Also see the 2007 and 2008 MBW summaries following the summary

of the 2014 MBWeekend; note that these summaries include

some birds not seen in Martin or Jackson counties,

and that the 2008 MBW was in late March.

__________

SOUTHWESTERN MINN MBW SUMMARY  ~  APRIL 5 - 6, 2014

Great-tailed Grackle, Worthington, Nobles County (Jena Highkin photo)

Well, our first MBW of the 2014-15 season finally managed to take place, although there were times I had my doubts if it ever would! The prolonged winter first prompted a one-week delay, a snowstorm then nearly canceled the later weekend, and there were associated adjustments in the participants list, the car-pooling arrangements, and when we would be able to finally meet in Worthington on Saturday. But I think those of us who were eventually able to attend this past weekend saw more than enough to make all that tinkering with the logistics worth the trouble.

I agree that Saturday was colder and windier than we would have preferred, but on Sunday it warmed up some and the winds moderated. In all, we came up with a respectable total of 80 species: 75 in Nobles Co (73 of these on Saturday) and 64 in Jackson Co Sunday morning. Of course, that first-county-record grackle was probably our most significant find, as the singing male at L Okabena on Saturday morning was relocated and briefly joined by a female a few blocks away that afternoon. And, in a different way, it was equally exciting to witness that nice movement of eagles and other raptors passing over Heron Lake late Sunday morning – this actually provided a visible sensation that spring migration was finally underway.

Despite the lousy March weather, the goose migration had already passed through SW Minnesota for the most part, although we still managed to observe all 5 species in low numbers. But at least one Ross's Goose did fly over the Perkins parking lot as we assembled on Sunday morning, and a bit later we drove by a few hundred Greater White-fronteds along I-90 en route to Lakefield. Despite the relative lack of geese, there was also a good variety of ducks (18 species in all) found at several wetlands where the ice was on its way out. In addition, we came up with some relatively early migrants: a heard-only Greater Yellowlegs, a group of Baird's Sandpipers, a couple of fly-by Franklin's Gulls, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Tree Swallow, American Pipit, and a few Yellow-headed Blackbirds.

Bird List

• N = found in Nobles Co (all but 2 species on April 5)

• J = found in Jackson Co (all on April 6) 

Greater White-fronted Goose     NJ (largest flock along I-90 en route to Lakefield)

Snow Goose     N (only modest numbers)

Ross's Goose     N (one overhead at Perkins with Snow Geese Sunday morning)  

Cackling Goose     NJ (just a few)

Canada Goose     NJ

Trumpeter Swan     N (pond just S of Worthington)

Wood Duck     NJ

Gadwall     NJ

American Wigeon     NJ

Mallard     NJ

Blue-winged Teal     NJ

Northern Shoveler     NJ

Northern Pintail     NJ

Green-winged Teal     NJ

Canvasback     N

Redhead     N

Ring-necked Duck     NJ

Lesser Scaup     NJ

Bufflehead     NJ

Common Goldeneye     NJ

Hooded Merganser     NJ

Common Merganser     NJ

Red-breasted Merganser     N (uncommon in SW Minn)

Ruddy Duck     N

Ring-necked Pheasant     NJ

Pied-billed Grebe     N

Double-crested Cormorant     NJ

American White Pelican     NJ

Great Blue Heron     NJ

Turkey Vulture     NJ

Bald Eagle     NJ (nice migration over Heron Lake on Sunday)

Northern Harrier     NJ

Sharp-shinned Hawk     NJ

Cooper's Hawk     NJ

Red-tailed Hawk     NJ (incl dark-morphs, and a "Harlan's" along the Rough-legged

     road) 

Rough-legged Hawk     N (lone dark-morph bird)

American Coot     NJ

Killdeer     NJ

Greater Yellowlegs     N (heard-only at Indian L)

Baird's Sandpiper     J (small flock at the S end of South Heron L)

Franklin's Gull     N (fly-over at Perkins Sunday morning), J (distant fly-by seen by

     Herb at North Heron L) 

Ring-billed Gull     NJ

Herring Gull     NJ (uncommon in SW Minn)

Rock Pigeon     NJ

Eurasian Collared-Dove     NJ (several sites)

Mourning Dove     NJ

Great Horned Owl     N (heard-only at L Bella), J (Sparks Park)

Belted Kingfisher     J

Red-bellied Woodpecker     J (heard-only)

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker     N (Indian L)

Downy Woodpecker     NJ

Hairy Woodpecker     NJ

Northern Flicker     NJ

American Kestrel     NJ

Blue Jay     NJ

American Crow     NJ

Horned Lark     NJ

Tree Swallow     J (spotted by Herb at South Heron L)

Black-capped Chickadee     NJ

White-breasted Nuthatch     NJ

Golden-crowned Kinglet     N (heard-only in Worthington by Linda)

American Robin     NJ

European Starling     NJ

American Pipit     N (cowering out of the wind at L Bella)

Cedar Waxwing     NJ

Lapland Longspur     NJ (fly-overs briefly seen/heard by some)

American Tree Sparrow     NJ

Fox Sparrow     N (heard-only by a few in Worthington)

Song Sparrow     NJ

Dark-eyed Junco     NJ

Northern Cardinal     J

Red-winged Blackbird     NJ

Western Meadowlark     NJ

Yellow-headed Blackbird     N (along the Rough-legged road)

Rusty Blackbird     NJ

Common Grackle     NJ

Great-tailed Grackle     N (incl a female briefly seen with the male)

Brown-headed Cowbird     NJ

House Finch     NJ

House Sparrow     NJ

*          *          *

Watonwan Co pre-MBW  ~  April 20, 2007

Martin & Faribault Co's MBW  ~  April 21-22, 2007

[Here's Craig's slightly edited summary of the recent MBW you were on. Looks like the birding was pretty interesting despite the unfavorable weather. But at least it didn't snow like it did in Colorado, which is where I was last week helping lead a VENT tour. (Hard to believe there's a place with worse April weather than Duluth!) But during the tour I saw ABA lifer #700 on April 14: the Gunnison Sage-Grouse. I'm a slow learner, I guess – it only took me 45 years of birding to get there.]

I would like to thank you all for joining me on this Minnesota Birding Weekend. We got to see some wonderful country and bird in some areas that are not birded that often. Despite lots of wind, reported at 33 mph with gusts to 45 mph on Saturday, we still managed to see a fair number of birds. Thanks especially to Judy and Wayne – it was fun to get to do some birding at Judy's house along South Silver Lake, and Wayne helped pick out some great spots to bird in Faribault County. It was interesting to find a new nesting location (Rosendale WMA in Watonwan Co) for the Great-tailed Grackle, which seems to be continuing its range expansion farther into Minnesota. The other highlight for me was the pair of Long-tailed Ducks at Pilot Grove Lake in Faribault Co, a species most often observed along the North Shore of Lake Superior, not in a small lake in southern Minnesota. The flock of Snow Geese was also a great treat, and, while they could have been closer, I think most people were able to observe the field marks on a few Ross's Geese that were mixed in with the flock. It was also fun to get to see some shorebirds, as this is one of my favorite families to study.

                                                                                                                         - Craig Mandel

Bird List (total species = 102)

• Wat = Watonwan County, April 20 (69 species)

• Mar = Martin County, April 21 (79 species)

• Far = Faribault County, April 22 (79 species)

Snow Goose - Mar (CR 118, 1.5 miles west of CR 27; was fun to watch the flock as it fed in  

     the field)

Ross's Goose - Mar (same location as the Snow Geese; would have helped if the birds

     would have sat still and if we did not have to contend with 30-mph winds)

Canada Goose - Wat, Mar, Far

Trumpeter Swan - Far (five observed on Pilot Grove Lake)

Wood Duck - Wat, Mar, Far

Gadwall - Wat, Mar, Far

American Wigeon - Far

Mallard - Wat, Mar, Far

Blue-winged Teal - Wat, Mar, Far

Northern Shoveler - Wat, Mar, Far

Green-winged Teal - Wat, Mar, Far

Canvasback - Wat, Mar, Far

Redhead - Mar, Far

Ring-necked Duck - Wat, Mar, Far

Greater Scaup - Far (a single male in a large flock of Lesser Scaup at Pilot Grove L, but it

     was only observed by a small portion of the group, as the Long-tailed Ducks got everyone

     else's attention)

Lesser Scaup - Wat, Mar, Far

Long-tailed Duck - Far (some of the group even got to see them perform some head snaps

     and other breeding behavior)

Bufflehead - Wat, Mar, Far

Red-breasted Merganser - Mar (we owe this sighting and many others to Linda's diligent

     efforts with her spotting scope)

Ruddy Duck - Wat, Mar, Far

Ring-necked Pheasant - Wat, Mar, Far

Gray Partridge - Far (observed by Wayne on Saturday night near his house north of Blue

     Earth)

Pied-billed Grebe - Wat, Mar, Far

Horned Grebe - Wat (a single bird at Case Lake was very difficult to observe)

Red-necked Grebe - Wat, Mar (this was another species observed on Case Lake, but was a

     little easier for the group to see)

American White Pelican - Mar (I thought we would see a lot more of them)

Double-crested Cormorant - Mar, Far

Great Blue Heron - Wat, Mar, Far

Great Egret - Mar

Turkey Vulture - Wat, Mar, Far

Osprey - Mar (unexpected species sitting in a tree in a farm lot)

Bald Eagle - Wat (was nice to see a pair on the at a nest; looked like they may have had

     some young birds in the nest already)

Northern Harrier - Far

Sharp-shinned Hawk - Mar, Far

Broad-winged Hawk - Far

Red-tailed Hawk - Wat, Mar, Far (I was surprised at how few of these were observed)

American Kestrel - Wat, Mar, Far

Virginia Rail - Wat, Far (had some great looks at Bergdahl Lake in Watonwan Co and Pilot

     Grove Lake in Faribault Co)

Sora - Far (heard-only at Pilot Grove Lake)

American Coot - Wat, Mar, Far

Semipalmated Plover - Mar (nice looks at a small flock east of Ceylon)

Killdeer - Wat, Mar, Far

Greater Yellowlegs - Wat, Mar, Far

Lesser Yellowlegs - Wat, Mar, Far

Solitary Sandpiper - Far (great spotting by Janice)

Spotted Sandpiper - Mar, Far

Baird's Sandpiper - Far (very nice looks at a bird in breeding plumage)

Pectoral Sandpiper - Wat, Mar, Far (was interesting to observe how much this species can

    vary in size)

Long-billed Dowitcher - Far

Wilson's Snipe - Wat, Mar, Far

Franklin's Gull - Mar, Far (was great to get a side-by-side comparison with Bonaparte's Gulls

     at the flooded field south of Ceylon; it was also nice to see how pink some of the birds in

     breeding plumage can get)

Bonaparte's Gull - Mar

Ring-billed Gull - Wat, Mar, Far

Forster's Tern - Far (three birds in flight over Rice Lake)

Rock Pigeon - Wat, Mar, Far

Mourning Dove - Wat, Mar, Far

Common Nighthawk - Mar (heard-only by Rick on Friday night at the Super 8 in Fairmont)

Chimney Swift - Mar (single bird at Pierce Lake and several more at Timberlane County

     Park)

Belted Kingfisher - Far (seen by a few along the Blue Earth River)

Red-bellied Woodpecker - Wat, Mar, Far

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - Wat, Mar, Far

Downy Woodpecker - Wat, Mar, Far

Hairy Woodpecker - Mar, Far

Northern Flicker - Wat, Mar, Far

Eastern Phoebe - Wat, Far

Blue Jay - Wat, Mar, Far

American Crow - Wat, Mar, Far

Horned Lark - Wat, Mar, Far

Purple Martin - Wat, Mar

Tree Swallow - Wat, Mar, Far

Barn Swallow - Wat, Mar, Far

Black-capped Chickadee - Wat, Mar, Far

White-breasted Nuthatch - Wat, Mar, Far

Brown Creeper - Wat, Mar

March Wren - Wat (heard-only at Bergdahl Lake)

Golden-crowned Kinglet - Wat (several observed at the cemetery in St James)

Rudy-crowned Kinglet - Wat, Mar, Far

Eastern Bluebird - Mar

Hermit Thrush - Wat, Mar, Far

American Robin - Wat, Mar, Far

Brown Thrasher - Mar (single bird observed at Cedar Park)

European Starling - Wat, Mar, Far

American Pipit - Wat, Far (OK looks at a few at Madelia and better looks at a couple in a

     flooded field NE of Blue Earth)

Orange-crowned Warbler - Mar (nice bright bird observed by a number of people at Judy's

     house)

Yellow-rumped Warbler - Wat, Mar, Far

American Tree Sparrow - Wat (a single bird at Bergdahl Lake)

Chipping Sparrow - Wat, Mar, Far

Vesper Sparrow - Wat, Mar, Far

Savannah Sparrow - Wat, Mar, Far

Song Sparrow - Wat, Mar, Far

White-throated Sparrow - Wat, Mar

Dark-eyed Junco - Wat, Mar, Far

Northern Cardinal - Wat, Mar, Far

Red-winged Blackbird - Wat, Mar, Far

Western Meadowlark - Far

Yellow-headed Blackbird - Wat, Mar, Far

Common Grackle - Wat, Mar, Far

Great-tailed Grackle - Wat (was exciting to find the two pair of Great-tailed Grackles in a new

     location)

Brown-headed Cowbird - Wat, Mar, Far

House Finch - Wat, Mar, Far

American Goldfinch - Wat, Mar, Far

House Sparrow - Wat, Mar, Far

*          *          *

NOBLES-JACKSON CO'S MBW SUMMARY / MARCH 29-30, 2008

Some of you may have seen Craig Mandel's posting about his MRVAC trip to Lac Qui Parle Co, in which he so blatantly tried to show us up with his waterfowl numbers. (Grounds for immediate dismissal, of course!) 

Never mind: it was still the greatest waterfowl show I can ever remember seeing in Minnesota. Especially memorable was standing along Hwy 86 just south of I-90 on Sunday morning and watching flock after flock of geese steadily flying north under a blue sky. Even the wind was comfortably light to moderate at the time, unlike the strong, cold winds of the day before. Obviously, the conditions were favorable for so many birds to be concentrated: hardly any open water on the lakes, both where we were and farther north, left all those geese with no where else to go. My only regret was being unable to count them all; I'm sure the number of Greater White-fronted Geese especially would have set some sort of Minnesota record.

My thanks to all of you for being part of one of the best MBWs ever; and that's saying a lot, considering there have been no fewer than 268 of them as we start our 23rd season.  

Bird List (total 82 species) 

• N = seen in Nobles Co (76 species; mostly on March 29)

• J = seen in Jackson Co (58 species; all on March 30)

Greater White-fronted Goose   NJ (tens of thousands?!)    

Snow Goose   NJ (tens of thousands?!)

Ross’s Goose   NJ (dozens, mostly in flight)

Cackling Goose   NJ (tens of thousands?!)

Canada Goose   NJ (a.k.a. Honkers) 

Trumpeter Swan   N (pair from Iowa in that White Starling's yard; thanks for the tip,

     Brian) 

Wood Duck   NJ

Gadwall   NJ

American Wigeon   N

Mallard   NJ

Blue-winged Teal   N (just a few early arrivals)

Northern Shoveler   NJ

Northern Pintail   NJ

Green-winged Teal   NJ

Canvasback   NJ

Redhead   NJ

Ring-necked Duck   NJ

Greater Scaup   N (at least one female at L Okabena!)

Lesser Scaup   NJ

Bufflehead   NJ

Common Goldeneye   NJ

Hooded Merganser   NJ

Common Merganser   NJ

Red-breasted Merganser   NJ (uncommon migrant in SW Minn)

Ruddy Duck   NJ

Gray Partridge   N (pair seen twice by part of the group near Round Lake)

Ring-necked Pheasant   NJ

Pied-billed Grebe   NJ

Great Blue Heron   J (spotted by Diane at a distant rookery)

Turkey Vulture   NJ (a few early arrivals)

Bald Eagle   N (only one fly-by at L Okabena)

Northern Harrier   NJ

Sharp-shinned Hawk   J

Cooper’s Hawk   N (in courtship flight at L Okabena!)

Red-tailed Hawk   NJ

American Kestrel   NJ

American Coot   NJ

Killdeer   NJ

Greater Yellowlegs   N (foolish early migrant at L Okabena)

Franklin’s Gull   N (a few early migrants at L Okabena)

Ring-billed Gull   NJ

Herring Gull   N (a few adults at L Okabena)

Rock Pigeon   NJ

Mourning Dove   NJ

Great Horned Owl   NJ

Red-bellied Woodpecker  NJ (Hawkeye Co Park: another tip from Brian; also in

     Jackson)

Downy Woodpecker   NJ

Hairy Woodpecker   N

Northern Flicker   J (only one)

Eastern Phoebe   N (another foolish migrant at L Okabena)

Northern Shrike   N (near L Ocheda; also an unidentified fly-by shrike at Hawkeye Co

     Park)

Blue Jay   N

American Crow   NJ

Horned Lark   NJ

Black-capped Chickadee   NJ

Red-breasted Nuthatch   N (unexpected at a Worthington feeder and in Lake Bella Co Park)

White-breasted Nuthatch   NJ

Brown Creeper   NJ

Golden-crowned Kinglet   N (Hawkeye Co Park)

Ruby-crowned Kinglet   NJ

Eastern Bluebird   N

American Robin   NJ

European Starling   NJ

Cedar Waxwing   N (Hawkeye Co Park fly-bys)

American Tree Sparrow   NJ

Fox Sparrow   NJ (lots of these)

Song Sparrow   NJ (just a few early migrants)

Lincoln’s Sparrow   N (early at Lake Bella Co Park)

Swamp Sparrow   N (ditto)

Dark-eyed Junco   NJ

Lapland Longspur   N (fly-by flock near Round Lake)

Northern Cardinal   J

Red-winged Blackbird   NJ

Western Meadowlark   N (just a few early migrants)

Rusty Blackbird   NJ (several seen and heard at many locations!)

Common Grackle   NJ

Great-tailed Grackle   J (two uncooperative birds along Hwy 86)

Brown-headed Cowbird   J

Purple Finch   N (Lake Bella Co Park)

House Finch   NJ

American Goldfinch   N

House Sparrow   NJ