - G, O

Greater Yellowlegs - G, O

Wilson's Phalarope - G, O

Franklin's Gull - G, O

Ring-billed Gull - G, O

Black Tern - G, O

Forster's Tern - O

Common Loon - G, O

Double-crested Cormorant - G, O

American White Pelican - G, O

American Bittern - G

Least Bittern - O

Great Blue Heron - G, O

Great Egret - G, O

Green Heron - O

Black-crowned Night-Heron - O

Turkey Vulture - G, O

Osprey - O

Cooper's Hawk - G, O

Bald Eagle - G, O

Broad-winged Hawk - O

Red-tailed Hawk - G, O

Belted Kingfisher - O

Red-bellied Woodpecker - G

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - O

Downy Woodpecker - G, O

Hairy Woodpecker - O

Northern Flicker - G, O

Pileated Woodpecker - O

American Kestrel - G, O

Great-crested Flycatcher - G, O

Eastern Kingbird - G, O

Eastern Wood-Pewee - G, O

Willow Flycatcher - G, O

Least Flycatcher - G, O

Eastern Phoebe - G, O

Yellow-throated Vireo - O

Warbling Vireo - G, O

Red-eyed Vireo - G, O

Blue Jay - G, O

American Crow - G, O

Horned Lark - G, O

Purple Martin - G, O

Tree Swallow - G, O

Bank Swallow - G, O

Cliff Swallow - G, O

Barn Swallow - G, O

Black-capped Chickadee - G, O

White-breasted Nuthatch - G, O

House Wren - G, O

Sedge Wren - G, O

Marsh Wren - G, O

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher - O

Eastern Bluebird - O

Veery - O

American Robin - G, O

Gray Catbird - G, O

Brown Thrasher - G, O

European Starling - G, O

Cedar Waxwing - G, O

House Sparrow - G, O

House Finch - G, O

American Goldfinch - G, O

Chipping Sparrow - G, O

Clay-colored Sparrow - G, O

Field Sparrow - O

Vesper Sparrow - G, O

Savanah Sparrow - G, O

Grasshopper Sparrow - O

Song Sparrow - G, O

Swamp Sparrow - G, O

Yellow-headed Blackbird - O

Bobolink - G, O

Western Meadowlark - G, O

Orchard Oriole - G

Baltimore Oriole - G, O

Red-winged Blackbird - G, O

Brown-headed Blackbird - G, O

Common Grackle - G, O

Ovenbird - O

Black-and-white Warbler - O

Common Yellowthroat - G, O

American Redstart - G, O

Yellow Warbler - G, O

Chestnut-sided Warbler - O

Scarlet Tanager - O

Northern Cardinal - G

Rose-breasted Grosbeak - G, O

Indigo Bunting - O

Dickcissel - G, O