Explore Minnesota Birding Report as of May 31
In general, it is still possible to see a variety of warblers up the Gunflint Trail the very end of May. In early to mid-June, birders may want to consider a canoe trip through the shallow prairie marshes to see an abundance of waterfowl and waterbirds, including grebes, coots, geese, swans and rails. And in mid-June, birders have an opportunity to see newly hatched trumpeter swans, called cygnets, in the marshes of central and northern Minnesota.
The following is a list of recent, significant sightings:
On May 30th, Shawn Zierman discovered a pair of SNOWY PLOVER on Minnesota Point in Duluth. Both birds were on the lakeside shoreline near the Sky Harbor Airport, and at least one was still present later in the day.
The ARCTIC TERN was seen as recently as May 29th over Lake Superior on Park Point in Duluth. It has been found at various locations along the lakeshore, but most often from the 31st Street access.
There is a secondhand report of a SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER from May 27th at the Minnesota State University Moorhead Regional Science Center near Buffalo River State Park in Clay County. The bird was seen flying over the prairie just to the east of the parking area at the science center.
On May 28th, a singing PRAIRIE WARBLER was found at Ritter Farm Park in Dakota County. To view this bird, begin at the main parking lot, walk northwest and follow the signs to the orange trail. After a couple hundred yards to where the trail forks, take the muddy horesetrail up the hill to a row of conifers on the right. The bird was singing from the large deciduous trees on the left.
Unusually far out of range was the COMMON MOORHEN reported from western Duluth on May 29th by Laura Erickson. It was along the Western Waterfront Trail beneath Indian Point Campground. On May 30th, Kelly Larson reported two YELLOW-BREASTED CHATS from the Prairie Auto Tour Route of Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge in Big Stone County. Both birds were seen near the restroom and parking lot facility in the interior of the route. One bird was directly behind the restroom in a shrubby patch of woods and the other was across the road in the flooded woodlands to the west. Another Chat was reported by Herb Dingman from near Walnut Lake in Faribault County over the weekend. The location was one mile north of Interstate 90 on County Road 119, near its junction with an unmarked gravel road.
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Information in this statewide birding report is provided by and financially supported by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU), Minnesota's oldest and largest bird club. The report is composed from reports submitted by MOU members and other birders throughout the state. You can support this weekly birding update by submitting your bird reports to Anthony Hertzel at axhertzel@sihope.com or by calling the hotline directly at 763-780-8890 and leaving a detailed message. MOU members receive the organization's quarterly journal "The Loon," and the bi-monthly magazine, "Minnesota Birding." For membership information, send an e-mail message to our membership secretary at moumembers@yahoo.com.
"The information in this report is provided courtesy of the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union and Explore Minnesota Tourism."
