Grand Marais, Cook County (Darcy Pinotti photo)
Minnesota Birding Weekends (MBW) is again offering another season of unique, modestly priced birding trips within Minnesota – our 38th year! After 37 years, we have had a total of more than 450 MBWeekends, 8,750 registrations, and a composite list of 367 species seen in Minnesota.
MBWeekend fees continue to be as modest as they always have been, and this season all will again be set at $20/day (e.g., a standard Saturday-Sunday MBWeekend is $40).
Besides the MBWs listed below, there will also be some "MBWednesdays" scheduled in 2023. These informal one-day trips will not involve any registration, no lodging will be needed by most participants, and they have no MBW fee – more details on these to come later this season.
In addition to our selection of MBWeekends, please visit the MBWEEKS page for information on those longer out-of-state trips.
ONLY THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN FULLY VACCINATED FOR COVID
(OR HAVE RECENTLY TESTED NEGATIVE)
BEFORE THE TIME OF THE MBW ARE ELIGIBLE TO REGISTER.
THOSE ATTENDING MBWs WILL FOLLOW ANY CDC AND STATE GUIDELINES
IN EFFECT AT THE TIME FOR FACE MASKS AND SOCIAL DISTANCING.
APRIL 2023 - JANUARY 2024 SCHEDULE
MINNESOTA BIRDING WEEKENDS
• April 13 - 14, 2023 (Thu-Fri) – Rothsay WMA, Wilkin County •
- Base Fergus Falls nights of April 12 - 13
- Limit 18 participants in 5 vehicles
- MBW fee $40
- STATUS as of March 24: 13 Confirmed, 5 Vacancies, 0 on Waiting List
CLICK HERE for summaries of this MBW in previous years
* * *
• April 27, 2023 (Thu) – Martin County •
• April 28, 2023 (Fri) – Faribault County •
• April 29, 2023 (Sat) – Freeborn County •
• April 30, 2023 (Sun) – Mower County •
- Base Blue Earth nights of April 26, April 27; Austin nights of April 28, April 29
- Limit 11 participants in 3 vehicles each day
- MBW fee $20 per day
- Martin STATUS as of March 24: 11 Confirmed, 0 Vacancies, 0 on Waiting List
- Faribault STATUS: 11 Confirmed, 0 Vacancies, 0 on Waiting List
- Freedborn STATUS: 11 Confirmed, 0 Vacancies, 0 on Waiting List
- Mower STATUS: 0 Confirmed, 2 Vacancies, 0 on Waiting List
CLICK HERE for summary of fall MBWs in these counties in 2019
* * *
• May 11, 2023 (Thu) – Sherburne County pre-MBW •
• May 12, 2023 (Fri) – Benton County pre-MBW •
• May 13 - 14, 2023 (Sat-Sun) – Stearns County •
- Base St. Cloud night of May 10, night of May 11, nights of May 12 - 13
- Sherburne and Benton Limit 18 participants in 5 vehicles each day
- Stearns Limit 11 participants in 3 vehicles
- MBW fee $20 per day
- Sherburne STATUS as of March 24: 18 Confirmed, 0 Vacancies, 0 on Waiting List
- Benton STATUS: 16 Confirmed, 2 Vacancies, 0 on Waiting List
- Stearns STATUS: 10 Confirmed, 0 Vacancies, 4 on Waiting List
CLICK HERE for summaries of similar MBWs in previous years
* * *
• May 26, 2023 (Fri) – Wabasha County pre-MBW •
• May 27 - 28 - 29, 2023 (Sat-Sun-Mon) – Winona & Houston Co's •
- Base Wabasha night of May 25; La Crosse, WI nights of May 26 - 27 - 28
- Limit 18 participants in 5 vehicles each day
- MBW fee $20 per day
- Wabasha STATUS as of March 24: 18 Confirmed, 0 Vacancies, 9 on Waiting List
- Winona & Houston STATUS: 18 Confirmed, 0 Vacancies, 11 on Waiting List
CLICK HERE for summaries of similar MBWs in previous years
* * *
• June 21 - 22 - 23, 2023 (Wed-Thu-Fri) – Beltrami County •
(Please note the dates of this MBW have been corrected)
- Base Seven Clans Casino Hotel nights of June 20 - 21 - 22
- Limit 18 participants in 5 vehicles
- MBW fee $60
- STATUS as of March 24: 18 Confirmed, 0 Vacancies, 4 on Waiting List
CLICK HERE for summaries of this MBW in previous years
* * *
• September 1, 2023 (Fri) – Pennington County pre-MBW •
• September 2 - 3 - 4, 2023 (Sat-Sun-Mon) – Kittson County •
- Base Thief River Falls nights of Aug. 31 - Sept. 1; Karlstad nights of Sept. 2 - 3
- Limit 18 participants in 5 vehicles each day
- MBW fee $20 per day
- Pennington STATUS as of March 24: 15 Confirmed, 3 Vacancies, 0 on Waiting List
- Kittson STATUS: 13 Confirmed, 5 Vacancies, 0 on Waiting List
CLICK HERE for summaries of similar MBWs in previous years
* * *
• September 28, 2023 (Thu) – Chippewa County pre-MBW •
• September 29, 2023 (Fri) – Swift County pre-MBW •
• Sept. 30 - Oct. 1, 2023 (Sat-Sun) – Kandiyohi County •
- Base Montevideo night of Sept. 27, Sept. 28; Willmar nights of Sept. 29 - 30
- Limit 11 participants in 3 vehicles each day
- MBW fee $20 per day
- Chippewa STATUS as of March 24: 11 Confirmed, 0 Vacancies, 5 on Waiting List
- Swift STATUS: 11 Confirmed, 0 Vacancies, 6 on Waiting List
- Kandiyohi STATUS: 11 Confirmed, 0 Vacancies, 6 on Waiting List
CLICK HERE for summaries of similar MBWs in previous years
* * *
PLEASE NOTE: The original October dates of Tofte I and Tofte II
have been changed to Nov. 2-3 and Nov. 4-5 respectively;
also, the previously scheduled Grand Marais MBW
has been canceled and replaced by Tofte II.
• November 2 - 3, 2023 (Mon-Tue) – Tofte I & North Shore •
- Base Tofte AmericInn nights of November 1 - 2
- Limit 18 participants in 5 vehicles
- MBW fee $40
- STATUS as of March 24: 17 Confirmed, 1 Vacancy, 0 on Waiting List
CLICK HERE for summaries of this MBW in previous years
______
• November 4 - 5, 2023 (Sat-Sun) – Tofte II & North Shore •
- Base Tofte AmericInn nights of November 3 - 4
- Limit 18 participants in 5 vehicles
- MBW fee $40
- STATUS as of March 24: 10 Confirmed, 8 Vacancies, 0 on Waiting List
CLICK HERE for summaries of this MBW in previous years
* * *
• January 4 - 5, 2024 (Thu-Fri) – Lake County •
- Base Two Harbors nights of January 3 - 4
- Limit 18 participants in 5 vehicles
- MBW fee $40
- STATUS as of March 24: 3 Confirmed, 15 Vacancies, 0 on Waiting List
CLICK HERE for summaries of similar Duluth MBWs in previous years
* * *
• January 6 - 7, 2024 (Sat-Sun) – Cook County •
- Base Grand Marais nights of January 5 - 6
- Limit 11 participants in 3 vehicles
- MBW fee $40
- STATUS as of March 24: 2 Confirmed, 9 Vacancies, 0 on Waiting List
CLICK HERE for summaries of similar Duluth MBWs in previous years
Our registration procedure for the 2023-24 MBWeekends
continues as in recent years...
• ALL MBW REGISTRATIONS ARE BY E-MAIL: include the MBWeekend, your
name, and e-mail address (include no MBW fees with registrations).
• ONLY ONE REGISTRATION MAY BE SENT PER DAY: i.e., registration for a
second MBW cannot be sent until the following day. (A pre-MBW can be
included with the registration for its associated MBW.)
• A REGISTRATION E-MAIL MAY INCLUDE ONLY ONE PERSON (except that
a spouse or other person at the same residence can also be included).
• PLEASE NOTE: On some MBWeekends, another MBW or extra leader or a
higher participants limit may be possible to confirm additional persons.
