Juvenile Long-billed Dowitcher, Warroad sewage ponds, 30 August
(Craig Mandel photo)
* * *
NW MINNESOTA MBW (and pre-MBW) SUMMARY
September 1 - 2 - 3 - 4, 2017
Spruce Grouse, Pitt Grade Forest Road, Lake of the Woods County
Yes, the weather could have been better...dark overcast and rain on Friday afternoon…a bit too warm in the mid-80s Sunday afternoon…cold temperatures mixed with high winds and some rain on Monday. Still, this is Minnesota where it always could have been worse, and it’s hard to say how much these conditions affected on our birding efforts. Probably more significant were the dry conditions which had been persisting in NW Minnesota most of the summer and which must have had some negative effects on the local birding situation.
Indeed, it did seem that things were generally on the slow side, as we managed to find 147 species during our 3 1/2 days roaming through Lake of the Woods, Roseau, and Marshall counties, with an edge of Beltrami County and a brief visit to Pennington County added on Monday. This composite total in the 140s is on the low end of what we usually find here – around 150-160 is more normal, and 171 species is the best we’ve ever done on this MBW.
Our goal here each Labor Day Weekend is to find 20 species each of shorebirds and warblers, but our respective totals this time were 17 and 15 species. But at least 17 shorebirds is close to normal, with Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, both dowitchers, and Red-necked Phalarope our best finds. Mudflats were practically nonexistent except for one spot at Zipple Bay State Park and another at Agassiz NWR, and the rocky shorelines at the Warroad and Greenbush sewage ponds especially did host some shorebirds. On the other hand, 15 warblers is this MBW’s lowest total in recent years, with four of the five most recent years here reaching 20 species. No significant waves of warblers were ever found, with single Golden-winged, Mourning, and Cape May warblers our best finds – though only a few in the group were able to spot them.
But there were some other highlights: the 3 Cackling Geese at the Greenbush sewage ponds were unusually early; a flock of a dozen or so Gray Partridge briefly seen just east of Roseau River WMA was a complete surprise; more cooperative was the male Spruce Grouse in Beltrami Island State Forest (probably a first ever for this MBW); the impressive Peregrine Falcon terrorizing the shorebirds and ducks at Agassiz’s mudflats; at least 2 LeConte’s Sparrows posed nicely for all to see at the corner of 410th Ave and 350th St in Roseau Co; and we tracked down a group of Red Crossbills near downtown Roseau, one of which was recorded and documented as a Type 3 individual.
Bird List
L = Lake of the Woods Co (mostly on Sept 1 pre-MBW)
R = Roseau Co (mostly on Sept 2-3)
M = Marshall Co (Sept 4; Roseau & Pennington species on Sept 4 not noted)
(Note: the sequence of species below follows the 2016 AOU/ABA checklist; this differs from the MBW checklist I distributed, and from the newest 2017 sequence)
Cackling Goose R
Canada Goose LRM
Trumpeter Swan RM
Wood Duck LRM
Gadwall RM
American Wigeon RM
Mallard LRM
Blue-winged Teal RM
Northern Shoveler RM
Northern Pintail R
Green-winged Teal RM
Canvasback M
Redhead RM
Ring-necked Duck RM
Lesser Scaup R
Common Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser RM
Ruddy Duck RM
Gray Partridge R
Spruce Grouse L
Pied-billed Grebe RM
Horned Grebe RM
Red-necked Grebe R
Eared Grebe RM
Rock Pigeon LRM
Mourning Dove LRM
Ruby-throated Hummingbird LR
Virginia Rail LRM
Sora LRM
American Coot RM
Sandhill Crane LRM
Semipalmated Plover LM
Killdeer RM
Ruddy Turnstone M
Stilt Sandpiper R
Sanderling L
Baird's Sandpiper LR
Least Sandpiper LRM
Pectoral Sandpiper RM
Semipalmated Sandpiper LRM
Short-billed Dowitcher R
Long-billed Dowitcher R
Wilson's Snipe M
Spotted Sandpiper LRM
Solitary Sandpiper LM
Greater Yellowlegs RM
Lesser Yellowlegs RM
Red-necked Phalarope R
Bonaparte's Gull R
Franklin's Gull RM
Ring-billed Gull LRM
Herring Gull LR
Caspian Tern R
Black Tern R
Common Loon LR
Double-crested Cormorant LRM
American White Pelican LRM
Great Blue Heron LRM
Great Egret M
Turkey Vulture LRM
Osprey L
Bald Eagle LRM
Northern Harrier RM
Sharp-shinned Hawk L
Cooper's Hawk R
Broad-winged Hawk LR
Red-tailed Hawk LRM
Great Horned Owl R
Belted Kingfisher LRM
Red-headed Woodpecker R
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker LM
Downy Woodpecker RM
Hairy Woodpecker LR
Northern Flicker LRM
American Kestrel LRM
Merlin RM
Peregrine Falcon M
Olive-sided Flycatcher LR
Eastern Wood-Pewee LR
Least Flycatcher LR
Eastern Phoebe LRM
Great Crested Flycatcher R
Eastern Kingbird R
Blue-headed Vireo LRM
Warbling Vireo R
Philadelphia Vireo R
Red-eyed Vireo LRM
Gray Jay L
Blue Jay LRM
Black-billed Magpie R
American Crow LRM
Common Raven LRM
Purple Martin R
Bank Swallow R
Cliff Swallow R
Barn Swallow LRM
Black-capped Chickadee LRM
Red-breasted Nuthatch LR
White-breasted Nuthatch R
Brown Creeper R
House Wren M
Sedge Wren R
Marsh Wren RM
Golden-crowned Kinglet L
Eastern Bluebird LR
Swainson's Thrush R
Hermit Thrush L
American Robin LRM
Gray Catbird LR
Brown Thrasher R
European Starling LRM
Cedar Waxwing LRM
House Sparrow R
Purple Finch LRM
Red Crossbill R
Pine Siskin LR
American Goldfinch LRM
Northern Waterthrush L
Golden-winged Warbler L
Black-and-white Warbler LR
Tennessee Warbler LR
Nashville Warbler LR
Mourning Warbler R
Common Yellowthroat LRM
American Redstart LR
Cape May Warbler R
Yellow Warbler R
Chestnut-sided Warbler LR
Blackpoll Warbler R
Palm Warbler LRM
Yellow-rumped Warbler RM
Wilson's Warbler LR
Chipping Sparrow LRM
Clay-colored Sparrow R
Vesper Sparrow R
Savannah Sparrow RM
Le Conte's Sparrow R
Song Sparrow LRM
Swamp Sparrow RM
White-throated Sparrow LRM
Dark-eyed Junco L
Rose-breasted Grosbeak RM
Red-winged Blackbird RM
Western Meadowlark R
Yellow-headed Blackbird M
Brewer's Blackbird M
Common Grackle R
* * *
ROSEAU & LAKE OF THE WOODS MBW SUMMARY
Aug 30 - Aug 31 - Sept 1 - Sept 2, 2019
Ross’s Goose, near Warroad, 30 August (Craig Mandel photo)
We’ve now had a total of 17 Labor Day MBWs up in this remote part of the state, with a long list of rarities seen over the years – these have even included such unlikely strays as Red Knot, Long-tailed Jaeger, Little Gull, Little Blue Heron, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, and Prairie Falcon. While none of our best finds this year can match the calibre of any of those, we still had another successful MBW here. Our composite total of 155 species was nearly exactly at our average (= 156); note that this MBW has varied beween 138 species (our lowest in 2011) to our best-ever total of 171 (in both 2008 and 2010). And among our highlights were... [Spoiler Alert! – the following summary includes three new County Birds for my lists]
Our best waterfowl were the early Ross’s Goose at the Warroad sewage ponds (also photographed by Craig just outside of Warroad early that evening), an equally early Cackling Goose noticed by some as it flew over the Super 8 parking lot (along with 2,000+ Franklin’s Gulls), and the Trump(eter) Swans (a.k.a. Donald Ducks?) at Brown’s Lake – new for my Lake of the Woods list. Unfortunately, the Gray Partridges that I lucked into on Roseau CR 9 weren’t there the next day, but a lone Sharp-tailed Grouse did run across the road in front of my group en route to Roseau River WMA. One lowlight was our total of only 13 shorebirds, which ties our lowest number ever (in 2006) and is far below our best shorebird list in 2008 when we had no fewer than 25 species. This year the Warroad sewage ponds was our only decent shorebirding spot and included a juvenile Long-billed Dowitcher and Red-necked Phalarope (Red-neckeds were also at Badger’s sewage ponds).
After an absence of four years (when too many soybeans were planted), Short-eared Owls once again appeared at dusk NE of Roseau along 350th Street – just like they used to as hayfields and grasslands returned to the landscape. Nearby in Roseau itself earlier that day were an unexpected Red-bellied Woodpecker and Gray-checked Thrush (both new for my Roseau list), at the sewage ponds a cooperative flock of late Bobolinks came down and landed for all to see in the scopes, and a concentration of at least 50 Black-billed Magpies was found in a single field SW of town. Meanwhile, Lake of the Woods County provided us with Western Kingbirds, an Alder Flycatcher was strangely still singing vigorously away (if you could hear it, that is), and Red Crossbills happened by at three places near Norris Camp – as suspected, Matt Young at Cornell confirmed their identity as Type 2.
Besides shorebirds, sparrows were another disappointment since we could only turn up seven species (which has to be our lowest total ever on this MBW), and unfortunately the only LeConte’s was only seen by Craig and a few others early Friday evening just SW of Warroad. But one consolation was our composite list of 20 warbler species, which actually ties the most we’ve ever had on this MBW (we’ve done this about four other times). Although we found warblers at lots of places, we never came across any real concentrations or waves anywhere.
On behalf of everyone, I especially thank Craig for his contributions as co-leader (he again was underpaid, of course, but at least I never had cause to fire him); Gretchen Mehmel for serving as our hostess at Norris Camp (with indoor plumbing!) and taking time to guide us to a couple of nearby birding sites; and 9-year old Cooper who justly earned the coveted JTLMB for coming on his first MBW as the youngest MBWer ever in our 34-year history. –Kim Eckert
Bird List
R = seen in Roseau County
L = seen in Lake of the Woods County
Ross’s Goose R
Cackling Goose R
Canada Goose RL
Trumpeter Swan RL
Wood Duck R
Blue-winged Teal R
Northern Shoveler R
Gadwall R
American Wigeon R
Mallard R
Northern Pintail R
Green-winged Teal R
Canvasback R
Redhead R
Ring-necked Duck RL
Common Goldeneye R
Hooded Merganser RL
Ruddy Duck R
Gray Partridge R (leader-only)
Ruffed Grouse R (heard-only)
Sharp-tailed Grouse R
Pied-billed Grebe RL
Horned Grebe R
Red-necked Grebe RL
Rock Pigeon RL
Mourning Dove RL
Common Nighthawk RL
Ruby-throated Hummingbird RL
Virginia Rail R
Sora R
American Coot R
Sandhill Crane RL
Killdeer R
Semipalmated Plover R
Stilt Sandpiper R
Least Sandpiper RL
Pectoral Sandpiper R
Semipalmated Sandpiper R
Long-billed Dowitcher R
Wilson’s Snipe R
Spotted Sandpiper RL
Solitary Sandpiper R
Lesser Yellowlegs RL
Greater Yellowlegs R
Red-necked Phalarope R
Bonaparte’s Gull RL
Franklin’s Gull RL
Ring-billed Gull RL
Herring Gull RL
Caspian Tern R
Black Tern R
Common Tern L
Forster’s Tern R
Double-crested Cormorant RL
American White Pelican RL
Great Blue Heron R
Green Heron R
Turkey Vulture RL
Northern Harrier RL
Sharp-shinned Hawk RL
Cooper’s Hawk R
Bald Eagle RL
Broad-winged Hawk RL
Red-tailed Hawk RL
Great Horned Owl R (heard-only)
Short-eared Owl R
Belted Kingfisher RL
Red-headed Woodpecker R
Red-bellied Woodpecker R
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker RL
Downy Woodpecker RL
Hairy Woodpecker RL
Northern Flicker RL
Pileated Woodpecker L (heard-only)
American Kestrel RL
Merlin RL
Peregrine Falcon R
Great Crested Flycatcher RL
Western Kingbird L
Eastern Kingbird RL
Olive-sided Flycatcher RL
Eastern Wood-Pewee R
Alder Flycatcher L
Least Flycatcher R
Eastern Phoebe RL
Yellow-throated Vireo L
Blue-headed Vireo L
Philadelphia Vireo RL
Warbling Vireo RL
Red-eyed Vireo RL
Canada Jay RL
Blue Jay RL
Black-billed Magpie RL
American Crow RL
Common Raven RL
Bank Swallow R
Tree Swallow R
Purple Martin R
Barn Swallow RL
Cliff Swallow RL
Black-capped Chickadee RL
Red-breasted Nuthatch RL
White-breasted Nuthatch RL
Brown Creeper L (heard-only)
House Wren RL
Sedge Wren R
Marsh Wren R
Ruby-crowned Kinglet R
Eastern Bluebird R
Gray-cheeked Thrush R
Swainson’s Thrush RL
Hermit Thrush R
American Robin RL
Gray Catbird RL
European Starling RL
Cedar Waxwing RL
House Sparrow RL
House Finch R
Purple Finch RL
Red Crossbill L
Pine Siskin RL
American Goldfinch RL
Chipping Sparrow RL
Clay-colored Sparrow R
White-throated Sparrow RL
LeConte’s Sparrow R
Savannah Sparrow RL
Song Sparrow RL
Swamp Sparrow RL
Bobolink R
Baltimore Oriole R
Red-winged Blackbird RL
Common Grackle RL
Ovenbird R
Northern Waterthrush RL
Golden-winged Warbler RL
Black-and-white Warbler RL
Tennessee Warbler RL
Nashville Warbler RL
Common Yellowthroat RL
American Redstart RL
Cape May Warbler R
Northern Parula R
Magnolia Warbler RL
Bay-breasted Warbler R
Blackburnian Warbler R
Yellow Warbler RL
Chestnut-sided Warbler RL
Blackpoll Warbler RL
Yellow-rumped Warbler RL
Black-throated Green Warbler L
Canada Warbler R
Wilson’s Warbler RL
Scarlet Tanager L
Rose-breasted Grosbeak RL
Also see the 2019 and 2017 MBWs summaries
following the summary of the 2020 MBWeekend
__________
NORTHWEST MINNESOTA MBW
September 4 - 5 - 6 - 7, 2020
Summary by Craig Mandel [with edits by KRE]
On our 18th Labor Day MBW to northwestern Minnesota, we had to work hard to find the birds we observed; in all, we only managed a total of 138 species. [This ties the lowest total for this MBW; the highest ever has been 171, and the average is about 155.] Our first two days were warm and calm, but on the third day we experienced 30 mph winds with wind gusts reaching 40 mph. [These high winds, a lack of mudflats for shorebirds, and far fewer participants than usual to spot birds, all combined to result
in the low number of species.]
While no real rarities were found, there were still some highlights to note:
- The two Buff-breasted Sandpipers found by Deb and Nancy on Saturday at the TRF sewage ponds remained there for the group to see on Sunday. They had also found American Golden-Plover on Saturday, and the group counted an amazing 240+ Red-necked Phalaropes on Sunday. [The MBW’s shorebird total, however, was only 12 species, which is the lowest ever; 25 shorebirds is the record high for this MBW.]
- The Blue-gray Gnatcatchers at Lake Bronson State Park below the dam were a nice find; for some reason this species seems to occur at this location on a regular basis, and this MBW has had them here 2 or 3 times before.
- It appears this may be a big season for Pine Siskins, which we observed on all 4 days.
- Our 20 species of warbler tied the highest warbler total for this MBW, but we had to spend a lot of time to find them, and I am sure most of us missed at least a couple of them. [This MBW has had 20 warblers 4 or 5 times previously.]
With the current pandemic restrictions, we missed out on group get-togethers for dinner, and, with no car-pooling, our 10-vehicle car caravan drew attention at a few locations and made for some challenging stops. But overall, the group size worked out, and I appreciated everyone's patience during our stops and those who did some scouting for us on their own.
BIRD LIST
K = Kittson Co, Sept 4
M = Marshall Co, Sept 4 - 5
P = Pennington Co, Sept 5 - 6 - 7
R = Red Lake Co, Sept 6 - 7
Canada Goose KMPR
Trumpeter Swan KMR
Wood Duck KMP
Blue-winged Teal KMPR
Northern Shoveler KMPR
Gadwall KM
American Wigeon M
Mallard KMPR
Northern Pintail KR
Green-winged Teal KP
Canvasback P
Redhead KMPR
Ring-necked Duck KM
Lesser Scaup R
Bufflehead MP
Common Goldeneye K
Hooded Merganser KMR
Ruddy Duck KMP
Wild Turkey P
Ruffed Grouse P (heard-only)
Pied-billed Grebe KMP
Red-necked Grebe P
Eared Grebe KMP
Rock Pigeon KMPR
Eurasian Collared-Dove KM
Mourning Dove KMPR
Common Nighthawk P
Ruby-throated Hummingbird KMPR
Virginia Rail KMR
Sora KM
American Coot KMPR
Sandhill Crane KMP
American Golden Plover P
Killdeer KPR
Semipalmated Plover K
Least Sandpiper KP
Buff-breasted Sandpiper P
Semipalmated Sandpiper P
Wilson's Snipe KM
Spotted Sandpiper KPR
Solitary Sandpiper KM
Lesser Yellowlegs KP
Greater Yellowlegs KMPR
Red-necked Phalarope KMP
Franklin's Gull R
Ring-billed Gull KMPR
Black Tern K
Common Loon K
Double-crested Cormorant KMPR
American White Pelican MR
American Bittern M
Great Blue Heron KMPR
Great Egret M
Turkey Vulture KMPR
Northern Harrier KMPR
Cooper's Hawk P
Bald Eagle KMPR
Broad-winged Hawk MR
Red-tailed Hawk KMPR
Belted Kingfisher KMP
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker KMP
Downy Woodpecker KMP
Hairy Woodpecker KP
Northern Flicker KMPR
Pileated Woodpecker KM
American Kestrel KMPR
Merlin KMPR
Great Crested Flycatcher R
Eastern Kingbird K
Eastern Wood-Pewee KMR
Alder Flycatcher M
Least Flycatcher KMPR
Eastern Phoebe KMPR
Yellow-throated Vireo KMPR
Blue-headed Vireo MPR
Philadelphia Vireo KMPR
Warbling Vireo KMPR
Red-eyed Vireo KMPR
Blue Jay KMP
Black-billed Magpie KMP
American Crow KMPR
Common Raven KMPR
Barn Swallow KMPR
Black-capped Chickadee KMPR
Red-breasted Nuthatch KM
White-breasted Nuthatch KMPR
House Wren P
Sedge Wren M
Marsh Wren KM
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher K
Ruby-crowned Kinglet M
Eastern Bluebird KPR
Veery K (heard-only)
American Robin KMPR
Gray Catbird KMR
European Starling KMP
Cedar Waxwing KMPR
House Sparrow KMP
American Pipit P
House Finch K
Purple Finch M
Pine Siskin KMPR
American Goldfinch KMPR
Chipping Sparrow KMPR
Clay-colored Sparrow KM
White-throated Sparrow KP
Vesper Sparrow MPR
Savannah Sparrow MP
Song Sparrow KM
Lincoln's Sparrow M
Swamp Sparrow M
Yellow-headed Blackbird KM
Bobolink K
Western Meadowlark KR
Baltimore Oriole P
Red-winged Blackbird KMP
Common Grackle KM
Ovenbird PR
Northern Waterthrush MPR
Golden-winged Warbler R
Black-and-white Warbler KMPR
Tennessee Warbler KMPR
Orange-crowned Warbler M
Nashville Warbler KMPR
Common Yellowthroat KMP
American Redstart KMPR
Northern Parula MR
Magnolia Warbler KMR
Bay-breasted Warbler KM
Blackburnian Warbler K
Yellow Warbler KMP
Chestnut-sided Warbler KMR
Blackpoll Warbler M
Palm Warbler KMP
Yellow-rumped Warbler KMP
Canada Warbler KP
Wilson’s Warbler K
Rose-breasted Grosbeak KM