Houston County MBW Summary
June 11 - 12 - 13, 2021
I may have been the only one disappointed that the forecast high of 97 in La Crosse on Friday failed to reach its mark. It was a mere 94, shy of the all-time high temperature record of 96 degrees on a MBWeekend. (That MBW was based in Ortonville in July 2006, and it was called off early Saturday afternoon; had the Sunday part not been canceled, we would have set a record that would be hard to beat – the high that day was 106 degrees, with a heat index of 110!)
As it turned out, the weather on our Houston County MBW was close to ideal on Saturday and Sunday morning, pleasantly cool both mornings and tolerably warm Saturday afternoon. No rain fell on us, it was only windy at one of our stops, and mosquitoes were not a distraction anywhere. Admittedly, it was still hot early Friday evening as most of us headed over to La Crescent after dinner for a 2-hour pre-MBW session, but there were enough birds to distract us from the temperature. We had a close and cooperative Prothonotary at the start of the Wagon Wheel Trail, a family of Barred Owls whooped it up on Shore Acres Rd., and a Common Moorhen (now only a local and uncommon/rare species in MN) was waiting for us at Blue Lake.
Saturday was clearly highlighted by our morning drive on Hillside Rd. We turned up no fewer than 4 Cerulean Warblers, 3 Tufted Titmice, a heard-only Acadian Flycatcher, and two singing Henslow’s Sparrows (one of which posed in the scopes for a few minutes for all to see)! More Prothonotaries were at always-reliable Millstone Landing, and after lunch your Spineless, Wishy-Washy Tour Leader had no idea where he was going as he missed a turn, tried the next road that went the wrong way, and mis-led the group through a corner of Iowa.
Back in Houston Co., our first stop at Gordon Anderson Recreation Area was a big disappointment as the drought had all but destroyed the grassland. But our next drive along Quarry Rd., Eitzen Creek Dr., and Backwoods Dr. brought us into some beautiful remote woodlands where I managed to find the way without mishap for a change. No Timber Rattlesnakes were on their traditional limestone ledges, but the nest cavities for both Pileated and Red-headed woodpeckers in the same snag were the afternoon’s highlight – especially for those who could see the two baby Pileateds in the hole. Our last stop before an early dinner was for Willow Flycatchers at Shamrock Lake, and after dinner a few were still awake enough to go out and hear an E. Whip-poor-will near Hokah.
Sunday morning finally brought us to Beaver Creek Valley State Park, where our hike in refreshingly cool temperatures yielded at least 6 Acadian Flycatchers plus a Louisiana Waterthrush that took awhile to finally appear and show itself for all to see as it finally sang from a visible perch. After the park, there was just enough time to try for a stake-out Bell’s Vireo on Walcker Dr. that finally showed for those who had enough time to hang around for an extra 45 minutes. A Yellow-billed Cuckoo was also heard and seen briefly by some, as we brought our final list to 103 species.
Bird List (103 species; all in Houston County)
Canada Goose
Trumpeter Swan
Wood Duck
Mallard
Ring-necked Duck
Hooded Merganser
Ring-necked Pheasant
Wild Turkey
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo (mostly heard on Walcker Dr.)
Black-billed Cuckoo (seen only by Pete at the state park)
Common Nighthawk
Eastern Whip-poor-will (heard after sunset on Saturday)
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Common Gallinule (Friday evening at Blue Lake)
Sandhill Crane
Killdeer
Ring-billed Gull
Black Tern
Double-crested Cormorant
American White Pelican
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Green Heron
Turkey Vulture
Northern Harrier
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
Eastern Screech-Owl (heard only by Frank on Shore Acres Rd.)
Barred Owl
Belted Kingfisher
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Acadian Flycatcher (1 on Hillside Rd. + 6 at the state park)
Willow Flycatcher
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Bell’s Vireo (finally seen by some on Walcker Dr.)
Yellow-throated Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Purple Martin
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse (3 on Hillside Rd.)
White-breasted Nuthatch
House Wren
Sedge Wren
Marsh Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Eastern Bluebird
Veery
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
House Sparrow
House Finch
American Goldfinch
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Henslow’s Sparrow (1 seen and another heard on Hillside Rd.)
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Eastern Towhee
Bobolink
Eastern Meadowlark
Orchard Oriole (heard only)
Baltimore Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Common Grackle
Ovenbird
Louisiana Waterthrush (a reluctant singing male at the state park)
Blue-winged Warbler
Prothonotary Warbler (1 in La Crescent + more at Millstone)
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Cerulean Warbler (4 on Hillside Dr.)
Yellow Warbler
Scarlet Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Dickcissel
Roy Zimmerman photo
Roy Zimmerman photo
* * *
Roy Zimmerman photo
Rose Shea photo
Roy Zimmerman photo
• 2023 Southeastern Minn. MBW Summary •
May 26 pre-MBW in Wabasha
May 27-28-29 main MBWeekend in Houston & Winona
Aside from a handful of late shorebirds (mostly due to a couple of flooded fields in Wabasha County), plus a couple of heard-only Alder Flycatchers (which often linger into June in southern MN), we found no spring migrants in our 3 1/2 days in this southeastern corner of the state. So I think it’s pretty respectable that we came up with a grand total of 128 species, including that Scissor-tailed Flycatcher which Craig and a few other MBWers saw up in Washington Co. on Monday afternoon.
[In case you’re wondering, a side trip to see something during a MBWeekend or on the way home from one is fair game for the MBW’s list – as long as it’s announced, and at least one leader and one participant are involved. Though the Scissor-tailed was not new for the all-time MBWeekends composite list, this is how we added Swainson’s Warbler (a detour from the Freeborn MBW day to Edina) and Eurasian Wigeon (a diversion to Rice Co. the next day en route home from the Mower MBW) to the all-time MBWeekends list – which now stands at 371 species.]
In addition to the Scissor-tailed, there were lots of highlights on this MBW. Starting on Friday, our best birds were the totally surprising Tufted Titmouse pair foraging in the backwaters of Lock & Dam 4, and almost as unexpected was the Loggerhead Shrike along Wabasha CR 84 as we entered the Kellogg-Weaver dunes region; this species is now virtually extirpated as a breeding bird in the state. We then heard at least 3 Bell’s Vireos in McCarthy Lake WMA & vicinity, one of which was about as cooperative and visible as this shy bird ever gets. (We also had 4 others the next day along the Walker Rd off Houston CR 21, for an amazing total of 7 individuals!) We finished up Friday on the Wabasha side of Whitewater WMA at the Dorer Pools with 3 heard-only but quite close Common Gallinules calling in the marshes.
Our most productive birding during the next two days in Houston County had to be along Hillside Road Saturday morning, considering that we relocated that Yellow-throated Warbler which has been present the last few years (it’s still ranked as only Casual on the MN list). We also found both Cerulean Warblers and Tufted Titmouse in 3 or 4 places on Hillside, and Rick heard an uncooperative Henslow’s Sparrow in a field along the road (but it quit singing before the group arrived at the spot). After leaving Hillside Rd., we had nice views of Prothonotary Warblers at ever-reliable Millstone Landing – we had seen it as well on Friday in Wabasha Co.
Our Sunday-morning hike in Beaver Creek Valley State Park was nearly as productive as our drive on Hillside Rd. Beside a couple more Tufted Titmouse/mouses/mice, a very obliging Acadian Flycatcher posed in front of us and sang repeatedly for several minutes (and we heard at least 2 others later). Then, after we almost gave up finding the Louisiana Waterthrush along its favorite section of the creek, Fran spotted it on the way back, and those still with us had almost-as-good-as-it ever-gets views when it finally flew into view and even sang from some exposed perches.
This summary is long enough already so no time now to explain how one of us managed to misidentify a roosting female cardinal for a whip-poor-will in the spotlight beam...
Bird List
• Wa = Wabasha Co., May 26
• H = Houston Co. May 27-28
• Wi = found in Winona Co. May 29
• species not annotated = found in all 3 counties
Canada Goose Wa H
Trumpeter Swan Wa H
Wood Duck Wa H
Gadwall H
Mallard Wa H
Ring-necked Duck H
Lesser Scaup Wa
Hooded Merganser H
Ruddy Duck Wa H
Wild Turkey Wa H
Ring-necked Pheasant Wa H
Pied-billed Grebe H
Rock Pigeon H Wi
Eurasian Collared-Dove H Wi
Mourning Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo H Wi
Black-billed Cuckoo Wa
Common Nighthawk H
Eastern Whip-poor-will H Wi
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird Wa H
Virginia Rail Wa H
Common Gallinule Wa
American Coot H
Sandhill Crane Wa H
Killdeer
Semipalmated Plover Wa
Dunlin Wa
Least Sandpiper Wa
White-rumped Sandpiper Wa
Semipalmated Sandpiper Wa
Spotted Sandpiper Wa H
Solitary Sandpiper H
Ring-billed Gull Wa
Black Tern Wa H
Double-crested Cormorant Wa H
American White Pelican H
American Bittern H
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret H
Green Heron Wa H
Turkey Vulture
Northern Harrier Wa
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk Wa H
Barred Owl H Wi
Belted Kingfisher Wa H
Red-headed Woodpecker H Wi
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker Wa H
Pileated Woodpecker Wa H
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher – post-MBW in Washington Co.
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Acadian Flycatcher H
Alder Flycatcher Wa H
Willow Flycatcher
Least Flycatcher Wa
Eastern Phoebe H Wi
Bell’s Vireo Wa H
Yellow-throated Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Loggerhead Shrike Wa
Blue Jay
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse Wa H
Horned Lark Wa
Bank Swallow Wa H
Tree Swallow Wa H
N. Rough-winged Swallow
Purple Martin Wa H
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Cedar Waxwing Wa H
White-breasted Nuthatch
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
House Wren
Sedge Wren H
Marsh Wren Wa H
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher Wa H
European Starling
Eastern Bluebird
Veery H
Wood Thrush H
American Robin
House Sparrow
House Finch
American Goldfinch
Grasshopper Sparrow Wa
Lark Sparrow Wa H
Chipping Sparrow
Clay-colored Sparrow Wa
Field Sparrow
Henslow’s Sparrow H
Savannah Sparrow H
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow Wa H
Eastern Towhee
Yellow-headed Blackbird Wa H
Bobolink H
Eastern Meadowlark Wa H
Western Meadowlark Wa
Orchard Oriole Wa
Baltimore Oriole Wa H
Red-winged Blackbird Wa H
Brown-headed Cowbird Wa H
Common Grackle
Ovenbird H Wi
Louisiana Waterthrush H
Blue-winged Warbler
Prothonotary Warbler Wa H
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Cerulean Warbler H
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler H
Scarlet Tanager H Wi
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Dickcissel H
Mark Mueller photo
As you can see from my rather pedestrian summary below (John Quinn’s account promises to be more convoluted and entertaining!), we had a quite successful MBW.
~ Click here for The JTL Report ~
There were 122 species in all, primarily in Houston County where we found 106 of them. While these numbers may seem modest in comparison with the totals we came up with on our MBWs in May, remember that the habitat here is mostly wooded with less diversity as in western MN (now declared illegal by Trump), and there were only a couple of migrant passerines (Olive-sided and Alder flycatchers), along with an unexpected group of late-lingering waterfowl and shorebirds at Prairie Island, to augment our totals.
Our highlights included…
Both cuckoos: the cooperative Black-billed at Beaver Creek Valley State Park, and the less obliging and mostly heard-only Yellow-billed at Dorer Pools…
A highly responsive E. Whip-poor-will which circled overhead in the spotlight, and then flew between us as we stood on the road…
Multiple Common Moorhens and Least Bitterns both heard and seen at Dorer Pools…
An unexpected Wilson’s Phalarope at Eitzen’s sewage ponds, plus an equally surprising Swainson’s Hawk en route to Bee…
Such local Southeast MN specialties as Acadian Flycatcher (Beaver Creek Valley), Bell’s Vireo (Walcker Dr), and Tufted Titmouse (various locations, but why so shy?)…
Not just one but two Henslow’s Sparrows along Ferndale Rd (one cooperative, the other less so); plus a local Lark Sparrow at Mound Prairie SNA…
And those four quintessential SE MN warblers: a camera-shy Louisiana Waterthrush at Beaver Creek Valley (where else?), the relatively widespread Blue-winged, Prothonotarys (still easy & reliable at Millstone Landing after 50+ years, plus others at Prairie Island), and nicely visible Ceruleans along Hillside Rd (and another mostly heard at Latsch State Park).
Finally, in addition to thanking Craig for his co-leading and the photographers for sharing their images, let’s not to forget to acknowledge Julie who drove all the way from Chicago to share one of that city’s institutions and traditions: Garrett World-Famous Popcorn! (See https://www.garrettpopcorn.com.)
(PS – This summary does not include the unofficial MBW I which Craig led with 6 participants right before ours that covered much the same territory. While they came up with fewer species than we did (108), they had fewer sets of eyes and ears to detect things, and they were mostly rained out of their third day. Still, they found Common Nighthawk, Spotted Sandpiper, Common Loon, Eastern Screech-Owl, Clay-colored Sparrow, and Tennessee Warbler which we missed; conversely, MBW II came up with 19 species that the earlier group did not find. Nor does this summary include the Carolina Wren which Craig, Deb, and Pete relocated at a semi-consistent spot in Winona right after lunch on Friday – although our MBW listing rules are somewhat Spineless and Wishy-Washy on whether or not to count it.)
BIRD LIST (Composite total = 122)
• Species not annotated Wi or Wa = found in Houston Co, June 4-5 (106 species)
• Wi = only found in Winona Co, June 6 (10 species)
(i.e., at Prairie Island or John A Latsch State Park; not seen in Houston Co)
• Wa = only found in Wabasha Co, June 6 (6 species)
(i.e., at Dorer Pools; not seen in Houston Co)
Greater White-fronted Goose Wi
Canada Goose
Trumpeter Swan
Wood Duck
Gadwall Wi
American Wigeon Wi
Mallard
Hooded Merganser
Wild Turkey
Ring-necked Pheasant
Pied-billed Grebe Wi
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Mourning Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo Wa
Black-billed Cuckoo
Eastern Whip-poor-will (Burns Valley Rd. in both Houston & Winona Co’s) Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Virginia Rail Wa
Common Gallinule Wa
Sandhill Crane
Killdeer
Dunlin Wi
Least Sandpiper Wi
White-rumped Sandpiper Wi
Semipalmated Sandpiper Wi
Wilson’s Phalarope
Ring-billed Gull Wi
Black Tern
Forster’s Tern Wi
Double-crested Cormorant
American White Pelican
Least Bittern Wa
Green Heron
Great Egret
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Cooper’s Hawk
Bald Eagle
Broad-winged Hawk
Swainson’s Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Great Horned Owl (heard-only at midday)
Barred Owl (Beaver Creek Valley, plus several heard on Burns Valley Rd. in Houston & Winona Co’s)
Belted Kingfisher
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
American Kestrel
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Acadian Flycatcher
Alder Flycatcher
Willow Flycatcher
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Bell’s Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse (also in Winona Co)
Horned Lark
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Purple Martin
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Cedar Waxwing
White-breasted Nuthatch
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Northern House Wren
Sedge Wren
Marsh Wren Wa
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
Eastern Bluebird
Veery
Wood Thrush
American Robin
House Sparrow
House Finch
American Goldfinch
Lark Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Henslow’s Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Eastern Towhee
Yellow-headed Blackbird Wa
Bobolink
Eastern Meadowlark
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Common Grackle
Louisiana Waterthrush
Blue-winged Warbler (also in Winona & Wabasha Co’s)
Prothonotary Warbler (also in Winona Co)
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Cerulean Warbler (also in Winona Co)
Yellow Warbler
Scarlet Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Dickcissel
* * *
Also see the 2023 and 2021 MBW summaries
following the summary of the 2025 MBWeekend.
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SOUTHEAST MINN. MBW II SUMMARY
Wednesday - Thursday - Friday, June 4 - 5 - 6, 2025
