Lyon - Lincoln - Yellow Medicine MBW Summary
April 23 - 24 - 25, 2021
Jay Vancura photo
Our first MBW of the 36th season – and our first “regular” MBW since January 2020 (i.e., car-pooled with 15 participants and 1 leader). This was also the first time since February 2020 that I’ve stayed overnight anywhere other than home.
But it was reassuring how little had changed ... all but two of you MBW veterans from previous years ... unpleasant weather typical of so many MBWs (too windy, wet/snowy, and cold) ... a group dinner (at an Eye-Talian restaurant, of course) ... obsessive county listers ... my obsession with sewage ponds ... our familiar MBW idioms (e.g., flip-around) ... chronic radio/battery problems ... and it was refreshing to finally get back to the prairie where I’ve always felt most at home.
There were even lots of birds to look at, especially the nice variety of ducks, grebes, shorebirds, and other water birds. Most interesting of these were the flocks of Greater White-fronted Geese overhead on Sunday (wondering which way to fly to avoid the impending snow and wind), and the godwits and other shorebirds we studied at drawn-down Curtis Lake as the weather closed in. Somehow, two of the Hudsonians looked amazingly like dowitchers.
But the most interesting find of the MBW was a land bird, as that handsome and relatively rare dark-morph Broad-winged Hawk circled low overhead at Hole in the Mountain County Park. Intriguing as well were the 3 Merlins spotted on Friday afternoon in and near Coon Creek WMA. And certainly our Saturday morning stop at the good ol’ ADMSMSUELA was productive, with a pair of Red-breasted Nuthatches apparently nesting well south of their normal range, plus our only Cooper’s Hawk, Red-bellied and Downy woodpeckers, Eastern Phoebe, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Orange-crowned and Yellow-rumped warblers of the MBW.
As always, I thank you all for coming and getting MBWs back on track for another year after an incomplete 2020 season. Thanks especially to Steve and Janet who were on their very first MBW, and they just registered for the Deep Portage MBW on Memorial Day Weekend. I’ll see some of you there and/or in Ortonville in two weekends. –Kim
Bird List (103 species)
- Ly = Lyon County (mostly Friday; SAT or SUN indicates only seen Saturday or Sunday)
- Li = Lincoln County (Saturday)
- YM = Yellow Medicine (Sunday)
Snow Goose Li
Greater White-fronted Goose Ly (SUN), Li, YM
Canada Goose Ly, Li, YM
Trumpeter Swan YM
Wood Duck Ly, Li, YM
Blue-winged Teal Ly, Li, YM
Northern Shoveler Ly, Li, YM
Gadwall Ly, Li, YM
American Wigeon Ly, Li, YM
Mallard Ly, Li, YM
Northern Pintail Ly, YM
Green-winged Teal Ly, Li, YM
Canvasback Ly, Li, YM
Redhead Ly, Li, YM
Ring-necked Duck Ly, Li, YM
Lesser Scaup Ly, Li, YM
Bufflehead Ly, Li, YM
Hooded Merganser Ly, Li, YM
Common Merganser Ly, Li, YM
Red-breasted Merganser Li, YM
Ruddy Duck Ly, Li, YM
Ring-necked Pheasant Ly, Li, YM
Pied-billed Grebe Ly, Li, YM
Horned Grebe Ly, Li, YM
Red-necked Grebe Ly, Li
Eared Grebe Li
Rock Pigeon Ly, Li, YM
Eurasian Collared-Dove Ly, Li
Mourning Dove Ly, Li, YM
American Coot Ly, Li, YM
American Golden-Plover Ly, Li
Killdeer Ly, Li, YM
Semipalmated Plover YM
Hudsonian Godwit YM
Marbled Godwit YM
Dunlin Ly, YM
Baird’s Sandpiper Li, YM
Least Sandpiper Ly (SUN), Li, YM
Pectoral Sandpiper Ly, Li, YM
dowitcher, sp. Ly
Wilson’s Snipe Ly, YM
Lesser Yellowlegs Ly, Li, YM
Greater Yellowlegs Ly, Li
Bonaparte’s Gull Ly, Li
Franklin’s Gull Ly, Li
Ring-billed Gull Ly, Li, YM
Herring Gull Ly
Forster’s Tern Ly
Common Loon Ly, Li
Double-crested Cormorant Ly, Li, YM
American White Pelican Ly, Li, YM
Great Blue Heron Ly, Li, YM
Great Egret Ly (SAT), Li, YM
Turkey Vulture Ly (SAT), Li
Northern Harrier Ly, Li, YM
Sharp-shinned Hawk Li
Cooper’s Hawk Ly (SAT)
Bald Eagle Ly, Li, YM
Broad-winged Hawk Li
Red-tailed Hawk Ly, Li, YM
Great Horned Owl YM
Belted Kingfisher Ly, Li, YM
Red-bellied Woodpecker Ly (SAT)
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Li
Downy Woodpecker Ly (SAT)
Northern Flicker Ly, Li, YM
American Kestrel Ly (SUN), Li, YM
Merlin Ly
Eastern Phoebe Ly (SAT)
Blue Jay Ly, Li
American Crow Ly, Li, YM
Horned Lark Ly, Li, YM
Tree Swallow Ly, Li, YM
Purple Martin Li
Barn Swallow Li, YM
Black-capped Chickadee Ly (SAT), Li, YM
Red-breasted Nuthatch Ly (SAT)
White-breasted Nuthatch Ly (SAT,SUN), Li
Ruby-crowned Kinglet Ly (SAT), Li
Hermit Thrush Ly (SAT)
American Robin Ly, Li, YM
European Starling Ly, Li, YM
House Sparrow Ly, Li, YM
American Pipit Li
House Finch Ly, Li, YM
Pine Siskin Li
American Goldfinch Li
Lapland Longspur Li
Chipping Sparrow Ly
Field Sparrow Li
Dark-eyed Junco Ly
White-throated Sparrow Ly
Vesper Sparrow Li
Song Sparrow Ly, Li, YM
Yellow-headed Blackbird Ly, Li, YM
Western Meadowlark Ly, Li, YM
Red-winged Blackbird Ly, Li, YM
Brown-headed Cowbird Ly (SUN), Li, YM
Rusty Blackbird Ly (SUN), YM
Common Grackle Ly, Li, YM
Orange-crowned Warbler Ly (SAT)
Yellow-rumped Warbler Ly (SAT)
Northern Cardinal Ly
Lyon & Lincoln MBW Summary – The JTL Report
April 12 - 13 - 14, 2024
By Aspiring Junior Tour Leader John Quinn
(with edits by KRE)
John Quinn (right) is presented with his copy of
the Official MBW JTL Instruction Manual.
I think it was near the Gislason Lake Unit of the Northern Tallgrass Prairie NWR (legacy.mn.gov/projects/northern-tallgrass-prairie-national-wildlife-refuge-phase-x) that I heard our fearless leader warble: “Look, there’s a flock of frolicking flickers freely flying….” It was then I found my theme of alliteration for this summary. I sure hope I have license to do this, or I’m liable to get fired, and then I’ll need to litigate. Normally, I’m not litigious, but Kim assured us the MBW’s new insurance policy made him liable. Especially for birds I didn’t see in Lyon or Lincoln or Lynd. Luckily, we saw larks – meadow and horned. If you’re curious about counties, I suggest: lyonco.org/about-us, and co.lincoln.mn.us/History.htmhttps://www.exploreminnesota.com/profile/lincoln-
county-courthouse/2576 lyonco.org/about-us.
Riding with George Vania I received a relevant education in sewage pond technology. Really interesting. His teacher was Dwayne Rollag who revolutionized wastewater treatment. Right in Marshall, Minnesota (where this MBW was based). Ask George sometime about anabolic and anerobic methods for treating fat from meat processing. For more on Rollag, see patents.justia.com/inventor/dwayne-a-rollag and argusleader.com/obituaries/sal085933. And, as our leader is fixated on sewage ponds, here’s an introduction to Wastewater Treatment Ponds so you can be smarter: waterworld.com/home/article/16192273/introduction-to-wastewater-treatment-ponds. No question we benefit in many ways from waste treatment. But remember that dining at the Russell or Ruthton cafés does not help with our waist treatment.
We scored big at another redolent location with a rare bird. Great work by several to hear and spot the Sandhill Crane. I was reflecting on the delight of seeing a rare bird: many of us would love to find a Level 4 or Level 5 bird in our lifetime. But it was a real treat to add Peregrine Falcon and Sandhill Crane to Kim’s county lists. Not that I can take credit for either. And Rick finding the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (a rarity on the prairie) was rock-solid birding.
And here are the requisite reptiles and amphibians we saw: Chorus Frogs, Painted Turtles, Garter Snake.
Sorry to tease this summary out too intensely – I’m almost done. We tested the suitability of pickup trucks and Teslas on MBWs – both passed. We were tested by temperatures, temperaments, and a tepid response to my suggestion of a snipe hunt. And there were ticks and more ticks. And tics (of the county-listing variety). Finally home after a great weekend, I was sitting on the deck with my granddaughters calling out Mourning Dove and American Robin while still scanning the trees and sky... and still one more tick.
My best bird event this weekend was looking out the window just one more time at the sewage pond and seeing the coursing flight of the Peregrine Falcon. I am also growing to appreciate how deliberate and careful Kim is to identify and educate others about birds. Spending 30 minutes on Baird’s and Pectoral sandpipers was a great lesson in life. You won’t know everything with certainty, but close observation and being around other people helps. And I learn more when he says, “I’m not sure.”
[Also noteworthy were the strong winds on all three days. On Friday, they were enough to produce an uncomfortable wind-chill that we weren’t dressed for as temperatures in the 40s predominated. Then on Saturday afternoon, sustained winds reached 25 mph as the temperature rose to 86 degrees – some 30 degrees above normal. –KRE]
Bird List (97 species total)
• Ly (88 species) = found in Lyon County (April 12, 14)
• Li (81 species) = found in Lincoln County (April 13)
* species not annotated = found in both counties
Canada Goose
Trumpeter Swan Ly
Wood Duck
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mallard
Northern Pintail Ly
Green-winged Teal
Canvasback
Redhead
Ring-necked Duck
Greater Scaup Ly
Lesser Scaup
Bufflehead
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser Ly
Ruddy Duck
Wild Turkey
Ring-necked Pheasant
Pied-billed Grebe
Horned Grebe Ly
Red-necked Grebe Ly
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Mourning Dove
American Coot
Sandhill Crane Ly
American Golden-Plover Li
Killdeer
Dunlin Ly
Baird’s Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper Ly
Pectoral Sandpiper Ly
Wilson’s Snipe Ly
Lesser Yellowlegs
Greater Yellowlegs Ly
Bonaparte’s Gull
Franklin’s Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Common Loon
Double-crested Cormorant
American White Pelican
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret Ly
Turkey Vulture
Northern Harrier
Cooper’s Hawk
Bald Eagle
Swainson’s Hawk Ly
Red-tailed Hawk
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker Ly
American Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon Li
Eastern Phoebe
Blue Jay
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Horned Lark
Tree Swallow
Purple Martin Li
Barn Swallow Li
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper Li
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Li
European Starling
Eastern Bluebird Li
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
House Sparrow
House Finch
Purple Finch Li
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch Ly
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
American Tree Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Vesper Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Rusty Blackbird Li
Common Grackle
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Northern Cardinal
* * *
