Few MBWs have ever been scheduled in the Lac Qui Parle region in May,
with none ever in late May; the follwing MBWs come the closest
to being similar to the 2024 MBW.
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YELLOW MEDICINE - LAC QUI PARLE MBWeekend SUMMARY
May 10 - 14, 2018
Because of the interest in these two counties, this MBW consisted of two Lac Qui Parle County MBWeekends, on May 10-11 and May 12-13, a Yellow Medicine County pre-MBW on May 11, and a Yellow Medicine post-MBW on May 14. This allowed additional persons to be confirmed and for more areas to be covered during the five-day period. As a result, no fewer than 166 species were found in all, including some interesting rarities – e.g., Cinnamon Teal, Common Gallinule, 21 shorebird species (including 2 American Avocets and 3 Hudsonian Godwits), Snowy and Cattle egrets, 2 White-faced Ibis, LeConte's Sparrow, and 2 Eastern Meadowlarks. (On the other hand, the passerine migration was relatively slow, as only 15 warbler species were found.) My thanks as always to Craig Mandel who led Lac Qui Parle MBW I, and to Ken Larson and Garrett Wee for their tips on the White-faced Ibis and Cinnamon Teal. –KRE
Lac Qui Parle I MBWeekend ~ May 10-11, 2018
Other than some temperatures in the low 40s, the weather cooperated for us on this two-day MBW, since the rain either came at night or stayed to our south. Our total of 126 species was fairly respectable, with some nice numbers of warblers at Cory Lake WMA and Lac Qui Parle County Park. But many of the usual locations for shorebirds (e.g., Salt Lake) were full of water, so we spent a lot of time searching for locations that held shorebirds. Haydenville WMA was one of the better locations, along with the flooded field south of Louisburg where there was a pair of American Avocets. Some other locations of interest were: Sweetwater WMA, where we observed a single Snowy Egret; Florida Creek WMA held a number of American Bitterns and sparrows, including a Lark Sparrow; Madison Lake WMA was great for waterfowl (including over 300 Ruddy Ducks); and CR 36 near the town of Rosen was also good, with 3 Cattle Egrets present on Friday (found the day before by the Lokens) – and chased around by a young Bald Eagle! – Craig Mandel (with edits by KRE)
Yellow Medicine pre-MBW ~ May 11, 2018
As Craig's group was completing the second day of the first Lac Qui Parle MBW, my group was doing the first of two single-day trips in Yellow Medicine Co – with a bit of Chippewa Co on the side and a healthy dose of Lyon Co at Lone Tree Lake. Our first productive area was along 306th Ave (a back road along the Minnesota River leading into Granite Falls) where we heard – but could never quite see – an unexpected LeConte's Sparrow, followed a short time later by an equally surprising and singing Eastern Meadowlark. (And both birds stayed around for the post-MBW on Monday.) After a couple of mostly unsuccessful searches for warblers along the river, Lone Tree Lake was next and its shorebirds did not disappoint. Even though the Curlew Sandpiper had departed two days before, we were content to see 12 shorebirds there (we later added species #13 elsewhere) along with two late-lingering Greater White-fronted Geese. The afternoon was spent in the scenic Coteau des Prairies country west of Canby, but the cool and overcast day seemed to have dampened most bird activity. At least we came up with an even dozen warbler species for the day, and on the way back to Montevideo a stop at Miller Lake yielded Horned, Eared, and Western grebes to bring our day's list to 112 species. – KRE
Lac Qui Parle II MBWeekend ~ May 12-13, 2018
We were still in Chippewa Co not far from Montevideo, and this second Lac Qui Parle MBW had just begun when Kathrynne spotted one of the best birds of this five-day MBWeekend – a Common Gallinule in a marshy slough just east of the Minnesota River! And eventually there was much more in and around Lac Qui Parle that day and the next, as my group came up with 141 species – more than Craig's MBW total, but keep in mind they scouted out some sites and species for us. After the gallinule, most of the places we tried that morning for woods birds only produced modest results, but things picked up in the afternoon as we relocated the avocets (nesting?) in the flooded field south of Louisburg, and one Cattle Egret was still in the pasture by Rosen. The birding improved even more on Sunday when we found a singing Eastern Meadowlark, a fly-by Sandhill Crane, and a handsome Hudsonian Godwit all along CR 12. The Snowy Egret seen by Craig's group on this road was a no-show, but a nearby spot produced an Orchard Oriole a late Red-breasted Nuthatch, and we ran into Ken Larson at the Haydenville shorebird spot. He had just found a nearby White-faced Ibis on CR 14, and as we watched the ibis most of us decided there was time after lunch to look for a Cinnamon Teal found that morning by Garrett Wee's MOU field trip in Big Stone County. Indeed, it was still there (!), and en route back to Montevideo a few of us drove the Big Stone NWR auto tour and found a Scarlet Tanager, Lark Sparrow, and an amazing concentration of 1,100+ Black Terns. – KRE
Yellow Medicine post-MBW ~ May 14, 2018
This second one-day effort in Yellow Medicine Co could be considered somewhat better than the first, even though we had one species less (111) and some rain eventually prompted us to call it a day by mid-afternoon. The LeConte's (still heard-only) and Eastern Meadowlark were still there along 306th Ave, and this time the south end of Lone Tree yielded 13 shorebird species: the same 12 as on Friday plus a Ruddy Turnstone – and there was even a White-faced Ibis wading among them! We then followed up on a tip from Garrett Wee to try one more spot in Lyon Co where a Summer Tanager had been the previous day at a feeder. But the tanager had moved on and was not seen that day, although a screech-owl was heard back in the farm grove and a pair of Red-headed Woodpeckers was nesting. We were back in Yellow Medicine for lunch at Ooras County Park, but the nice woodland there had little of note except a couple of gnatcatchers. Indeed, we only managed to find 8 warbler species for the day, but before the rain did us in entirely we made up for the relative lack of warblers by chancing upon two nice flooded fields. One had two close-to-the-road Hudsonian Godwits, and the other hosted handsome Black-bellied Plovers, a non-breeding-plumaged American Golden-Plover, some more Ruddy Turnstones, plus Dunlins, Short-billed Dowitchers, White- rumped Sandpipers, and others – and we ended the day with 16 shorebird species. – KRE
BIRD LIST (166 species total)
• LQP1 = May 10-11 Lac Qui Parle I MBW (126 species; incl some in adjacent
Chippewa Co)
• YMpre = May 11 Yellow Medicine pre-MBW (112 species; incl some in adjacent
Chippewa and Lyon Co's)
• LQP2 = May 12-13 Lac Qui Parle II MBW (141 species; incl some in adjacent
Chippewa, Swift, and Big Stone Co's)
• YMpost = May 14 Yellow Medicine post-MBW (111 species; incl some in adjacent
Chippewa and Lyon Co's)
• √ = seen on all 4 trips (83 species)
• boldfaced species = birds of special interest
Greater White-fronted Goose YMpre
Canada Goose √
swan, sp. LQP2
Wood Duck √
Blue-winged Teal √
Cinnamon Teal LQP2
Northern Shoveler √
Gadwall √
American Wigeon √
Mallard √
Northern Pintail √
Green-winged Teal √
Canvasback LQP1, YMpre, LQP2
Redhead √
Ring-necked Duck √
Lesser Scaup √
Bufflehead LQP1
Hooded Merganser √
Ruddy Duck √
Ring-necked Pheasant √
Wild Turkey YMpre, LQP2
Pied-billed Grebe √
Horned Grebe YMpre
Red-necked Grebe LQP1, LQP2
Eared Grebe LQP1, YMpre
Western Grebe YMpre, LQP2
Rock Pigeon √
Eurasian Collared-Dove LQP1, YMpre, LQP2
Mourning Dove √
Common Nighthawk LQP2, YMpost
Chimney Swift LQP1, LQP2, YMpost
Ruby-throated Hummingbird LQP2
Virginia Rail LQP1, LQP2, YMpost
Sora √
Common Gallinule LQP2
American Coot √
Sandhill Crane LQP1, LQP2
American Avocet LQP1, LQP2
Black-bellied Plover YMpost
American Golden-Plover LQP1, YMpost
Semipalmated Plover √
Killdeer √
Hudsonian Godwit LQP2, YMpost
Marbled Godwit LQP1
Ruddy Turnstone YMpost
Stilt Sandpiper YMpre, YMpost
Dunlin √
Least Sandpiper √
White-rumped Sandpiper YMpre, LQP2, YMpost
Pectoral Sandpiper √
Semipalmated Sandpiper YMpre, YMpost
Short-billed Dowitcher √
Wilson’s Snipe LQP1, LQP2
Spotted Sandpiper √
Solitary Sandpiper YMpre
Lesser Yellowlegs √
Greater Yellowlegs LQP1
Wilson’s Phalarope √
Franklin’s Gull LQP2
Ring-billed Gull LQP1, LQP2
Caspian Tern LQP2
Black Tern LQP1, LQP2, YMpost
Forster’s Tern LQP1, LQP2
Common Loon YMpre, LQP2
Double-crested Cormorant LQP1, YMpre, LQP2
American White Pelican √
American Bittern LQP1, LQP2
Great Blue Heron √
Great Egret LQP1, LQP2
Snowy Egret LQP1
Cattle Egret LQP1, LQP2
Green Heron LQP1, YMpost
White-faced Ibis LQP2, YMpost
Turkey Vulture √
Osprey LQP2
Bald Eagle √
Northern Harrier LQP1, LQP2, YMpost
Cooper’s Hawk LQP1
Red-tailed Hawk √
Eastern Screech-Owl YMpost
Belted Kingfisher LQP1, YMpre, LQP2
Red-headed Woodpecker LQP1, YMpost
Red-bellied Woodpecker YMpre, LQP2, YMpost
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker √
Downy Woodpecker √
Hairy Woodpecker LQP2
Northern Flicker LQP1, LQP2
Pileated Woodpecker LQP1, YMpost
American Kestrel LQP1, LQP2
Peregrine Falcon LQP1, LQP2
Least Flycatcher √
Eastern Phoebe YMpre, LQP2 YMpost
Eastern Kingbird √
Yellow-throated Vireo LQP1
Blue-headed Vireo LQP1, YMpre, YMpost
Warbling Vireo √
Blue Jay √
American Crow √
Horned Lark LQP1, YMpre, LQP2
Purple Martin LQP1, LQP2
Tree Swallow √
N. Rough-winged Swallow √
Bank Swallow √
Cliff Swallow √
Barn Swallow √
Black-capped Chickadee √
Red-breasted Nuthatch LQP2
White-breasted Nuthatch √
House Wren √
Sedge Wren √
Marsh Wren √
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher LQP1, YMpost
Ruby-crowned Kinglet √
Eastern Bluebird LQP2, YMpost
Veery LQP2
Gray-cheeked Thrush √
Swainson’s Thrush √
American Robin √
Gray Catbird √
Brown Thrasher √
European Starling √
Cedar Waxwing LQP2
House Sparrow √
House Finch √
American Goldfinch √
Chipping Sparrow √
Clay-colored Sparrow √
Field Sparrow YMpre, LQP2, YMpost
Vesper Sparrow √
Lark Sparrow LQP1, LQP2
Savannah Sparrow √
Grasshopper Sparrow LQP2
LeConte’s Sparrow YMpre, YMpost
Song Sparrow √
Lincoln’s Sparrow LQP1, YMpre, LQP2
Swamp Sparrow LQP1, LQP2
White-throated Sparrow √
Harris’s Sparrow √
White-crowned Sparrow √
Yellow-headed Blackbird √
Bobolink √
Eastern Meadowlark YMpre, LQP2, YMpost
Western Meadowlark √
Orchard Oriole LQP2
Baltimore Oriole √
Red-winged Blackbird √
Brown-headed Cowbird √
Common Grackle √
Ovenbird YMpre
Northern Waterthrush √
Black-and-white Warbler √
Tennessee Warbler LQP1, LQP2
Orange-crowned Warbler √
Nashville Warbler YMpre, LQP2, YMpost
Common Yellowthroat YMpre, LQP2, YMpost
American Redstart LQP1, YMpre, LQP2
Cape May Warbler LQP1, LQP2
Magnolia Warbler YMpre
Yellow Warbler √
Blackpoll Warbler √
Palm Warbler LQP1, YMpre, LQP2
Yellow-rumped Warbler √
Wilson’s Warbler LQP1
Scarlet Tanager LQP2
Northern Cardinal YMpre, LQP2, YMpost
Rose-breasted Grosbeak √
* * *
BIG STONE & TRAVERSE COUNTIES MBW / MAY 8-9, 2004
Canada Goose Wood Duck
American Wigeon Mallard BT
Including a SD-only Pileated and 3 rather routine additions Herb and I saw Sun. afternoon at Artichoke L. (Big Stone Co.), we had a somewhat amazing 142 species in all! I'll have to check back over 19 years of records, but this may well be the highest species total ever on a 2-day MBW. (There have been higher totals on several 3-day Memorial Day MBWs.) This number was especially made possible by the great showing of 22 species of shorebirds, although I think 150+ would have been reached if the warblers had been in (we only had 7 species). Certainly that Cinnamon Teal (MBW #333!) was the single best highlight, and, although it took off within minutes of our arrival (everyone did get to a scope in time, didn't they!?), at least it was more cooperative than Phil & Peder's Ruff. The weather was also tolerable enough, a bit windy on Sat. and a bit too warm on Sun., but at least we missed the stormiest stuff on Sunday. Hope everyone dodged the tornados on the way home...
B = seen/heard in Big Stone Co.
T = seen/heard in Traverse Co.
Greater White-fronted Goose B (unexpected lingerers at Thielke L.)
Canada Goose BT
Wood Duck BT
Gadwall BT
American Wigeon B
Mallard BT
Blue-winged Teal BT
Cinnamon Teal B (#333 for the all-time MBW list, thanks to Phil & Peder)
Northern Shoveler BT
Northern Pintail BT
Green-winged Teal BT
Canvasback B
Redhead BT
Ring-necked Duck BT
Lesser Scaup BT
Bufflehead B
Hooded Merganser B
Ruddy Duck BT
Ring-necked Pheasant BT
Wild [sort of] Turkey BT
Common Loon B
Pied-billed Grebe T
Western Grebe BT (necking & dancing at Thielke)
Clark’s Grebe B (persistent scanning at Thielke paid off with a nice view of this rarity)
American White Pelican BT
Double-crested Cormorant BT
American Bittern B (close views of a cooperative bird!)
Great Blue Heron BT
Great Egret BT
Green Heron BT
Black-crowned Night-Heron T
Turkey Vulture B
(Osprey - Sun. afternoon at Artichoke Lake)
Bald Eagle B
Northern Harrier BT
Cooper’s Hawk T (plus Accipiter, sp. in B)
Swainson’s Hawk B (perched adult near a possible nest)
Red-tailed Hawk BT
(American Kestrel - Sun. afternoon at Artichoke Lake)
Peregrine Falcon B (an adult hunting Ruffs, no doubt)
Virginia Rail BT
Sora BT (but where were all the King Rails?!)
American Coot BT
American Golden-Plover B (one Thielke L. fly-by)
Semipalmated Plover BT
Killdeer BT
American Avocet BT (including a possible nesting pair?)
Greater Yellowlegs B
Lesser Yellowlegs BT
Solitary Sandpiper BT
Spotted Sandpiper BT
Upland Sandpiper BT (several heard, none seen?)
Hudsonian Godwit B (several handsome birds in breeding plumage, but no Marbleds?)
Sanderling B
Semipalmated Sandpiper BT
Least Sandpiper BT
White-rumped Sandpiper B
Baird’s Sandpiper BT
Pectoral Sandpiper BT
Dunlin BT
Stilt Sandpiper B
Short-billed Dowitcher BT
Wilson's Snipe B
American Woodcock B (displaying males Sat. evening, plus a rare daytime
study on Sunday)
Wilson’s Phalarope BT (= 22 shorebird species!)
Franklin’s Gull B
Bonaparte’s Gull B
Ring-billed Gull BT
(Herring Gull - Sun. afternoon at Artichoke Lake)
Forster’s Tern B
Black Tern B
Rock Pigeon BT
Mourning Dove BT
Great Horned Owl B (heard Sat. evening)
Chimney Swift BT
Belted Kingfisher BT
Red-bellied Woodpecker BT
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker B
Downy Woodpecker BT
Hairy Woodpecker BT
Northern Flicker T
(Pileated Woodpecker - a South Dakota fly-by)
Olive-sided Flycatcher T (nice spotting, Kirk)
Least Flycatcher BT
Eastern Phoebe BT
Western Kingbird BT
Eastern Kingbird BT
Warbling Vireo BT
Blue Jay BT
American Crow BT (why so few!?)
Horned Lark BT
Purple Martin BT
Tree Swallow BT
Northern Rough-winged Swallow BT
Bank Swallow BT
Cliff Swallow BT
Barn Swallow BT
Black-capped Chickadee BT
White-breasted Nuthatch BT
House Wren BT
Sedge Wren BT
Marsh Wren BT
Ruby-crowned Kinglet BT
Eastern Bluebird T
Swainson’s Thrush T
American Robin BT
Gray Catbird B
Brown Thrasher BT
European Starling BT
American Pipit BT
Cedar Waxwing B
Tennessee Warbler B
Yellow Warbler BT
Yellow-rumped Warbler BT
Palm Warbler BT
Black-and-white Warbler T
Ovenbird B
Northern Waterthrush B
Chipping Sparrow BT
Clay-colored Sparrow BT
Field Sparrow BT
Vesper Sparrow BT
Lark Sparrow T (seldom seen as a migrant; not known to nest in Traverse Co.)
Savannah Sparrow BT
Song Sparrow BT
Lincoln’s Sparrow T
Swamp Sparrow BT
White-throated Sparrow BT
Harris’s Sparrow T (lots of them, some singing)
White-crowned Sparrow BT
Northern Cardinal B
Rose-breasted Grosbeak BT
Bobolink BT
Red-winged Blackbird BT
Western Meadowlark BT
Yellow-headed Blackbird BT
Common Grackle BT
Brown-headed Cowbird BT
Baltimore Oriole BT
House Finch BT
American Goldfinch BT
House Sparrow BT