Mower - Freeborn - Faribault - Martin MBW Summary
October 11 - 12 - 13 - 14, 2019
At least it was clear and almost wind-free on Monday – it’s just unfortunate we couldn’t bird on into the nice afternoon as Your Spineless, Wishy-washy Tour Leaders had to get back to Duluth. Of course, we could have used some of Monday’s weather during the previous three days when things were downright miserable. Cold west winds in the 20+ mph range combined with “high” temperatures only in the mid-30s to low 40s plus steady snow showers on Saturday made it nearly impossible to bird unless we could find places sheltered from the wind. Still, we managed to come up with a composite total of 115 species during this MBW’s 3 1/2 days, although many of these were only seen by a few of us as birds would often emerge just briefly into view before diving back into cover and out of the cold and wind. This was especially evident on Friday in Mower Co when even the sharpest-eyed among us could personally claim to have seen around 50 or so of the day’s 72 species.
Our day in Mower started along trails at Hormel Nature Center that were somewhat out of the wind and provided us with the day’s best woods birding. A Winter Wren was uncharacteristically visible, a cold Hermit Thrush sat still on what must have been a warm perch for a few minutes for all to see, and there were 6 mostly uncooperative warbler species (including late Tennessee, Nashville, and Chestnut-sided) along with Blue-headed Vireo. Later at Lake Louise State Park we added a 7th warbler (late Black-throated Green) but only a few of us managed brief views. This day ended with the lowest species total of the four, mostly due to this county’s relative absence of wetlands, but at least the Lyle sewage ponds certainly came through for us with 2 Ross’s Geese, along with a few Cackling Geese and our best assortment of ducks.
Saturday in Freeborn Co began with those persistent cold winds still with us, and things got even worse when wind-blown snow showers began at mid-morning and continued into the afternoon. Because it became difficult to see much, we retreated for an early and long lunch break after trying to scan Albert Lea Lake which at least held a single flock of 830 swimming Franklin’s Gulls. Our two main afternoon stops were at Arrowhead Point County Park (where we walked through wet leaves and snow in search of woods birds) and at Geneva Lake (where a group of 4 Sandhill Cranes flew by in the distance).
The forecast on Sunday for our day in Faribault Co had been for moderating winds and a few degrees warmer (all the way up to the mid-40s), but of course that never really happened and it was again still too cold and windy. But this eventually became the best day of the four, starting with Steinberg Nature Park in Blue Earth and its nice mix of woods birds and sparrows – we even met the city councilor who was instrumental in creating and managing the park. From there, we headed east along old U.S. Highway 16 where we found some wetlands just west of Walnut Lake WMA, one of our best areas of the MBW. There we found at least 170 Greater White-fronted Geese with a few Snows among them, 6 shorebird species right next to the road (including a group of Long-billed Dowitchers, Least and Pectoral sandpipers, and both yellowlegs), plus American Pipits and a lone Brewer’s Blackbird. The Wells sewage ponds were a bit disappointing, but the east side of Minnesota Lake was especially impressive with a quite unexpected group of 13 American Avocets braving the winds next to shore by the park in town – our 7th shorebird of the day and the 8th during the MBW.
After 3 days of battling the weather, we were finally treated to pleasant conditions on Monday in Martin Co. Unfortunately, we only had time for a half day’s birding, but we did well at Cedar Park in Fairmont where there was almost non-stop bird activity along the park’s main trail. Here everyone saw an unexpected Red-breasted Nuthatch, and a few in our group had a brief view of a late Magnolia Warbler (our 8th warbler species of the MBW). There was then time for heavily wooded Timberlane County Park just south of Fairmont, where there was lots of activity which included another late Black-throated Green Warbler, and some heard a Pileated Woodpecker (a difficult bird to find in this part of the state).
Bird List
• Mow = seen in Mower Co, Oct 11 (72 species)
• Free = seen in Freeborn Co, Oct 12 (81 species)
• Farib = seen in Faribault Co, Oct 13 (86 species)
• Mart = seen in Martin Co, Oct 14 (73 species)
Snow Goose Farib
Ross’s Goose Mow
Greater White-fronted Goose Farib
Cackling Goose Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
Canada Goose Mow
Wood Duck Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
Blue-winged Teal Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
Northern Shoveler Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
Gadwall Mow, Free, Farib
American Wigeon Mow, Free, Farib
Mallard Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
Northern Pintail Free, Farib
Green-winged Teal Mow, Free, Farib
Canvasback Free, Farib
Redhead Free, Farib
Ring-necked Duck Free, Farib
Lesser Scaup Free, Farib
Bufflehead Free, Farib, Mart
Hooded Merganser Mart
Ruddy Duck Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
Ring-necked Pheasant Free
Wild Turkey Mow, Free, Mart
Pied-billed Grebe Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
Rock Pigeon Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
Eurasian Collared-Dove Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
Mourning Dove Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
American Coot Free, Farib
Sandhill Crane Free
American Avocet Farib
Killdeer Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
Least Sandpiper Farib, Mart
Pectoral Sandpiper Farib
Long-billed Dowitcher Farib
Spotted Sandpiper Mow
Lesser Yellowlegs Farib
Greater Yellowlegs Farib
Franklin’s Gull Free, Farib, Mart
Ring-billed Gull Free, Farib, Mart
Double-crested Cormorant Free, Farib, Mart
American White Pelican Free, Farib, Mart
Great Blue Heron Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
Great Egret Free
Turkey Vulture Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
Osprey Farib
Northern Harrier Free, Farib, Mart
Sharp-shinned Hawk Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
Cooper’s Hawk Mow, Free
Bald Eagle Mow, Free, Farib
Red-tailed Hawk Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
Great Horned Owl Farib
Belted Kingfisher Free, Mart
Red-bellied Woodpecker Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Mow, Mart
Downy Woodpecker Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
Hairy Woodpecker Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
Northern Flicker Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
Pileated Woodpecker Mart
American Kestrel Free, Farib, Mart
Merlin Free, Farib, Mart
Eastern Phoebe Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
Blue-headed Vireo Mow, Farib
Blue Jay Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
American Crow Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
Horned Lark Mow, Free, Farib
Tree Swallow Mow, Free
Barn Swallow Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
Black-capped Chickadee Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
Red-breasted Nuthatch Mart
White-breasted Nuthatch Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
Brown Creeper Mow, Farib, Mart
House Wren Farib
Winter Wren Mow
Golden-crowned Kinglet Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
Ruby-crowned Kinglet Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
Eastern Bluebird Mow, Free
Hermit Thrush Mow, Mart
American Robin Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
Gray Catbird Farib
European Starling Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
Cedar Waxwing Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
House Sparrow Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
American Pipit Farib
House Finch Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
Pine Siskin Farib, Mart
American Goldfinch Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
Lapland Longspur Free
Chipping Sparrow Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
Clay-colored Sparrow Mow
Field Sparrow Free, Farib, Mart
Fox Sparrow Farib, Mart
American Tree Sparrow Mart
Dark-eyed Junco Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
White-crowned Sparrow Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
Harris’s Sparrow Mow, Farib, Mart
White-throated Sparrow Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
Vesper Sparrow Mow, Free, Mart
Savannah Sparrow Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
Song Sparrow Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
Lincoln’s Sparrow Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
Swamp Sparrow Mow, Free
towhee, sp. Free
meadowlark, sp. Mow, Farib
Red-winged Blackbird Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
Brown-headed Cowbird Free, Farib, Mart
Brewer’s Blackbird Farib
Common Grackle Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
Tennessee Warbler Mow, Free
Orange-crowned Warbler Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
Nashville Warbler Mow, Free, Mart
Magnolia Warbler Mart
Chestnut-sided Warbler Mow
Palm Warbler Mow, Free, Mart
Yellow-rumped Warbler Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
Black-throated Green Warbler Mow, Mart
Northern Cardinal Mow, Free, Farib, Mart
The summary of the mid-October 2019 MBW
follows the summary of the 2025 MBW.
___________
Jackson - Martin - Faribault Counties MBW Summary
September 19 - 20 - 21, 2025
Photo by Joanne Dial
Among the 100+ species we found in Jackson Co. on Friday, we somehow came up with no fewer than 18 warbler species! Both pretty impressive numbers to be sure, but at the same time I don’t think I’ve ever seen a MBW day with so many birds which might best be described as frustrating.
The overcast skies with frequent showers did as they were supposed to and grounded plenty of warblers and other passerines, but at the same time those migrants tended to be too restless to stay in view long enough to observe. Combine that with low light conditions in the morning and we generally had a hard time seeing most of what was there. E.g., I felt like a 16-year-old rookie birder again back in ’62 struggling just to see anything, let alone identify them. Indeed, I managed to ID only 7 or 8 of those 18 warblers reported on Friday.
We did come up with plenty of successes on Friday, of course, given that our species total was so high. First there were all those Barred Owls, normally a tough-to-find bird in SW Minn., as there were perhaps as many as 5 of them at Belmont County Park and nearby Kilen Woods State Park combined. (We also had two others the next day in Martin Co.) Other highlights In Jackson Co. included a very cooperative Black-billed Cuckoo at Kilen Woods posing for all to see (unlike too many of the warblers); and a big movement of a few dozen American Kestrels along with at least a half dozen Merlins.
Meanwhile, we received a report from Worthington in Nobles (the next county over) that Doug Kieser turned up a couple of Sabine’s Gulls, and after some discussion the entire MBW group decided to abandon Jackson and join him. In all, there eventually were at least 8 Sabine’s giving us nice views as they foraged low over L. Okabena. There was even some time that afternoon to return to Jackson where half the group had brief but definitive views of a quite unexpected Red-shouldered Hawk at Little Spirit Lake.
The next day in Martin Co. featured better weather and fewer birds to go along with it (e.g., only 8 warbler species, 10 fewer than the day before). But we did chance upon a group of 20 American Golden-Plovers (nice spotting, John), and later 2 Baird’s Sandpipers posed nicely for photos on a mudflat right next to the road. (Though it was disappointing to only find 7 shorebird species on this 3-day MBW.) We also heard a couple of Pileateds – like Barred Owls, a scarce bird in this part of the state.
In Faribault Co. on Sunday, we only had time for a half day’s birding before we had to head home. But there was time to explore the impressive Steinburg Nature Park along the heavily wooded Blue Earth River, before moving on to Walnut Lake WMA, and finishing the morning at Wells Lake WTP. These sewage ponds have long been among the best ones in this region of the state, and they did not disappoint on this day. An out-of-season (injured?) Greater White-fronted Goose stood on one of the berms, all 13 of this MBW’s waterfowl species were there, and 7 Red-necked Phalaropes rounded out our modest list of shorebirds.
Thanks to Craig for again co-leading yet another successful MBW, to John in advance for another installment in his unique series of JTL REPORTS (patent pending!), to those who drove us down the back roads of our three counties, to the photographers who shared their images with us – and, of course, to Doug for finding those Special Seagulls in Worthington. –KRE
Bird List (135 species)
• J = found in Jackson Co., Sept. 19 (106 species)
• M = found in Martin Co., Sept. 20 (92 species)
• F = found in Faribault Co., Sept. 21 (85 species)
• species not annotated = found in all 3 counties
Greater White-fronted Goose F
Canada Goose
Trumpeter Swan
Wood Duck
Blue-winged Teal M F
Northern Shoveler J F
Gadwall F
Mallard
Northern Pintail F
Green-winged Teal M F
Canvasback F
Redhead F
Ruddy Duck J F
Wild Turkey J
Ring-necked Pheasant J M
Pied-billed Grebe M F
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove J M
Mourning Dove
Black-billed Cuckoo J
Common Nighthawk J F
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Virginia Rail M
Sora J M
American Coot M F
American Golden-Plover M
Killdeer
Baird’s Sandpiper M
Wilson’s Snipe J M
Spotted Sandpiper J F
Lesser Yellowlegs
Red-necked Phalarope F
Sabine’s Gull Nobles (total of 8 @L. Okabena in Worthington)
Franklin’s Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Double-crested Cormorant
American White Pelican
Green Heron F
Great Egret
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Osprey J
Northern Harrier
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk
Bald Eagle
Red-shouldered Hawk J
Broad-winged Hawk M F
Red-tailed Hawk
Eastern Screech-Owl M
Barred Owl J M
Belted Kingfisher
Red-headed Woodpecker J M
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker J M
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker J M
American Kestrel
Merlin J M
Great Crested Flycatcher J M
Eastern Kingbird J M
Olive-sided Flycatcher F (also in Nobles)
Eastern Wood-Pewee J M
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Yellow-throated Vireo J
Blue-headed Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Bank Swallow J
Tree Swallow J M
Barn Swallow
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Cedar Waxwing
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher M
Northern House Wren
Winter Wren F (mostly heard)
Sedge Wren F
Marsh Wren
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher J
European Starling
Eastern Bluebird J F
Veery J
Swainson’s Thrush J F
American Robin
House Sparrow J M
House Finch M
Purple Finch M
Pine Siskin F
American Goldfinch
Lapland Longspur F
Chipping Sparrow J M
Clay-colored Sparrow J
Dark-eyed Junco M
White-throated Sparrow J
Vesper Sparrow J M
Savannah Sparrow J M
Song Sparrow
Lincoln’s Sparrow F
Swamp Sparrow J
Eastern Towhee J M
Bobolink M F
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Ovenbird J
Northern Waterthrush J
Black-and-white Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart J F
Northern Parula J
Magnolia Warbler J
Bay-breasted Warbler J
Blackburnian Warbler J
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler J
Palm Warbler J
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler M
Canada Warbler J
Wilson’s Warbler J F
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak J M
Indigo Bunting J
* * *