Filling Gaps in Minnesota and North Dakota State Lists While Heading to and from Manitoba, May-June 2025

When it came time to start planning my big spring 2025 birding trip the destination was quite obvious – it had to be Manitoba.  That was my last state or province that I hadn’t birded extensively, with an existing province list of just 61.  Needless to say, there were lots of potential new province birds waiting for me in MB.  And if I flew into Grand Forks, ND, I could also fill a few gaps in my MN and ND lists before or after the MB portion of the trip. 

My good birding friends Bill and Anita Hooker went with me on my trip to FL back in January 2025, so I reached out to them to see if they might be interested in also coming along with me to MB and the northern US Great Plains.  They like to keep county and state lists, and Anita likes to photograph what we find, and a lot of this area would be new territory for them.  So they agreed to come along but decided to drive to ND from home in NC so they could bird along the way.  They would pick me up at the Grand Forks airport and we could travel together from there in their car.  The trip was coming together…

I spent several months planning the trip, including searching for the best birding hotspots in MB to maximize our species total, and looking for specific one-off targets near Grand Forks in MN and ND.  I came up with a 13-day itinerary where I could add at least 140 species in MB to break 200 for the province, add perhaps only 4 in ND, and hopefully 2 in MN (though 0 was a possible outcome – there aren’t too many realistic targets for me in that part of MN).

This blog post summarizes the MN and ND legs of the trip. The MB portion of the trip is summarized in the next 3 posts.

5/28 – Fly to ND, Birding in Northwestern MN

The plan for the day was to fly to Grand Forks, ND, arriving about noon.  Then we would head east for an afternoon of birding in northwestern MN to add some species to my state list, and for Bill’s county lists.  Unfortunately, the spring eBird reports from the area contained few potential targets for me.  Things were looking bleak.  But finally, just two days before the trip, there were several local reports of migrant waterfowl and shorebirds that I needed for my list.  Plus a number of sightings of Gray Partridge – another one I still need for MN.  Primarily based on the reports from 5/26 I came up with an itinerary to visit 5 spots not too far east of Grand Forks.

I arrived at Grand Forks right on time and Bill and Anita were waiting for me at baggage claim.  After some rearranging of the luggage, we headed east to our first stop at the Thief River Falls WTP.  Recent reports from there included several targets – Horned and Western Grebes, Willet, Golden Plover, Red-necked Phalaropes, and Partridges.  But the reports were now 2 days old, so I hoped the targets would still be around.  Once we figured out how to view the ponds, we found many dabbling ducks, a few divers, and some Eared Grebes.  And we only found a few shorebirds, though a couple breeding plumage Sanderlings were nice. 

I was considering heading out to the next stop, but I felt like I just hadn’t looked through the waterfowl sufficiently.  So I did another scan and sure enough picked out a sleeping Western Grebe that eventually woke up and gave us good views (MN state bird #236).  In my statebird map below, the light blue-shaded states are those where I’ve seen Western Grebe in its regular range.  The 3 cross-hatched states are those where I still need the Grebe in its normal range.  And the dark blue-shaded states are those where I’ve seen Western Grebe as a vagrant.

And with some additional searching of another pond we found a small flock of Wilson’s Phalaropes spinning on the surface.  We continued to scan the flock and Bill eventually picked out a dark-chested bird in the distance that we determined to be a lone Red-necked Phalarope (MN #237).  The range map in the Sibley app considers this Phalarope to be a rarity in MN.  So MN is now the 6th state where I’ve seen Red-necked Phalarope as a rarity.

Our next stop was the NW Minnesota Pollinator Garden where several target migrant passerines had been reported, along with more Partridges.  We found the spot to be quite birdy, including both Orioles, many Clay-colored Sparrows eating dandelion seeds, and a “Traill’s” Flycatcher.  But we found none of my targets.

Then we were off to the Agassiz Valley impoundment.  The highlight of this site was a very large active Bald Eagle nest, complete with two adults and one nestling.  We had more of the regular waterfowl, and a few shorebirds along with a surprising 18 Marbled Godwits, but once again none of my targets.

On our way to the next stop we covered an area where there had been a number of reports of Partridges.  But again we came up empty.  I recalled the advice I received from one wise birder years ago – “you never see a Gray Partridge when you’re looking for it.”

Our last stop of the afternoon was at the Warren Sewage Lagoons where Horned Grebe and more Partridges had been reported.  We found a nice flock of Wilson’s Phalaropes and Stilt Sandpipers, but once again no targets.

We ended the day with 81 species in MN – not bad for just an afternoon.  Plus I added 2 to my MN list bringing my state total to 237.

5/29 – Eastern ND, and Drive to MB

The game plan for the day was to start with a bit of birding in eastern ND, then make the 4+ hour drive to southwestern MB.  Our key ND birding spot for the morning was Sertoma Park and the adjacent coulee in downtown Grand Forks.  This site is well-known as a hotspot for spring migrants – a wooded oasis surrounded by the prairie.  We started birding there just after sunrise hoping for some migrants, but the chilly and overcast weather wasn’t very cooperative.  Not surprisingly we saw few birds in the first 15 minutes or so as we tried to figure out the best way to bird the site.  Then I noticed a large flycatcher perched on the top of a snag.  The lighting was miserable, but we could determine that it was an Olive-sided Flycatcher (ND state bird #231).  

It didn’t stay perched there for long, quickly dropping out of sight.  Though we saw this bird again several times elsewhere in the park.  Here’s a distant shot of the bird characteristically perched atop a dead snag.

With few passerines moving about, our focus shifted to Green Heron, which is quite a common nester in the park.  The good news is that there are lots of wetlands and rivers there where a Green Heron could forage.  The bad news is that that meant there were lots of places for them to hide.  We started looking around the wetlands in the park with no luck, and then started walking along the trail adjacent to the coulee.  After a short walk Bill spotted one of our targets perched on a low snag.  And it was soon joined by a second Heron (ND #232).  Their favorite perch is in the background of this shot.

As we continued down the trail we started picking up a few migrant passerines, mostly Redstarts and Swainson’s Thrushes.  At least there was now some activity.  We returned to the park and found a paved loop trail through some nice vegetation.  And then located a small dirt trail that took us into the thicket.  Soon we started picking up a few migrants like Philadelphia Vireo, Alder Flycatcher (several of which were singing), and Tennessee Warbler.  Then a female Magnolia Warbler popped into view (ND #233).  And a bit later a male Canada Warbler passed through the woods (ND #234), singing a couple of times.  I still need this species in a number of south-central states as a migrant.

Later we found a nice male Mourning Warbler – not new for my ND state list but always a beautiful bird to see.  And it was our 12th warbler species for the park.

By then we had birded all the trails in the park at least once, and decided to start heading northwest toward MB.  But first we made a pitstop at the Larimore Rest Area just west of Grand Forks.  A small island of trees at the rest area included a singing warbler that we eventually heard close enough to identify as Northern Parula (ND #235).  ND was the last state where I needed Parula in its regular range. 

We of course continued to bird as we headed west across the northern tier of ND counties.  Mostly we picked up field birds that could be identified at highway speeds.  But the highlight was at one point where Route 2 passed close to a lake near Leeds, ND.  As we checked out the lake a Caspian Tern conveniently flew right alongside the car (ND #236).  

We ended the ND portion of the day with 86 species including 13 warbler species.  And with 6 additions, my state list was at 236.

5/29-6/9 – 12 Days in MB

See my next 3 blog posts for the Canadian portion of the trip.

6/10 – “Surgical” Stops For MN and ND Targets

Our plan was to choose a border crossing that would take us from MB heading into northwest MN.  I had only 1 realistic target in MN – Nelson’s Sparrow.  Although there had been no reports of this species at all in 2025 in northwest MN, they were reported at one spot in the area last year – at the Karlstad CR-9 Marshes on June 10th – interestingly a year to the day before our 2025 visit.  My only concern was whether the marsh would be too dry for the sparrows this year given that many areas of MB just a short distance to the north were going through a severe drought.  But it would only be an additional 30 minutes of driving time, so I thought we’d give it a try. 

Soon after we crossed the border Anita spotted some large birds in the adjacent field.  They turned out to be a pair of Sandhill Cranes with a colt perhaps half the size of Mom and Dad.  A nice way to start our time back in MN.

We arrived at the Karlstad marshes at 9 AM and instantly were serenaded by multiple Sedge Wrens – that was a good sign.  And there were numerous winnowing Snipe overhead.  We could see standing water in the cattail-lined ditches along the road so we were hopeful that water levels could support our target Nelson’s.  We listened intently, hearing numerous Sedge Wrens and a few Swamp and Savannah Sparrows, plus a pair of Marbled Godwits.  Finally, I picked up a Nelson’s Sparrow singing in the distance.  We played some recordings and got a second one to answer as well (MN #238).

We got back in the car and started our 30-minute drive west toward ND.  Just a few miles before we reached the state line Anita spotted a large raptor overhead.  It was flying with its wings held in a dihedral – could it be a Swainson’s?  We pulled over and the dark trailing edge to pale wings quickly nailed it as a Swainson’s Hawk (MN #239).  I now just need this species in 2 more states in its regular range.

Initially Swainson’s had been a MN target based on several reports of this species in northwest MN in 2024.  But there had not been any reports in the region at all this year, so I had dropped it off my target list.  Not surprisingly it was listed as “Unreported” in eBird.

That was a most successful brief visit to MN – finding 2 species that had not been reported nearby at all in 2025.

After getting our fill of the Swainson’s Hawk, we continued on to ND, where our first target was Gray Partridge.  That would be a US lifer for Bill and Anita.  We had a lead from local birder Sandy Aubol on a site where she had seen them recently.  We scoured the roadside edges but came up empty.  Though we briefly got excited by a distant “bump” in the road which turned out to be just a Mallard.  Then we headed to an eBird hotspot, Prairie Chicken WMA, where Partridges were reported a week earlier.  But again to no avail.  A US sighting just wasn’t meant to be for us on this trip.  Though we did have Partridges several times in MB.

Our last stop of the day was at the Turtle River State Park where three of my targets had been reported recently – Trumpeter Swan, Scarlet Tanager, and Indigo Bunting.  I got excellent advice on locations for all 3 once again from Sandy Aubol and from fellow local birder Judy Johnson, so I was cautiously optimistic.  Especially for the Swans which were nesting in an oxbow lake right at the park entrance. 

We pulled into the park entrance and had excellent views of the lake next to us.  But there were no large white swimming birds in site.  Despite lots of many different angles and views of the lake we couldn’t find the Swans.  We would just have to try again on the way out.

Then we headed to the CCC parking lot where both birders reported our passerine targets.  We crossed a small footbridge at the west end of the lot and soon heard a distant singing  Scarlet Tanager (ND #237).  I just need this species in one more state in its regular range.

We doubled back to another trail and soon had 2 singing Indigo Buntings a bit surprisingly in this opening in the woods under a thick canopy (ND #238).

Many thanks to Sandy and Judy for their advice!

As we headed out of the park we of course needed to try for the Swans one more time.  But still no luck.  Wonder if they were tucked back into the cattails out of view on or near a nest.

We finished the US part of our trip with 113 species in ND, 8 of which were new for my state list – much better than the 4 I hoped for.  That brought my ND state list to 238.  Plus we observed 95 species in MN, including 4 additions to my state list, surpassing the 2 I expected.  My MN list now stands at 239.

(See my next 3 blog posts for a summary of the MB portion of the trip.)

Another Rare Phalarope in Western NC, Lake Julian, Asheville, NC, October 24, 2022

It was early on October 24th when this text came across the Blue Ridge Audubon text group –

“Phalarope species at Julian just now”

Any Phalarope in the western NC mountains would be a rarity.  And this time of year the most likely species would be either a Red-necked or even a rarer Red.  I needed both species for my Buncombe County list, and better yet I needed Red Phalarope for my NC state list.  So within minutes I was out the door to chase after the still unidentified rarity. 

I was part way along my 25-minute drive to Lake Julian when the next text came across –

“We’re leaning Red…bird is pretty distant but the bill looks too thick”

At that point I pushed the accelerator down a bit harder.  The 25-minute drive seemed like 25 hours.

Along the ride I mentally reviewed the salient fieldmarks to separate the Phalarope species.  I’ve seen quite a number of Red and Red-necked Phalaropes over the years, including hundreds on pelagic trips when they were often distant birds either foraging on the ocean surface or flying by in flocks.  In non-breeding plumage the most important field mark on those distant birds is the mantle color – solid gray on a Red, and streaked gray and black on Red-necked.  Bill length and thickness are also good fieldmarks, but the slightly shorter and slightly thicker bill of a Red Phalarope are less likely to be noticeable on a distant bird, though of course that would eliminate a Wilson’s.

When I finally pulled into Lake Julian the first thing I saw was 2 birders standing at their cars.  My heart sunk as my first thought was that the Phalarope had flown away and the birders had given up.  Instead, they were just heading out after long views of the bird and other birders were still on it.  Crisis averted.  A minute later I was at the shoreline with 3 other birders watching the distant Phalarope.  I shared my ID details with the other birders who had limited if any experience with these species, and started my own review of the bird.

The Phalarope was perhaps 75 to 100 yards out on the lake, which sure complicates the ID on an 8-inch-long bird.  Luckily the water was smooth as glass and there was no heat shimmer.  It was actively foraging, rapidly picking at morsels on the surface, with frequent spinning along the way.  Classic Phalarope activity.  And the bill was short and thick.  Now to concentrate on the mantle.  The sun seemed to be washing out the bird, but the back did indeed appear to be pale and uniform.  Though there were a couple darker feathers in the folded wings.  A bit later the bird swam more to the west changing the sun angle, giving even a better look at the mantle – truly looked uniform gray.  It seemed good for a Red Phalarope, but it sure would be nice to have a closer look.

After I left, three birders rented a paddle boat and were able to paddle right up to the bird getting great looks confirming the ID as a Red Phalarope.  It was likely a juvenile bird still molting into its first winter plumage.

Per eBird, there were 3 previous records of Red Phalarope in western NC – the most recent of which was in 2004.  Interestingly, all 3 were in Transylvania County.  In two of these older records it was noted in the eBird checklist that the bird was seen right after wind and rainstorms, which is typical for inland Phalarope records.  But you certainly couldn’t attribute the Lake Julian bird to a storm event – we were in the middle of a mild drought with no rain for several weeks.  Just a bird passing through I guess.  Another surprising migrant for the NC mountains.  In fact, I’ve seen all 3 Phalarope species in western NC since I moved to the area in 2019.

Red Phalarope was #321 for my NC state list.  NC is now my 11th state with all 3 Phalaropes.

My statebird map for Red Phalarope is inserted below.  The blue states are those where I’ve seen this species in its regular coastal range and as a breeder in AK.  Cross-hatched Oregon is the last state in its regular range where I’ve yet to see it.  The seven brown states are those where I’ve seen it as an inland rarity. 

 

Six Quebec Province Birds, but a Frustrating Experience with a Possible Lifebird, September, 2016

Two of the last three years there have been organized “pelagic” boat trips on Lake Champlain with key targets including Jaegers, Kittiwake, Sabine’s Gull, and the like.  I need all those birds for my VT (and NY) state lists so I’ve signed up for each trip when it has been scheduled.  This year a trip was scheduled for mid-September, the typical peak time for many of these species on Lake Champlain.  Within an hour I had registered and sent in my check. 

Since I don’t get to northwest VT very often, I planned to use the boat trip as an excuse to do some additional birding in the area.  As the trip neared I watched eBird and the listserve for potential targets, and salivated over a report of a Buff-breasted Sandpiper about a week before the trip.  The bird was found at the mouth of Dead Creek in Highgate in the far northwestern tip of VT, but was only reported one day.  Then again there were no subsequent negative reports, so I tried to be optimistic that a stop there a week later could be fruitful.  Plus an Orange-crowned Warbler was reported at Whitney Creek – one of the best spots in all of VT for that species and also for Connecticut Warbler.  So although the Orange-crown would certainly be long gone by the time I got there, maybe it could be replaced by another one.

With no other targets reported in VT, and the Buffie spot being in far northern VT just 3 miles from the Canadian border, I decided to check Quebec reports to see if there might be some targets there as well.  I was pretty happy with my existing Quebec list of 190.  So much so that when leaving Quebec after my last birding trip there I thought that my Quebec birding days were behind me.  But I’m glad I set up an eBird Quebec Needs Alert prior to this trip, because there were numerous shorebirds I needed that were reported from Baie Missisquoi just a short distance north of the US border, and less than 6 miles from Highgate as the sandpiper flies.  Apparently the region-wide drought had caused the lake level to drop enough to cause mudflats to form at the north end of the bay, attracting a diverse group shorebirds.  In the last couple days before my trip birders had spotted 10 species I needed for my list - 8 species of shorebirds, Caspian Tern, and Peregrine Falcon.  Plus there were a couple other targets like Solitary Sandpiper and Golden Plover reported recently a short distance to the north.  More than enough targets to justify yet another trip across the border into Quebec.

But just as I was getting excited about some Quebec province birding and a couple possible long shots in VT, I got an e-mail saying the boat trip was cancelled.  Although I was tempted to cancel my trip as well, I decided to keep the rest of my plans, and replace the boat trip with a lake watch from shore.  So my itinerary would begin with a stop at Highgate around midday of Day 1, followed by an afternoon in Quebec.  I would start Day 2 at dawn doing a lake watch from Charlotte Town Beach, and then make a stop at Whitney Creek to try for Orange-crowns and Connecticuts on the way home.

Day 1

Although I left the house a bit before 8 I didn’t make it to Highgate until close to noon.  Scoping the mudflats from Shipyard Road is quite a challenge as the flats are a ¼ to ½ mile away, complicated that day by quite a bit of heat shimmer.  I scanned the habitat for nearly an hour hoping against hope to find the Buff-breasted, but to no avail.  Though I did have some other pretty good shorebirds there– 4 Black-bellied Plovers, a Sanderling, and 2 Short-billed Dowitchers. 

I left at 1, and within 15 minutes I had passed through the border crossing and had made my way to Baie Missisquoi.  I wasn’t quite sure where to go to bird there, but soon realized I needed to make my way into a “campground” consisting of a number of mobile homes.  I checked in with the host of the park who spoke just barely enough English to explain where to park.  After a short walk I was at the edge of the extensive mudflats, only to see several people kiteboarding (flying kites connected to surfboards) right at the edge of the flats.  I did a quick look around and didn’t see any shorebirds at all.  Had the kiteboarders scared off all the shorebirds?  I then noticed a couple birders a short distance away and asked them for updates.  They said the numbers of birds had been way down from yesterday, though earlier there were at least a few around, including both Dowitchers, Stilt Sandpipers, and Red-necked Phalaropes.  But a Peregrine had come through and flushed all the birds away.  My heart sank – although the shorebirds had been great there for more than a week, they must have known I was coming and had moved on just in time for my trip.

I then looked over to the east and saw 3 other birders with scopes walking toward us.  And with a quick binoc scan in that direction I noticed a distant group of Yellowlegs feeding in the shallow water.  So I started walking in that direction with the first 2 birders I talked with.  As we were heading in that direction a flock of about 30 shorebirds flew by looking for a place to land.  Even without binocs I picked out several Sanderlings in the flock (Quebec bird #1) as they wheeled past.  They landed right in front of us, and the small flock included 11 Sanderlings, and 6 White-rumped Sandpipers (#2) – both numbers were higher than reported in previous days.  Then I noticed a lone Red-necked Phalarope spinning in the shallows right next to them (#3).  Small numbers, but great to pick up 3 new birds nonetheless.

We then continued to walk toward the Yellowlegs flock to the east, and ran into another small flock of shorebirds which included 2 more Sanderlings, 8 more White-rumps, and another Red-necked Phalarope, along with our first Pectoral.  Then up ahead we spotted a flock of peeps on the rocky shoreline farther to the east.  Just as we were starting to look through that flock a Peregrine flew by low over the water (#4), flushing shorebirds from all around us.  A number of small peeps flew right past us, including one larger one that turned out to be a Baird’s Sandpiper (#5).  Baird’s was also new for my Canada list - #357.  Although I was initially unhappy to have the Peregrine flush the shorebirds, it was new for my list, plus it flushed another new species that we hadn’t spotted yet.  So not a bad thing afterall.

We looked back to the rocky shoreline where the peep flock had been and all those birds had hunkered down instead of flying when the Peregrine passed by.  Slowly they started to perk up and walk around again, and we counted 40 Leasts and Semi Sands, along with a Pectoral.  At that point, with all those small peeps around, I wondered why no one had reported a Western Sandpiper yet from this location.  And just then I spotted a small peep in the rocks with a drooping bill.  Only the head was visible (the rest of the bird was hidden by a rock) so I didn’t want to jump to any conclusions yet.  With a few more steps I got a different angle on the bird, seeing dark legs, and rusty scapulars on an otherwise brownish mantle – a Western Sandpiper (#6).  After I got the other birders on this bird, we all continued to walk toward the east and amazingly all these peeps, including the Western, walked within 10 feet of us.

Finally we were nearing the Yellowlegs flock and I set up my scope to scan through the birds.  One of the first birds I looked at had a much longer bill with a bit of a droop at the end.  With a bit of study the bird turned out to be the Long-billed Dowitcher reported earlier.  And the flock included 3 Stilt Sandpipers as well.  Though the Dowitcher and Stilts were rarities for Quebec, I had seen both of them a couple years earlier at Sainte-Martine, Quebec.  (I would have been happier if the Dowitcher had been the much more common Short-billed which I still need for my Quebec list.) 

As we returned to the cars I kept my eyes open for a Caspian Tern that might pass by.  And I kept watching for more little groups of shorebirds.  But I struck out on both.  Although both the total number of shorebirds, and number of species, were way down from reports earlier in the week, and even just the previous day, I was still happy to have seen 13 shorebird species at this location, including several rarities.  And of course it was great to add 6 new birds to my Quebec list – which is now at 196.

I spent the next couple hours making stops at other parts of the bay, and a couple places to the north, and only added Killdeer as my 14th shorebird species that day in Quebec.  And including the Black-bellied Plovers and Short-billed Dowitchers I had earlier in VT (wish I could have seen them in Quebec - I need both of them for my Quebec list!) that gave me 16 shorebirds for the day.  Very nice totals for these inland locations.

Day 2

I started the day at first light at Charlotte Town Beach, the recommended location from which to do a lake watch in VT.  Winds had been light out of the northwest the night before, but were dead calm now.  Not the best conditions to see pelagic birds in VT, since your best chances of seeing them are when there is a stiff breeze from the north or northwest.  But at least there weren’t winds from the south.  As the sun rose I got these spectacular views of the morning clouds and the NY mountains in the background.

If only the birds were as spectacular.  I spent about 2 hours at the lake, and only spotted a few migrant flocks of Cormorants, a flock of Mallards, and 2 single Caspian Terns passing by.  (Where were those Caspians when I needed them in Quebec?)  Chances are even if the boat had gone out that morning we probably wouldn’t have seen much more.  Will I ever be able to time one of my fall trips to Lake Champlain to coincide with a good day of migration?  So with the lakewatch being so slow, I called it quits early at about 8 AM to head to Whitney Creek.  It was still early enough in the morning that maybe I could run into a few migrants there, not to mention my key targets - Orange-crowned and Connecticut Warblers. 

When I arrived at Whitney Creek another birder was just coming out of the trail.  I asked him how he did – he said it was a bit slow, but 15 minutes earlier he had had a brief glimpse of an Orange-crowned Warbler.  I spent the next 2 hours scouring the area with no luck.  If only I had left Charlotte a few minutes earlier.  Ugh…

But there was an even bigger disappointment to come…  That evening after getting back home I opened my most recent Quebec Needs Alert and saw that there were numerous reports of a Common Ringed Plover that day.  I figured they must have come from far northern Quebec, until I opened one of the reports and found that the bird was at Baie Missisquoi.  Not only had I birded this same spot the previous day, but the Plover had spent the entire day there no more than an hour’s drive north of where I birded most unsuccessfully that day in VT.  It would have been a life bird!  Then I started to wonder if the Ringed Plover was present the day I was there, but just overlooked.  But since most all of the birds I saw were not found there the next day when the Plover was spotted, I imagine the bird was just a 1-day wonder. 

So although I’m happy to have added 6 birds to my Quebec province list, with a slightly different “alignment of the stars” I not only could have added a bird to my VT list but a life bird as well.