Summer Tanager
11 May 2014, near jct of Blue Earth Co Rd 47 & MN Hwy 68
(Roy Zimmerman photo)
This Summer Tanager first called to our attention by George L was certainly the rarest thing we found during this MBW, although note this was just one of three photographed in MN this weekend – see the MOU's Recently Seen page! (Ours was the only male in full plumage, though, so that has to count for something.)
I'd say it also counts for a lot that this was not the only highlight of our MBW as we came up with an unexpected and impressive total of 143 species. Of these, 122 were in Brown County, with 116 of them in Brown on Saturday (plus 3 others elsewhere that day). And I was indeed surprised that we saw so many birds since there were no fall-outs or warbler waves anywhere that we encountered, but we still pieced together a nice list of 17 warbler species. We also came up with the same total of shorebirds, with a tip from Linda directing us to drawn-down Sand Lake in Sibley County to see 14 shorebirds on Sunday afternoon on our way home. The best of these was that Willet, but of note there as well were a Ruddy Turnstone, a few White-rumped Sandpipers, Dunlins, and Short-billed Dowitchers.
Other highlights included an unexpected adult Common Tern at the Sleepy Eye sewage ponds, along with an impressive total there of 290 Wilson's Phalaropes. That posing-for-photos Harris's Sparrow along with the other birds hiding from the wind in that modest patch of woods by Lone Tree Lake illustrated that the best migrant traps are often chanced upon at unpredictable places. Those who were awake enough for Saturday evening's birding were treated to displaying woodcocks, a Barred Owl, and nighthawks overhead while practically standing at a single spot. And that nice side road in Blue Earth County by the gravel pit provided our list with Lark Sparrow, Bobolink, and a few other noteworthy things besides the tanager.
BIRD LIST
Note: all species found in Brown County, except 21 "non-Brown" species....
- Renville (R - Sat. pm, briefly)
- Nicollet (N - Sat. pm & Sun. am, both briefly)
- Blue Earth (BE - Sun. am)
- Sibley (S - Sun. pm @ Sand L)
(species seen in these counties not indicated if also seen in Brown Couny)
Canada Goose
Trumpeter Swan N
Wood Duck
Gadwall
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Green-winged Teal S
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup
Bufflehead
Hooded Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Ring-necked Pheasant
Wild Turkey
Common Loon
Pied-billed Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
American White Pelican
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Virginia Rail N
Sora
American Coot
Semipalmated Plover BE, S
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs BE
Willet S
Lesser Yellowlegs
Ruddy Turnstone S
Dunlin BE,S
Least Sandpiper
White-rumped Sandpiper S
Pectoral Sandpiper
Semipalmated Sandpiper BE, S
Short-billed Dowitcher BE, S
Wilson's Snipe N
American Woodcock
Wilson's Phalarope
Franklin's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Black Tern
Common Tern
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Mourning Dove
Barred Owl
Common Nighthawk
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
American Kestrel
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Yellow-throated Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Bank Swallow BE
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
House Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Eastern Bluebird R, N, BE
Swainson's Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
American Pipit BE
Cedar Waxwing N
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Golden-winged Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Cape May Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Palm Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Clay-colored Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow BE
Lark Sparrow BE
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Harris's Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Summer Tanager BE
Scarlet Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Bobolink BE
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark BE
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Brewer's Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
* * *
Minnesota River Valley MBW / April 29-30, 2006
As a group we were able to observe 96 species including the Western Tanager which was number 342 for the Minnesota Birding Weekend composite list! Thanks go to Ron for that wonderful find. With Brooke's help, we were able to get everyone a look at another hard-to-find bird in Minnesota, the Louisiana Waterthrush. Both birds were observed at the Williams Nature Center, a location that has produced many other unusual species over the years. Our miss on the Eurasian Collared-Doves was made a little easier to take after we were able to find so many birds in and around the grain storage area on the south side of Comfrey. The heavy rain did keep us from birding at the Sleepy Eye sewage ponds, which usually have a large variety of waterfowl and sometimes shorebirds, but I think we more than made up for that with the birds we were able to observe at Round Lake in Renville County.
- Craig Mandel
BIRD LIST
Blue Earth County = Blu
Brown County = Bro
Cottonwood County = Cot
Nicollet County = Nic
Renville County = Ren
Watonwan County = Wat
Canada Goose - Bro, Nic, Ren, Blu
Trumpeter Swan - Bro, Nic
Wood Duck - Bro, Blu
Gadwall - Bro, Nic, Blu
Mallard - Bro, Ren, Blu
Blue-winged Teal -Bro, Nic, Ren, Blu
Northern Shoveler -Bro, Blu
Green-winged Teal - Bro, Blu
Redhead - Bro, Nic, Ren
Ring-necked Duck - Bro, Ren
Lesser Scaup - Bro, Ren, Blu
Bufflehead - Ren
Hooded Merganser - Nic
Red-breasted Merganser - Ren
Ruddy Duck - Bro, Ren, Blu
Ring-necked Pheasant - Bro, Nic, Ren, Blu
Wild Turkey - Bro, Nic, Ren
Pied-billed Grebe - Bro, Nic, Ren, Blu
Red-necked Grebe - Bro, Ren, Blu
Eared Grebe - Ren
American White Pelican - Bro, Nic, Ren, Blu
Double-crested Cormorant - Bro, Blu
Great Blue Heron - Bro, Blu
Great Egret - Bro, Nic
Turkey Vulture - Blu
Osprey - Blu
Bald Eagle - Bro, Blu
Sharp-shinned Hawk - Nic
Red-tailed Hawk - Nic
American Kestrel - Blu
American Coot - Bro, Ren
Killdeer - Bro, Cot, Nic, Blu
Lesser Yellowlegs - Bro, Cot, Nic, Blu
Solitary Sandpiper - Bro, Cot, Nic
Spotted Sandpiper - Bro, Cot
Wilson's Snipe - Cot
American Woodcock - Nic
Bonaparte's Gull - Bro, Wat
Ring-billed Gull - Bro, Wat
Forster's Tern - Ren
Rock Pigeon - Bro, Cot
Morning Dove - Bro, Cot, Blu
Chimney Swift - Blu
Belted Kingfisher - Bro
Red-bellied Woodpecker - Bro
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - Blu
Downy Woodpecker - Bro, Nic, Blu
Northern Flicker - Bro, Blu
Eastern Phoebe - Bro
Blue Jay - Bro, Blu
American Crow - Bro, Ren, Blu
Horned Lark - Bro, Blu
Purple Martin - Bro
Tree Swallow - Bro, Ren, Blu
Northern Rough-winged Swallow - Bro
Bank Swallow - Bro, Blu
Cliff Swallow - Bro, Blu
Barn Swallow - Bro, Ren, Blu
Black-capped Chickadee - Bro, Blu
White-breasted Nuthatch - Bro, Blu
House Wren - Nic, Blu
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - Bro, Blu
Eastern Bluebird - Bro, Blu
Hermit Thrush - Bro
American Robin - Bro, Blu
Brown Thrasher - Bro, Blu
European Starling - Bro, Blu
American Pipit - Cot
Orange-crowned Warbler - Bro, Blu
Yellow-rumped Warbler - Bro, Blu
Palm Warbler - Bro, Blu
Black-and-white Warbler - Blu
Northern Waterthrush - Bro
Louisiana Waterthrush - Blu
Western Tanager - Blu
Chipping Sparrow - Bro, Cot, Blu
Clay-colored Sparrow - Bro
Field Sparrow - Nic, Blu
Vesper Sparrow - Bro, Blu
Savannah Sparrow - Bro, Wat
Song Sparrow - Bro, Nic, Ren, Blu
Lincoln's Sparrow - Cot
Swamp Sparrow - Bro, Cot
White-throated Sparrow - Bro, Cot, Nic, Ren, Blu
Harris's Sparrow - Bro, Cot, Nic, Ren, Blu
White-crowned Sparrow - Bro
Northern Cardinal - Bro, Blu
Red-winged Blackbird - Bro, Cot, Nic, Ren, Blu
Western Meadowlark - Bro
Yellow-headed Blackbird - Bro, Blu
Common Grackle - Bro, Cot, Blu
Brown-headed Cowbird - Bro, Nic, Ren, Blu
Purple Finch - Nic
House Finch - Bro, Cot, Blu
American Goldfinch - Nic, Ren, Blu
House Sparrow - Bro, Cot, Blu
Note that the first two MBWs were in mid-May and included
several spring migrants that may not be in early enough for
the 2024 MBWs. The 2008 MBW matches the 2024 dates more closely.
__________
MINNESOTA RIVER VALLEY 2016 MBW SUMMARY
May 12-13 MBW I ~ May 13 pre-MBW ~ May 14-15 MBW II
* * *
MINNESOTA RIVER VALLEY MBW SUMMARY
May 10-11, 2014
MBW I (May 12-13)
The cool weather during this MBW and the rain on Friday made for some challenging birding. But we were able to relocate the lingering Greater White-fronted Geese at Eggert Lake, had great looks at the Black-billed Cuckoo at Williams Nature Center, and were able to find 18 species of warbler over the two days.
Some pre-trip scouting by Katie, Julie, Susan F, and Steve helped us find the Mute Swan, Virginia Rail, Sora, Prothonotary Warbler, and a mix of shorebirds and waterfowl. Our stop to watch Purple Martins being fed scrambled eggs was entertaining, as were all the roundabouts on our wayward way to Williams Nature Center. Of the 129 species observed on MBW I, the highlight for me was the American Bittern observed from the Nicollet Conservation Club.
–Craig Mandel
Pre-MBW (May 13) & MBW II (May 14-15)
As Craig noted above, the weather during much of our time along the Minnesota River Valley made things difficult, especially on Friday when it rained almost all morning, and temperatures that windy afternoon never rose higher than the mid-40s. But at the least the wooded trail where the group met before it started raining yielded the Prothonotary Warbler (maybe two) found by the MBW I group, along with 6 other Nicollet-County species not seen during the rest of the day in Le Sueur Co. The rain started soon after we crossed the county line and birded the Kasota area, where we found the SNA bordered by new f**cking sand mining operations. Still, there were Bobolinks, Eastern Meadowlarks, a heard-only Upland Sandpiper, and the woods nearby held a singing but uncooperative Canada Warbler. (The truncated word above is “fracking”, by the way.) After lunch, we found a modest raptor movement as skies temporarily brightened north of Le Sueur, along with a couple of Lark Sparrows and a pair of Sandhill Cranes. Following a tip from Craig, we then headed east away from the river where late Gr. White-fronted Geese, Stilt Sandpiper, Dunlin, and other water birds were waiting for us.
At least it didn’t rain on Saturday, but the NW winds were worse than on Friday and it seemed just as cold. But the birding behind the History Center was still good as we listed our only Gray-cheeked Thrush and Orange-crowned Warbler of MBW II. Next we birded along both sides of the river at Judson Bottom Rd, Williams Nature Center, and Minneopa State Park, where we found 2 Olive-sided Flycatchers, Philadelphia Vireo, and more warblers (we listed 17 species that day), including a Blue-winged – which demonstrated that the mythical Junior Tour Leader Merit Badge really does exist. Back in Nicollet Co we found Franklin’s and Bonaparte’s gulls (1 each) at the Nicollet sewage ponds, and the Mute Swan found by Craig’s group was still among some Trumpeters along Hwy 111. (There had been only two previous Mute Swan records ever on MBWs, as this became the last Regular Minnesota species added to the MBWeekend composite list.) The day ended after dinner for some of us back in the Kasota area as we heard Wood Thrush and serenading Great Horned Owls, saw migrating nighthawks, and spotlighted a displaying woodcock.
Though we had to scrape ice off our car windshields at dawn on Sunday, the weather eventually seemed more May-like as the winds died down and it reached 60+ degrees in the afternoon. We elected to pass on birding the New Ulm area and headed east instead for the Cannon River Wilderness in Rice Co where a Worm-eating Warbler was found on Saturday. But, alas, no one – including our MBW group – ever relocated it. Still, we added a few more warblers to our list, and we decided to finish the morning farther east at Lake Byllesby. En route, a brief stop at the Carleton Arboretum turned up a Lark Sparrow, and at Byllesby there were 9 shorebird species, including Semipalmated Plovers, Pectoral, Short-billed Dowitchers, Wilson’s Phalarope, plus some American Pipits. Half the group then had enough time after lunch to stop at Gold Medal Park in Minneapolis, and the staked-out Yellow-throated Warbler became warbler species #20 on MBW II (and #21 for the entire MBWeekend).
In all over the four days, we came up with an unexpected composite total of 158 species. This number was especially surprising considering the weather often made it difficult to bird, that we found no fall-out of warblers and other migrants, and there was only a modest variety (13 species) of shorebirds. (And it would be tempting to consider that lost Little Blue Heron in Duluth as species #159 – after all, the Lokens and I saw it early Sunday evening when we got home….)
–Kim Eckert
BIRD LIST (composite total = 158 species)
I = found on May 12-13 MBW I (129 species)
pre = found on May 13 pre-MBW (96 species)
II = found on May 14-15 MBW II (127 species)
Greater White-fronted Goose I, pre
Canada Goose I, pre, II
Mute Swan I, II
Trumpeter Swan I, II
Wood Duck I, II
Gadwall II
Mallard I, pre, II
Blue-winged Teal I, pre, II
Northern Shoveler I, pre, II
Canvasback pre
Redhead I, pre, II
Ring-necked Duck I, pre
Lesser Scaup I, pre, II
Bufflehead II
Hooded Merganser I, pre, II
Ruddy Duck I, pre, II
Ring-necked Pheasant I, II
Wild Turkey I, pre, II
Common Loon I
Pied-billed Grebe I, pre
Double-crested Cormorant I, pre, II
American White Pelican I, pre
American Bittern I
Great Blue Heron I, pre, II
Great Egret I
Turkey Vulture I, pre, II
Osprey I, pre
Bald Eagle I, pre, II
Northern Harrier II
Sharp-shinned Hawk I
Cooper's Hawk pre, II
Broad-winged Hawk II
Red-tailed Hawk I, pre, II
Virginia Rail I
Sora I
American Coot I
Sandhill Crane pre, II
Semipalmated Plover I, II
Killdeer I, pre, II
Spotted Sandpiper I, pre, II
Lesser Yellowlegs I, pre, II
Upland Sandpiper pre
Stilt Sandpiper I, pre
Dunlin I, pre, II
Least Sandpiper I, pre, II
Pectoral Sandpiper II
Short-billed Dowitcher II
Wilson's Snipe I
American Woodcock II
Wilson's Phalarope II
Bonaparte's Gull II
Franklin's Gull II
Ring-billed Gull I, pre, II
Caspian Tern I
Black Tern I, pre
Forster's Tern I, II
Rock Pigeon I, pre, II
Eurasian Collared-Dove I, pre, II
Mourning Dove I, pre, II
Black-billed Cuckoo I
Great Horned Owl II
Common Nighthawk II
Chimney Swift I, II
Ruby-throated Hummingbird I, II
Belted Kingfisher I, pre, II
Red-bellied Woodpecker I, pre, II
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker I, pre, II
Downy Woodpecker I, pre, II
Hairy Woodpecker I, pre, II
Northern Flicker I, pre, II
Pileated Woodpecker I, II
American Kestrel I, II
Merlin pre
Olive-sided Flycatcher pre, II
Least Flycatcher I, pre, II
Eastern Phoebe I, pre, II
Great Crested Flycatcher I, pre, II
Eastern Kingbird I, pre, II
Yellow-throated Vireo I, II
Blue-headed Vireo I, II
Warbling Vireo I, pre, II
Philadelphia Vireo I, II
Red-eyed Vireo pre, II
Blue Jay I, pre, II
American Crow I, pre, II
Horned Lark II
Purple Martin I
Tree Swallow I, pre, II
Northern Rough-winged Swallow I, II
Bank Swallow I, pre, II
Cliff Swallow I, II
Barn Swallow I, pre, II
Black-capped Chickadee I, pre, II
White-breasted Nuthatch I, pre, II
House Wren I, pre, II
Marsh Wren I
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher I, pre, II
Ruby-crowned Kinglet I, pre, II
Eastern Bluebird I, pre, II
Veery I
Gray-cheeked Thrush I, II
Swainson's Thrush I, II
Wood Thrush I, pre, II
American Robin I, pre, II
Gray Catbird I, pre, II
Brown Thrasher I, II
European Starling I, pre, II
American Pipit II
Cedar Waxwing I, pre
Ovenbird I, II
Northern Waterthrush I, pre, II
Golden-winged Warbler II
Blue-winged Warbler I, II
Black-and-white Warbler I, II
Prothonotary Warbler I, pre, II
Tennessee Warbler I, pre, II
Orange-crowned Warbler I, II
Nashville Warbler I, pre, II
Common Yellowthroat I, pre, II
American Redstart I, pre, II
Magnolia Warbler I, II
Blackburnian Warbler I, II
Yellow Warbler I, pre, II
Chestnut-sided Warbler I, II
Blackpoll Warbler I, pre, II
Palm Warbler I, pre, II
Yellow-rumped Warbler I, pre, II
Yellow-throated Warbler II
Canada Warbler pre
Wilson's Warbler I, pre, II
Eastern Towhee I, II
Chipping Sparrow I, pre, II
Clay-colored Sparrow I, II
Field Sparrow I, pre, II
Vesper Sparrow I, pre
Lark Sparrow pre, II
Savannah Sparrow I
Song Sparrow I, pre, II
Lincoln's Sparrow II
Swamp Sparrow I
White-throated Sparrow I, pre, II
Scarlet Tanager I, pre, II
Northern Cardinal I, pre, II
Rose-breasted Grosbeak I, pre, II
Indigo Bunting I, II
Bobolink pre
Red-winged Blackbird I, pre, II
Eastern Meadowlark I, pre, II
Yellow-headed Blackbird I, pre, II
Brewer's Blackbird II
Common Grackle I, pre, II
Brown-headed Cowbird I, pre, II
Orchard Oriole I
Baltimore Oriole I, pre, II
House Finch I, pre, II
Pine Siskin pre
American Goldfinch I, pre, II
House Sparrow I, pre, II
