June 4 - 5 - 6, 2025 Houston County MBW
The JTL Report
(soon to be the PTL report)
– John Quinn
Pre-MBW. My wife Carol and I stopped on the way at the Dresbach Rest Area (I-90) in Winona County. It’s an eBird Hotspot as the Mississippi River runs by and conservation easements adjoin the rest stop. I walked the two short trails, recording 12 species including Orchard Oriole and Eastern Meadowlark. But the highlight was recognizing Roy as he pulled into the parking area. “See you in Le Crescent!” Carol and I stayed at the boutique Hatchery Hotel and Event Center in La Crosse, WI, where the birds don’t count but the local river vibe was great. La Crosse is working hard on restoring their riverfront. I recommend staying there on another trip. Or maybe Minnesota needs to annex La Crosse… Never mind.
Note: Technically this is not an MBW JTL report because it is not over a weekend. Other possible names are considered on day three.
Day 1 (Wednesday, June 4): Houston County – Driftless
A little more than a week ago I was aimlessly wandering around in northwestern corner of Minnesota with some strange birds. One could say driftless. This week I’m in the heart of the Driftless Area wondering why my fearless leader is moving at such a glacial pace, when my most urgent goal is to flood my MOU Corner County Consolidated Checklist. After Kim’s leisurely breakfast, we broke the ice with some old and new participants. David and Ann won the prize for longest distance traveled (from Oregon),while Julie made a return appearance from the Windy City. I noticed that Chicago is only 42 miles farther from La Crescent than Duluth. Illinois even contains a segment of the Driftless Region.
It had rained the night before. Between fog from the humidity and temperature differential and the wildfire smoke blowing in, it was slow birding to start. We made a warmup stop at Hwy 26 where it crosses the Root River then drove for the hills before realizing there were no places to obtain lunch on our current itinerary. Some of us circled back to Brownsville where we waited outside Brownsville’s only store and also ticked off House Finch, House Sparrow, and Northern Rough-winged Swallow. We met up with the others at the Wildcat Landing and added Yellow-throated Vireo and a few other species. Slow as glacial melt.
You can pick almost any side road that bisects the Driftless Area and find good woods birding, but Hillside Road is well known for warblers and Tufted Titmouse. In minutes after we exited the cars, Deb heard the Cerulean Warbler. For this she would earn the Golden Ear Award for the day. But just for the day. The boss is stingy with compliments.
Knowing my JTL status was in jeopardy (again), and knowing that I had scoured Kim’s four county list for possibilities, I suggested we listen for Carolina Wren. Deb was onboard. But no, that wasn’t hard enough. Kim wanted a Mississippi Kite. But why not. Increasingly, Kim’s Minnesota corner county bird list depends on fate and sacrifice. Hopefully we will not have to resort to sacrifice. So, I started looking up. So much for finding the resident Timber Rattlesnakes or any of the other reptiles listed in A Birder’s Guide To Minnesota – affectionately known as the Damn Book.
We listened and observed as the Cerulean perched and flitted overhead while nesting gnatcatchers seemed to compete for the same territory. Someone heard Blue-winged Warbler but looks at that would have to wait for our next stop along Hillside.
Hillside Road turned into a productive trip. We added great looks at Scarlet Tanager and Indigo Bunting. A couple of Blue-winged Warblers frustrated the photographers with twitchy looks. As we neared the crest of the bluff the forest opened into fields and grasslands. We stopped to listen for Henslow’s and Grasshopper sparrows, but settled for Bobolinks and Eastern Meadowlarks.
Bobolinks were everywhere. Last week I was on the NW MN MBW. We were fortunate to find Ruddy Turnstones to which I assigned a modern art interpretation to their breeding plumage. So, what category of art does the Bobolink belong? Adorned with a jaunty cream colored cap, a black body, white rump and wing epaulets, it is an interesting juxtaposition of colors that metamorphose during its soaring then cascading fluttery flight and or while sitting on a bush singing its bubbly song. I am neither a bird nor an art expert. My observation is that art takes second place to nature’s imagination.
When Jerry called out Olive-sided Flycatcher we jumped out of the car and watched as it perched in the treetops and flew back and forth in and out of viewing range. This unexpectedly late migrant had a relatively larger body and distinctive vest created by the sharp contrast of the dark sides and off-white stripe through the center – compared to the smaller and blurry-sided Eastern Wood-Pewee.
When your energy levels are flagging, what better remedy than Chicago’s best popcorn. Julie pulled out bags of caramel and cheesy flavor, not just for her car, but for everyone in the group. It was then I realized that Kim’s origin story, Julie’s present home, and Windy City treats might compromise my JTL status. Thankfully, Kim said I could keep my job if I found Gray Partridge AND Mississippi Kite. Recognizing the importance and impossibility, I pleaded with the group for some to look up and others look down to help a man out. Silence. Perhaps they were munching on their popcorn.
Our leaders felt we needed a different landscape to bird. That’s not hard to find in Houston County where the Driftless Region is divided by the largest river drainage basin in the United States. As we entered the Reno Bottoms - Upper Mississippi River NWR we were treated with a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 10 feet from our windshield. The river was largely unproductive, except for distant cormorants and pelicans. This was quite different from my late March trip here when I observed 1000s of waterfowl. We were entertained by a large Northern Water Snake on the trail. As Kim sought to keep it in view for everyone, I haven’t seen him run that fast since our Texas trip when I called out the Golden-crowned Sparrow at the feeders at Inks Lake State Park. A good leader always seeks to educate and entertain.
As we returned to the parking area, Kim deployed the Agitator 5000 with screech-owl mobbing tape. A Great Horned Owl replied. We were amazed. It was the middle of the day. It repeated the call several times. However, it was across the highway and not safe to look for. Still, a good trip and county bird.
I spotted a pair of Rubber Boots tossed high in the tree limbs and tried hard to turn it into a new bird for Kim and Craig’s county lists. They declined. Such integrity. With the right documentation MOUMN.org would accept it, I’m sure. I name it Quiowl.
Millstone Landing is “since the 1960’s the most reliable spot for Prothonotary Warbler in Minnesota. Practically guaranteed.” Please read the fine print. As we drove in, we heard the song. It was 10 feet from the road, often on the ground, sometimes in the road, feeding and preening. There will be lots of good pictures.
After some post-trip research, I now grant myself a new title and this report a new name. I am now a Prothonotary of the MBW. This is a PTL report. [See the 4th Reference below. –KRE]
In keeping with my new title. a dress code is required. A decision will be forthcoming if Scarlet & Black or Yellow & Dusky Blue are the right color combinations. Or Cerulean Blue. Merch will be available on the updated MBW website and all social media, including my new Snap Chat channel Quiowl.
But I digress. We are here to see birds. Kim radioed the group: “A Red-headed Woodpecker is visible. It’s visible hiding behind the leaves.” Another Yogi Berra instruction for the spring and summer birder. We did manage to find it perched high on a dead limb. Maybe I should consider black leather pants, a white silk shirt, and a jaunty red cap?
We departed the river bottoms and headed for Eitzen. Jerry called out domestic ducks “in the crick”. Stream of consciousness: if I get a crick my neck in order to see the birds but decide to duck the issue of scientific approval, would I be up a creek without a paddle with MOU? Wouldn’t that be ducky. I will not be cowed but I must stop punning or I’m off on a wild goose chase. Stop! Now!
We did see Wild Turkey, confirming Caledonia as the “Wild Turkey Capital of Minnesota."
With a bit of nostalgia, Kim led us past Eugene and Marylinn Ford’s previous home near Eitzen, MN. Kim came to know them in his early birding years. It was here that he first saw a White-eyed Vireo in Minnesota. And Timber Rattlesnakes basking in the sun on the bluffs nearby. I did a quick search for Eugene and Marilynn Ford and found Marilynn Ford’s obituary: https://obituaries.startribune.com/obituary/marilynn-ford-1090191011; and this about Eugene: https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/L2GK-JTT/eugene-lester-ford-1918-1999.
What an interesting couple!
We made our way to Eitzen WTP and found a lone, out-of-place Wilson’s Phalarope, and a couple of Dickcissels.
We returned through Caledonia, to tick off Eurasian Collared-Dove, and then after some discussion around Google, local printed maps, dead ends, and the blah, blah minutiae of leadership duties, drove through the City of Hokah and finally arrived at the Walcker Drive wetland area. We heard and saw multiple Bell’s Vireos and Willow Flycatchers. A good finish to a decent county day late in migration and early in the nesting season.
Day 2 (Thursday, June 5): Houston County (and Fillmore) – What’s in a name?
One of my interesting side bars of birding Minnesota is the history of the areas we crisscross. Some places along the Mississippi River were explored, named, and renamed as they were settled by Europeans long before Minnesota was recognized as a state. People of different nations and languages translated the Native names to fit their needs, brought place names from their homelands, honored important people at the time. Like Sam Houston of Texas, or saints from their various faiths. I think I might put together a list of place names in another post, because names like Hokah, Yucatan, and Bee, all excite my curiosity – but they also create obstacles to hitting my editorial deadline.
Our primary destination today was Beaver Creek Valley State Park. Kim announced, “We are taking a “short long cut to the park”. The list of Kim-isms continues to grow. Another curious list to record and explore. As we traveled through the appropriately named Rolling Hills Road near Caledonia, we added Horned Lark to our Houston county list.
I added Beaver Crick Park to my scratch-off state park map list. A Barred Owl flew ahead of Car One on the drive in, and later, when I walked away from the group, two flew across the road several times near the park entrance. I missed them all. But I was there when the Black-billed Cuckoo called in the distance and later as it perched in the tree for excellent views. After the Black-billed Cuckoo on our NW MN MBW, it was a nice to spend additional time in observation. Cuckoos rate high on my favorite bird list. Their shape and subtle plumage are elegant.
We continued down to the main campground and picnic area in pursuit of the previously reported Louisiana Waterthrush and Tufted Titmouse. I wandered off, again, to explore the stream, look for trout, and enjoy the Zen-like setting. I heard the chip note of the waterthrush first before I saw a wet bedraggled bird fly up to an exposed branch and begin preening. I observed the white eyebrow and streaked underparts and realized I was looking at our target bird. It gave its chip note and flew off upstream toward the campground. By the time I got on the radio with frantic misdirection and everyone gathered nearby, we heard it a few times but that was all.
Craig headed up through the campground toward Big Springs where he had found the bird a few days before. Many of us enjoyed the idyllic setting listening to the spring tumble into Beaver Creek with the sun filtering through the trees. Ultimately, we all heard and most saw the bird as it perched in the sunlight or briefly posed for the photographers on a branch directly over the spring pool. I think many of us would have sat there for the rest of the day. I was basking in Kim’s compliment of my birding skills and lost in that revery, when our county lists stridently called us toward the bridge and the Acadian Flycatcher.
The flycatcher was found. How will you know you found one next time? An Acadian (like an Alder) lacks a “whit”, but it does give a “peep”. Like most Empidonax flycatchers, the call is often the only way to distinguish between species. Around this same time Mark asked, “Why is a gnatcatcher called that? Does it only eat gnats? What is a gnat?” Thanks to Alexander Wilson, a father of ornithology, the “silvery-winged gnatcatcher” was named in 1812. A flock of gnatcatchers is called a band. Unless, when they are hard to see, then it’s a ghost of gnatcatchers. Look it up. Gnats are, without scientific consensus, described as tiny flying insects, on which gnatcatchers feed in addition to many other insects. A simpler answer might be “most things are decided on the whim of a wishy-washer tour leader.” [Especially one who’s also Spineless. –KRE]
Mark, Dan, and I lagged behind as we drove up the hill out of the state park. Dan spotted a hawk. We jumped out and I observed the dark head and lack of belly band. Swainson’s! Mark took several pictures, and we gloated over how we would tell everyone at lunch. Several people drove up to the Kwik Trip in Caledonia, while the rest of us gathered at the picnic tables in North Park. Caledonia is the ancient Roman name for Scotland, but what I remember is that North Park commemorates Dan Kunst’s (and brothers John and Peter’s) 14,450-mile walk around the world.
Over lunch we showed the hawk photos to Kim. “It’s not a Swainson’s. Look at the underwing wing pattern.” “But what about the head?” I said. “Red-taileds can have dark heads too. The important field mark for Swainson’s is the dark flight feathers contrasting with whitish wing coverts.” I said, “Of course, I see that now.” Luckily, he didn’t say, “Did you read page 53 of the damn book?” Gulp. By next year’s trip I am going to have it memorized.
Swainson’s led to an interesting discussion on bird naming. A difficult but probably necessary reevaluation of the role of white males with large egos and sometimes financial interests at stake in scientific and other pursuits over the years. I could include all the birds with people’s names, but editorial limits exist for a reason. I have done some research and found it interesting how many species names have challenging backstories. While often done as honorariums for extraordinary scientific efforts, the selection often requires context I need to be willing to learn. On the other hand, lots of good people have their names attached to wonderful gifts or a lifetime of effort, like Richard J. Dorer. This Commissioner of Conversation is honored with over a million acres of Memorial Hardwood Forest set aside in his name in the critical Driftless Region. (More importantly, how will I ever get a Quinn bird to establish my place in MBW history?)
We left Caledonia and drove south along South View Road. It was then that Car Four realized our latent ability of Powers of Suggestion. This time a real Swainson’s Hawk flew over the highway, coursed and hovered over the freshly mowed field, stooping several times for rodents and grasshoppers exposed by the farmer haying her field. I spent extra time in field mark observation. Sometimes a wrong call leads to a good education.
I read that in order to learn a new language; a best practice is to speak it and fail often rather than try to completely master it before you begin. I believe this is true for birding too. If you see or hear a bird, name it out loud to the best of your ability. Yes, a Proper Adult Supervisor will likely remove your JTL badge, but you will learn faster. And everyone will see more birds. Group birding is a team effort. In our case, fifteen pairs of eyes and over one hundred years of birding experience could allow for rapid learning. And I know I see more birds. I’m proud to say I’ve been corrected by everyone from Deb to Jeff, from flycatcher to Golden Eagle. And Craig is always kind and patient in helping correct your initial misidentification.
To Bee in Iowa or Not to Bee in MN was next. Much discussion on Birds and Bees occurred at our next stop. Several people risked deportation by straying across or straddling the Iowa state line while visiting the man whose house stands divided. Roy beelined back up the road into Minnesota to seek worthy photographs. Mary, a few others, and I watched as the Eastern Towhee and several good day birds buzzed around. Nothing too sexy came to check out the JTL attractor 2500. We heard and had brief glimpses of Tufted Titmouse as we bugged out of town. For additional insights on the birds and Bee you’ll need to consult Kim’s book. Trust me, it’s not a Shakesperean tragedy.
A person, who shall remain unnamed and had never seen the landmark, just had to take us next on a side trip to see the “Not Interesting” Black Hammer Stone Lady. The hill where the rock sculpture lady stands did look interesting for Houston County birds, but we pressed on in determination to add birds in a county not on the itinerary. Isn’t that curious?
A brief detour into Fillmore County followed. I’m not interested in becoming a county lister. I ticked off 13 species in my self-declared determination to get to 100 Fillmore species. I’m now at 78. Many people are over 150. Some over 200. I’M NOT INTERESTED!
Returning to Houston County, Jeff drove with breathless anticipation to the Clay-colored Sparrow location on Ferndale Road. He is a county lister. It was a nice prairie area, and we spread out listening to Bobolinks, an Orchard Oriole, Dickcissel, and a Field Sparrow. Kim heard the Henslow’s Sparrow first. We walked farther out looking for a small sparrow with a large sloped head and thick bill perched on a bush or weed stem. The olive-green head is diagnostic, but song allows for early identification. It perched briefly, I got it in the scope, but it dropped into the grass and refused to come out again. The group finally drove around the corner to another Henslow’s spot, getting better and longer looks, but never finding a Clay-colored. County listing is a perilous sport. Disappointment, frustration, temptation, and failure are ever present, lurking nearby each time your ordinary target bird turns out not to be the rare bird you are sullenly admiring at the moment.
We wandered the backroads in search of more interesting and not-interesting birds, learning that only once in 39 ½ years of MBWs did a cow join a MBW car caravan. It was on Mound Prairie Drive. He’s been milking that story for years. You’re probably not in the moo(d) for more puns, so I’ll finish the day by saying that on a lark Kim turned down Golfview Drive near Mound Prairie SNA looking for Lark Sparrows. Jerry spotted it first as it hopped along the road by the SNA. Another good finish for Houston County. And I needed it for the county.
Day 3 (Friday, June 6): Winona and Wabasha – BWIFLI
My new status as PTL provides me with authority to call in to question other names and suggest the name of this 39 ½-year-old organization be changed.
By the way, it is seeking a new leader (really an organizer, as Kim is still willing to provide “proper adult supervision” along with Craig) to take over the day-to-day of scheduling, organizing, maintaining the website, summarizing, and doing all the requirements of running a business. But I declare the new operational name shall be BWIFLI (Bird Wherever I Feel Like It) or maybe BWIWT (Bird Wherever I Want To). The latter would be pronounced similar to Empidonax flycatchers, “b-whit”. A reminder that a sense of humor is required when confronted by confusing birds and fickle leadership.
We met again at the La Crescent Best Western and regrouped at the Winona’s Veterans Memorial Park Band Shell. Once we all figured out that Jeff had gone to the right place, we circled the one-way, climbed in our cars, and headed for Prairie Island.
Our first stop, near Indian Channel, happened when Kim heard the Quinn Warbler – sorry, power went to my head, make it the Prothonotary Warbler. We watched it for a while, then at some point it crossed the water, flew by the group and landed on the sandbank 15’ away. To locate the bird when it’s calling you look for the brilliant yellow, but the powder blue-gray of the wings is a lovely offset and the white splashes on the tail feathers are a pleasure when it is up close and flying. We returned to ticking off Trumpeter Swan, Bald Eagle, and Great Blue Heron for our Winona County lists.
At McNally Landing we stopped and listened to the tale of the huge Northern Pike a fisherman had caught. I wandered around while the group found Blue-gray Gnatcatcher and Cedar Waxwing and other woods birds. We were on the road again when someone called out Sandhill Crane. Getting out the scopes, Craig spotted shorebirds on a sandy shoreline. It’s hard to find migrating shorebirds or waterfowl by this time of year, but Dunlin were obvious with their black bellies, and the proper adults in our group found Semipalmated, White-rumped, and a few Least sandpipers. Even with my scope I couldn’t make the call myself. One of the benefits of group birding with experts.
Deb and I turned to scan the waterfowl and another pair of cranes. I found American Widgeon and Deb spotted the Greater White-fronted Goose, both rare for this time of year. Gadwall were also present. It was Juliann who pointed out that we were all ignoring the Prothonotary Warbler singing behind us. County listers are a fickle lot. It probably went back to sulk in its nest hole. They are one of only two cavity nesting warblers. A Pileated Woodpecker flew over the road and Roy took at least one great picture.
Well aware that I sometimes like to wander from the group, Kim suggested I climb the “500 stairs to the top” at John A. Latch State Park, our next stop. Blessedly, they were under repair. Had I been aware then that “Faith, Hope, and Charity” were available to help navigate them, I might have proceeded. Jerry had climbed the stairs on a past adventure, so that counts for JTL points. Specific instructions for PTLs will be in the future BWIWT safety handbook.
John A. Latsch State Park is a gem once you get away from the roar of Highway 61. A few people went down to check the river and found Forester’s Terns. The rest of us listened for warblers and thrushes. Ann spotted the Veery first as a titmouse sang nearby, but we were quickly distracted by the singing Cerulean Warbler and added a great bird to our second county lists.
Wabasha County was not on the original itinerary either, but none of us objected to potentially adding Common Gallinule to our state and county lists – and in Craig’s case, his June 6 list. But the bird that stole the show was the Least Bittern Deb found perched up in the marsh. We oohed and aahed as it sat still for several minutes in the sunlight. When often all you get on this bird is a heard-only, it was worth the price of the trip. Yellow-headed Blackbirds were in full breeding plumage, and with some partial views of the gallinule it was a good morning.
We went on to find additional gallinules and Least Bitterns with equal or better views before the pressure to wind up the trip and start for home became too much to ignore. As we worked our way back to the car, Pete called out Yellow-billed Cuckoo. We heard it calling in the woods across from the marsh. Eventually a few of us got brief looks to finish the trip with a flourish.
We said our goodbyes back in Winona. As Carol and I drove home, we passed a place called Almosta Ranch. I thought to myself, maybe a new company without Proper Adult Supervision could be named “Almosta Birder.” On this MBW, I saw 100+ species almosta by myself.
Mammal List: White-tailed Deer, Beaver, Common Muskrat (or Musky as David and Ann call them leading to confusion amongst fisherfolk), 13-Lined Ground Squirrel (or if you’re the biology major, Jerry, it’s Ictidomys tridecemlineatus), Gray Squirrel, Red Squirrel, Fox Squirrel, Eastern Chipmunk, Eastern Cottontail, and a dead (5 possible species in MN) shrew. See the Birder’s Guide to Minnesota’s Non-Birds section for a more complete list. Like reptiles, the variety of species is larger in SE Minnesota than in other regions.
Amphibians & Reptile List: See page 86 of the darn book (Prothonotaries are not allowed to swear) for a checklist. I wrote Snapping Turtle laying eggs in Wabasha Co, N. Water Snake https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Reptiles/Northern-Water-Snake, but there were softshell and other turtles as well. And frogs and probably toads croaking and singing at several stops.
Flowers, Butterflies, Dragonflies, Damselflies: Lots of pretty little things with strange names.
References
• "Driftless" can refer to something being without purpose or direction, or specifically to a geographical area free from glacial drift. In the context of geography, a "driftless area" is an area that was not covered by glacial drift during the Pleistocene ice age, resulting in a unique landscape distinct from heavily glaciated regions.” The Driftless Region is a geographical area with importance to thousands of unique species, including many species native only to the area, and under significant threat from modern farming techniques, population growth, and pollution. It’s worth the time to learn more. I’ve included the Wikipedia link but there are dozens of local articles and other media about the Driftless Region –
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driftless_Area
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driftless_Area
• MOU Corner County Checklist link – www.moumn.org
• Cerulean Blue – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerulean. The first recorded use of cerulean as a color name in English was in 1590. The word is derived from the Latin word caeruleus "dark blue, blue, or blue-green", which in turn probably derives from caerulum, diminutive of caelum, "heaven, sky.” In 1877, Monet had added the pigment to his palette, using it in a painting from his series La Gare Saint-Lazare.
• Prothonotary – https://www.dictionary.com/browse/prothonotary. A chief clerk or official in certain courts of law. In the Roman Catholic Church, Any of the seven members of the college of prothonotaries apostolic, charged chiefly with the registry of pontifical acts and canonizations.
• Houston County and Sam Houston of Texas – Houston County Resources - 7 Rivers Alliance
• Beaver Creek State Park – Beaver Creek Valley State Park | Minnesota DNR
• Black Hammer Stone Lady – http://houston.mngenweb.net/black_hammer.html and https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/stone-lady-of-black-hammer
• John A. Latch State Park – https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/state_parks/park.html?id=spk00177#information