Explore Minnesota Birding Report Update August 2, 2012
Shorebirds are traveling through Minnesota to southerly destinations. Anyone interested in shorebirds should check out the Shorebird Workshop offered August 3-5 in Milbank, SD, with most field trips in Minnesota. Please call for rates and availability. Birders will also want to consider the Henderson Hummingbird Hurrah Festivalheld August 18 & 19. This is the only hummingbird festival in the Midwest. Workshops, garden tours, presentations, children's activities, a Hummingbird Mall, speakers and hummingbird banding are all part of this event.
The following information has been provided courtesy of the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union and their affiliates. This report is brought to you by ExploreMinnesota.com.
The following is a list of recent, significant sightings:
On July 30th, Jo Thompson reported a Swallow-Tailed Kite in the eastern part of Duluth along State Highway 61.
On the 27th, Bob Williams and Bob Dunlap reported an adult Prairie Falcon in Todd Township of Hubbard County, just west of Park Rapids. The bird was flying over a pasture on the east side of 109th Avenue about one-quarter mile north of 190th Street.
The Common Gallinules which have been at the 180th Street Marsh in Dakota County for much of the summer were seen again on August 1st with seven young. Check the first pool west of Goodwin Avenue on the north side of the road to view these birds.
At Minnesota Lake in Faribault County, four American Avocets were among the many shorebirds reported on the 24th and three avocets were still present on the 29th.
A Carolina Wren is being seen along the 2600 block of Xenwood Avenue South in St. Louis Park. It's been reported in the same general neighborhood for several weeks.
On the 26th, Randy Frederickson and Joel Schmidt found a group of three Blue Grosbeaks in northern Renville County, roughly two miles west of the town of Olivia at the intersection of 310th Street and 830th Avenue.
Several groups of early Buff-Breasted Sandpipers have been reported from various localities around the state, including fifteen at the sewage ponds in Edgerton, Pipestone County on the 26th. A few other southbound migrants have begun to be reported, including Black-And-White Warbler and Yellow-Rumped Warbler.
Information in this statewide birding report is provided by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU), Minnesota's oldest and largest bird club. To submit a bird sighting, email the MOU birding report compiler at rba@moumn.org.
