State Birding

Wednesday, June 25, 2025

Manitoba – The Final Frontier, Part 2 of 3, 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. To paraphrase the Star Trek intro – Manitoba, the final frontier. (Then again I haven’t yet birded Canada’s more distant and less accessible territories – Nunavut, Northwest, and Yukon.)

With an existing province list of just 61, 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.

I reached out to my good birding friends Bill and Anita Hooker who went with me on my trip to FL back in January 2025, and they agreed to come along on this trip as well. It was all 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.

This is the second of 3 blog posts summarizing the MB portion of the trip, covering June 2nd through the 5th.

6/2 – Riding Mountain National Park

Earlier in our trip Brandon birder Gillian Richards connected us with local Riding Mountain birder Ken Kingdon to see if he could help us out in the park. Better than that, Ken offered to show us around the morning of the 2nd, taking us to multiple stops north along Route 10.

Our first stop was a short walk along Gray Owl dump road. Here I added Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Cape May Warbler and Purple Finch. (MB #165-167) My Canadian province and territory map for Purple Finch is inserted below. Provinces where I’ve seen this species are shaded in light blue – I’ve now seen Purple Finch in all 10 provinces. Cross-hatched jurisdictions are those in the Purple Finch's regular range where I’ve yet to see it. I’ve never birded in Canada’s three northwestern territories (yet!) so none of these will be shaded in for any of my Canada maps.

However, I missed the Siskins that everyone else heard. Maybe I was distracted by the buzz of the hordes of mosquitoes. Hopefully that wouldn’t come back to haunt me.

Next, we continued north to Bead Lakes for a longer walk through excellent boreal habitat. It proved to be a great spot, with finds like Evening Grosbeak right in the parking lot, Hermit Thrush, Canada Jay, Canada Warbler, Mourning Warbler, Blue-headed Vireo, a heard-only Boreal Chickadee, Black-throated Green Warbler, and a calling Three-toed Woodpecker. (MB #168-174) Unfortunately we dipped on Winter Wren and Trumpeter Swan at an adjacent wetlands. Ken also pointed out this tree to us – a bear had not only removed the bark near the top of the picture, but it had also rubbed on the bark below leaving some dirt behind.

Our next stop was at the far north end of the park at Crawford Creek. I hadn’t picked out this site for a possible stop when I was planning the trip so I wasn’t sure what the targets might be here. As we got out of the cars Ken said that this location was a reliable spot for Golden-winged Warblers, and before we left the parking lot we were hearing one singing nearby (MB #175). We took a short walk and soon reached this classic Golden-winged habitat – an area of young deciduous trees with open grassy and shrubby patches.

Soon we got visuals on one male with 2 others singing a short distance away. I had planned to search for this species at a site on the eastern escarpment of the park – I didn’t realize they were at this site as well.

We turned around and started heading south, soon reaching our next stop at Moon Lake. Here we added 2 birds - a breeding plumage Bonaparte’s flew by just as we arrived, and we finally found Trumpeters Swans in the distance. (MB #176-177) We also took a short hike especially focused on Lincoln’s Sparrow and Wilson’s Warbler but with no luck.

Next we were on to the Boreal Trail, a site that has had quite a number of nice checklists in recent years. Although the gate was closed, we assumed it was OK to walk in and take a short hike. And we’re glad we did. Here I finally heard multiple Pine Siskins, then an Olive-sided Flycatcher singing softly in the distance. Then we focused on the willows and alders lining this fast-flowing stream and added both Lincoln’s Sparrow and Wilson’s Warbler.

Then Bill got a brief look at a very dark woodpecker – sure sounded like it could be a Black-backed but we needed better looks. Eventually we all got great looks at not one but 3 Black-backed Woodpeckers. Seems early in the year to be a family group. Could it be a small breeding colony? (MB #178-182)

Our last stop of the morning was at a marsh just south of the park where Ken had had LeConte’s Sparrows recently. The marsh and adjacent meadows seemed drier than normal – perhaps too dry for LeConte’s. We listened intently for a while, and played some tape, but with no luck. It was actually quite windy now, so we decided to come back in the evening to try again when the winds would hopefully be calmer.

We thanked Ken for all his help in getting us on some great birds that morning, hoping that we might cross paths again some day.

After a quick lunch we decided to head to the west of the park, first to check out a report of 2 Connecticut Warblers. Ken said that COWAs were not likely in the park anymore, so we were a bit skeptical. The checklist area had some good habitat, but we couldn’t scare up a Connecticut.

Then we were on to the dam at the south end of Lake Audy. The area was quite birdy, and our first addition was a flock of 25 or so American White Pelicans on the north shore of the lake very far in the distance. Good thing Pelicans are so large because they could have been as much as 2 miles away! Much closer were several flyby Forster’s Terns followed by 2 Common Terns. Six Trumpeter Swans were a nice sighting as they swam by. (If only a 7th bird had joined them, we’d have had “7 swans a swimming”.) And minutes later an Osprey and Bald Eagle flew by. (MB #183-186) Finally, not new for my list, but still a nice find, was this Red-necked Grebe on its floating nest.

And as we drove from Lake Audy we encountered this Bear walking down the road shoulder right past us. At this distance it’s nice to see the bear from the safety of a car.

That evening we went back to the marsh for another try for LeConte’s Sparrow. Even though winds had greatly reduced, we still couldn’t turn up a LeConte’s. Maybe water levels were just too low this year. Next we planned to head to the area east of Lake Katherine for Woodcocks. We were a bit early when we arrived in the area, so we headed to Lake Katherine and had a spectacular nighthawk show over the lake. That was the highlight of the evening because we had no luck with the Woodcocks.

I ended the day with 22 new species for my province list, bringing my MB total to 186. Closing in on 200…

6/3 – Riding Mountain NP

This day was focused on sites along Route 19 on the eastern side of Riding Mountain. My first key stop was at a stream-lined with willows, hoping for looks at Lincoln’s Sparrow or Wilson’s Warbler. Unfortunately, those targets remained elusive, but I did have a Red-breasted Nuthatch calling in the distance (MB #187). Ken had told us that the lack of a cone crop in the Park this year meant that Red-breasted Nuthatches (along with Crossbills) were very scarce, so I was happy to get this one.

A bit further down the road I had a Pileated Woodpecker calling in the distance – the first for the trip but not new for my list. And as I neared Whirlpool Lake I spotted the first of 3 Wild Turkeys ambling along the road shoulder (MB #188).

Soon afterwards I reached Whirlpool Lake and the woodlands near the parking lot were quite birdy, including 13 species of warblers. Plus this “scruffy” Canada Jay.

And the lake itself was very pretty.

I doubled back to Lake Katherine and did some quick birding along the trails there. The highlight of this stop was an Olive-sided Flycatcher characteristically perched on top of the tallest dead snag.

Our last stop of the day was along Clear Lake where we heard another Boreal Chickadee though couldn’t get any visuals. We called it quits early that day, taking the late afternoon off.

I finished the day with 2 additional species, bringing my MB list to 188.

6/4 – Riding Mountain, Portage-la-Prairie

The plan for the morning was to bird the East Escarpment of Riding Mountain along Route 361 out of McCreary. But first we had to take a picture of the formal east entrance to the park.

Our key target along the East Escarpment had been Golden-winged Warbler, but of course we already found this one at the north end of the park. Our other 2 remaining targets were Indigo Bunting and Eastern Towhee, both near the northern edge of their ranges. Gillian had suggested a trail to take to find both targets, along with the Golden-winged. So that trail was our first stop, and almost immediately after getting out of the car at the trailhead we heard a singing Eastern Towhee. And then seconds later a singing Indigo in this habitat. That was easy…

We took a short walk along the trail adding a flyby Ruby-throated Hummingbird (MB #189-191) and an additional Indigo. We didn’t have any Golden-wings though – good thing we got them earlier. Though I’m sure we would have birded more of the trail if we still needed this target.

Next we headed to the former ski slope at end of the road. One of our first observations here was of a mid-sized mammal walking up one of the slopes – perhaps a mink?

Notable birds here were a cooperative Blackburnian Warbler, and another flyby Hummingbird. It was interesting to imagine this spot during its skiing hay day. Our last stop in the area was a short hike on the Oak Ridge Trail, with a half dozen Least Flycatchers being most notable,

After 3 ½ days at Riding Mountain NP, we were off to the Portage-la-Prairie area. Gillian had helped to connect us with Cal Cuthbert who was a local birding expert in that area. Not only does he know the area extremely well, he has an amazing property with widely diverse habitats and great birds. But first, Cal took us to the Portage-la-Prairie landfill which is well-known for its gull flock and the potential for rarities mixed in. When we arrived, we drove right up on the landfill, and had just an estimated 60 Herrings, 40 Ring-bills, and 10 Franklin’s. That didn’t seem like enough critical mass to have any rarities, but we quickly picked up at least 4 immature Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 2 adult Californias, and this stunning immature Glaucous photographed by Anita. (MB #192-194)

MB was my 5th province where I've seen Lesser Black-backed Gull - 4 of which as rarities (the dark blue shaded provinces in my map below).

Plus, we had one bird that I thought was a Thayer’s but eBird reviewers said it was a Herring. Unfortunately, I didn’t get on the Thayer’s that Cal spotted when we first arrived.

After a most successful time at the landfill, Cal took us to a private location where he had Saw-whet Owls nesting in a nest box.

We were lucky enough that this juvenile bird was peering out of the box when we arrived (MB #195).

Next Cal took us to the Delta Beach area at the southern end of Lake Manitoba. Here we witnessed a spectacular shorebird show thanks to Cal taking us to numerous secluded vantage points along the beach. At each stop along the lake there were hundreds of shorebirds foraging in front of us, and an almost constant movement of birds heading west in waves along the shoreline. We estimated at least 5,000 birds were included, mostly Semipalmated and White-rumped Sandpipers among the 14 species of shorebirds. Here’s a typical shot with Semis, White-rumps, and a Sanderling in the foreground, and a pair of Caspian Terns in the background (one Tern is standing directly behind the other – can you see the 4 legs?).

By the end of the afternoon I had added 3 new MB species – 2 Red Knots (MB #196), 2 Caspian Terns (MB #197 – the old ABA reporting threshold for MB), and 32 Black-bellied Plovers (MB #198). But nearly all were chased away by a Peregrine (MB #199) – at least now we don’t have to spend time trying for that one in downtown Winnipeg.

We ended up with 101 species for the day, including 14 species added to my province list which now sits at 199.

6/5 – Portage-la-Prairie

We met up with Cal early that morning and he took us to a wet grassy field that had been good for LeConte’s Sparrow in the past.

Unfortunately, the local drought meant the field was drier than normal, but with the help of some tape we eventually found LeConte’s - in fact we got great views.

That brought my MB list to 200 – my original goal for the trip. And we hadn’t even reached Churchill yet.

Then Cal took us to a large lot heavily wooded with mature oak trees at the Young Husband Lodge, in hopes of finding White-breasted Nuthatch.

We not only were successful in finally finding the Nuthatch, but also had views of, and heard, a Great Horned Owl. And as we were leaving the lot 4 Sandhill Cranes flew overhead. (MB #201-203)

We went back to Cal’s amazing yard where we walked several trails and ended the visit with some leisurely birding on the back deck.

We bid farewell to Cal, and couldn’t thank him enough for his help and allowing us to visit his amazing property.

The it was off to Winnipeg where I had 3 possible targets – Cooper’s Hawk, Cardinal, and Red-bellied Woodpecker. All had been seen several times recently at multiple parks in the city, but local directions were limited for almost all of them. I decided to try Bunn’s Creek Centennial Park as perhaps the best bet, and we headed there for a late afternoon visit. Unfortunately, we dipped on all 3 targets, but we added an unexpected singing Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (MB #204).

I added 5 to my province list for the day, bringing my MB total to 204.

Manitoba – The Final Frontier, Part 1 of 3, May-June 2025

I reached out to my good birding friends Bill and Anita Hooker who went with me on my trip to FL back in January 2025, and they agreed to come along on this trip as well. It was all coming together.

One last big picture decision to make was whether to include a trip to Churchill in our MB itinerary. I’ve heard so much about Churchill over the decades, starting back in the late 1900’s when Ross’s Gulls nested there. I know Ross’s haven’t been seen there in a while, but birding continues to be great there. So we talked ourselves into making the extra round-trip flights from Winnipeg to Churchill, though it made for a pricey add-on to the trip.

These next 3 blog posts summarize the MB portion of the trip, with this post summarizing our birding efforts from May 29th through June 1st. The previous post summarized the MN and ND legs of the trip.

5/29 – Southwest MB – Grasslands

The MB grasslands are located in the far southwestern corner of the province. After a morning of birding in eastern ND, and a 4-hour drive to reach MB, we knew we wouldn’t be reaching the area until mid-afternoon on the 29th, which wouldn’t be the best time to listen for singing prairie birds. Instead, we would go to the best prairie spots early the next morning, and look for a couple specific non-singing targets on the afternoon of the 29th – Burrowing Owl and Ferruginous Hawk. Burrowing Owls are exceptionally rare in MB, and their locations are a well-kept secret. But most sightings in previous years appeared to be in the Broomhill area so that would be our target search area. On the other hand, our other target, Ferruginous Hawk, has nested for several years at a well-known location in the grasslands.

We arrived at the border at 2:30 PM, and as we were being interviewed by a Canadian customs officer we were serenaded by a Least Flycatcher and a Western Kingbird. That’s a nice initiation to MB! My Canadian province and territory map for Least Flycatcher is inserted below. Provinces where I’ve seen this species are shaded in light blue – I’ve now seen Least Flycatcher in all 10 provinces. Cross-hatched jurisdictions are those in the Least Flycatcher’s regular range where I’ve yet to see it. I’ve never birded in Canada’s three northwestern territories (yet!) so none of these will be shaded in for any of my Canada maps.

We then started our drive to Broomhill through farming country with patches of prairie and wetlands. With just 61 species on my province list, most everything we saw was new. We picked up a few dabbling ducks, Coot, Pied-billed Grebe and Black Tern in pothole ponds. And added Swainson’s Hawk, Western Meadowlark, and Bobolink foraging in the fields. Plus some typical “road” birds like Mourning Dove and Brewer’s Blackbirds. By the time we reached the Broomhill WMA I had added 17 new province birds, bringing the total to 78.

We drove around the roads in the WMA looking for overgrazed fields with animal burrows where Burrowing Owls might be taking up residence. We first found one overgrazed cattle pasture in the distance but saw no holes or dirt mounds. Then after a bit more driving, we came upon what looked like the perfect field – overgrazed with little vegetation, and a colony of ground squirrels with quite a number of burrows. But despite extensive scanning we couldn’t locate any little Owls. As of mid-June there are still no sightings of Burrowing Owl in the province with the exception of one in April far east of the grasslands.

But not all was lost as we searched for the Owls, as we added 17 new species to my MB list while driving through the area. Key additions were birds of the prairie like Upland Sandpiper, Willet, Horned Lark, and Vesper, Clay-colored, and Grasshopper Sparrows. That brought my list to 95.

Next we were on to the site of the Ferruginous Hawk nest, mentioned in several eBird reports as located in a nearby cottonwood. There were only a couple cottonwoods at the site, so it didn’t take long to locate the large stick nest. Here’s a distant shot of one of the adults on the nest. The haze in the picture is from thick smoke that was in the air due to the many forest fires ongoing throughout MB.

As we situated ourselves to get a better look we flushed a Sharp-tailed Grouse that surprisingly landed high in the same cottonwood where the Ferruginous nest was located. And finally, a perched pair of dark-phased Red-tailed Hawks in the distance was a nice find. (MB #96-98)

With our birding done for the day, we headed into the little town of Melita to check into our hotel. Our two key targets in Melita were Eurasian Collared-Dove and Chimney Swift, both near the edge of their ranges. As we drove through town I noticed a bird perched on top of a telephone pole, which a quick binocular view revealed to be the Dove. Collared-Doves are considered to be a rarity in MB per Sibley's range maps. Hence the reason why it's shaded using a darker blue color as compared to lighter blue in the western provinces where this species is regular.

A bit later we spotted Swifts flying around the town museum, which not surprisingly has a large chimney. While riding around town we added several others like Purple Martin, Starling, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, and Ring-necked Pheasant. (MB #99-107)

While riding out of town we spotted this statue. We were told that summers in Melita are warmer than anywhere else in MB. So warm in fact, that you could grow bananas there. At least that’s what we were told.

In our late afternoon of birding in MB we had 63 species, adding 46 species to my province list. And including our initial stops in ND, we had 112 species for the day.

5/30 – Second Day of Grasslands with Nearby Riparian Areas

For our big day of grassland birding we headed to a roughly 4-mile by 2-mile area west of the small town of Lyleton. In the last few years this area has had the greatest concentration of our target species, though there had just been 1 or 2 checklists so far this year. On the way to the area, we spotted a couple Gray Partridges along the roadside – a very nice start.

Soon we arrived at Road 4N, with excellent prairie habitat on both sides. And after a short ride we spotted the first of several Chestnut-collared Longspurs. Finally, 1 sat cooperatively on the fence just a short distance away for photos. As I admired this gorgeous bird I noticed something white moving in the grass in the background. I changed my focus and realized that the moving white objects were the tails of dancing Sharp-tailed Grouse. We had just found a large lek! Here’s a shot of the prairie where the Grouse were displaying in the distance.

As we watched the Grouse dancing I picked up 2 singing Baird’s Sparrows on the other side of the road. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get any visuals of them. A bit further on we heard a Sprague’s Pipit calling high overhead. And with a bit of work I was able to spot a second silent bird hovering well above us. As we were leaving the area we lucked onto a Loggerhead Shrike perched on the fence, giving us a clean sweep of our prairie targets. Rounding out our additions for the morning were Brown Thrasher and Cedar Waxwing in small wooded islands, and a Wood Duck in a nearby pond. I've now seen Wood Duck in each province in its regular range except Alberta, plus I've seen it as a rarity in Newfoundland.

That gave me 8 new species, bringing the MB total to 115.

Next, we visited a number of riparian areas along the Souris River that can form nice oases of trees surrounded by the prairie. By far the best stop was at Coulter Park. The site has quite some history, as reported by the Manitoba Historical Society Archives – “In November 1928, pioneer Francis Coulter donated to the Arthur Pioneers Association this site south of Melita where he had settled, in April 1882. It became known as Coulter Park, or Sourisford Park, after the nearby crossing on the Souris River.”

The heavily wooded site was quite birdy, starting with the Say’s Phoebe we saw right in the road as we arrived, along with calling Willow Flycatchers. This is one of the few places to find these species in the province. We also added Yellow-throated Vireo, Orchard Oriole, Great Crested Flycatcher, Great Blue Heron and Rough-winged Swallow to my MB list. (MB #116-122)

On an evening walk in the heavily wooded Gerald W. Malaher PWMA I didn’t add anything new for my list. But I did have a calling Merlin, confirmed by Merlin. (I’ve always secretly wanted to have Merlin identify a calling Merlin.)

Although we quit birding in the heat at lunchtime (remember that Melita Banana Belt story?), we still had 75 species for the day, and I added 15 to my province list, bringing the total to 122.

5/31 – Whitewater Lake, Oak Lake

This was our first of 2 key days on our trip for waterfowl, shorebirds, and other wetland species. While doing eBird research on Whitewater and Oak Lakes I reached out to local birder Sandy Hominick for birding advice. And she in turn connected me with Gillian Richards. Gillian is a regional reviewer and knows the area like the back of her hand. But better than just giving us advice, Gillian offered to bird with us around the area – an offer that would prove to be invaluable to us. Gillian would bring Sandy and their friend Jackie Dixon along as well, giving us lots of eyes to look for our targets.

Our birding started in the parking lot of our Melita hotel with a calling Kingfisher (MB #123). Then after a short drive, we arrived at our meeting place along the west side of Whitewater Lake, with extensive mudflats that were loaded with shorebirds. This was just the first of many stops that Gillian led us to around Whitewater Lake. Here’s one of the best shorebird spots on the north side of Whitewater Lake.

And a shot of the flats at Sexton’s Point that were also full of shorebirds.

By the time we were done birding in and around the wetlands on both the north and south sides of Whitewater Lake I had added 25 new species. Of our 18 species of waterfowl key additions included Eared and Horned Grebes, Ruddy Duck, American Wigeon, Ross’s and Snow Geese. And our 17 species of shorebirds featured these additions - Avocet, Sanderling, Dunlin, Red-necked Phalarope, Stilt Sand, Baird’s and Pectoral. Gulls and Terns were represented by Ring-billed, California, and Forster’s. And passerines included Nelson’s Sparrow and Lark Sparrow. (MB #124-149)

Next, we were onto the Bethel Road woodlands where as predicted we added breeding Red-headed Woodpecker. Here’s one of Anita’s pictures of the Woodpecker.

Plus we heard, or should I say “felt”, a drumming Ruffed Grouse (MB #150-151)

Our last few stops of the day were around Oak Lake where I added Western Grebe and White-faced Ibis to my province list (MB #152-153). And I couldn’t pass on pictures of this distant but cooperative Red-necked Grebe, even if it wasn’t a new species.

We ended the day with 106 species, including 31 new birds for my MB list, now standing at 153. I can’t thank Gillian, Sandy, and Jackie enough for all their help! We would never have been able to find all those great birding spots, and great birds, on our own.

6/1 – Brandon, Riding Mountain NP

We were lucky enough to have Gillian and Sandy offer to show us around the Brandon area the morning of the 1st. But before we could make it out of the hotel parking lot I added a new bird - a singing House Finch (MB #154).

Our first stop was the Wesman Salvage hotspot where we picked up a rare Red-breasted Merganser which had been spotted there recently (MB #155).

Next, we headed to Douglas Marsh, home of the Yellow Rail. I couldn’t resist taking this picture of the Douglas Marsh sign with the morning sun eerily shining through the heavy smoke from nearby forest fires. We probably should have worn masks.

It was a long shot, but we played some tape anyway hoping for a Yellow Rail to respond. We also tried Le Conte’s Sparrow but with no luck. Sure looks like a nice marsh though.

Our next stop was the Douglas quarry with its many manmade ponds and lakes. At one of our first stops we were lucky enough to have an American Bittern fly overhead (MB #156). Later we found a second one along a small stream. Plus we got nice looks at this Bank Swallow colony.

Our last stops of the morning were along the Glenboro bluebird box trail where we hoped for both Eastern and Mountain Bluebirds. But our first addition was a singing Eastern Wood-Pewee. Later we finally ran into our first Eastern Bluebirds, and eventually a nesting pair of Mountain Bluebirds. (MB #157-159) Here’s a distant shot of one of the Mountain Bluebirds in the smoky haze.

And a picture of a most cooperative Lark Sparrow – not a new one but still an attractive bird.

It was now time for us to leave the southern tier of MB and start heading north to Riding Mountain NP. We couldn’t thank Gillian and Sandy enough for all their help putting us on so many birds over the last day and a half! Here's a shot of the 3 of us - very happy birders!

We arrived at Riding Mountain in the mid-afternoon heat (though at least the smoke had abated). After a short break at the hotel rooms, we took a stroll around the property picking up Dark-eyed Junco and Common Nighthawk. (MB #160-161) Then a quick ride around town and the Wasagaming Campground yielded some nice warblers like Magnolia (MB #162) and multiple Tennessees and Blackburnians.

Next we were off to the trails around Ominnik Marsh, where we picked up Virginia Rail (MB #163) but couldn’t find the recently reported nesting Trumpeter Swans. Would we need a return trip to find them?

And our last new species of the day was a pair of Common Mergansers swimming in the waves of Clear Lake in the distance (MB #164).

We finished the day with 90 species, adding 11 to my province list, now standing at 164.

Tuesday, June 24, 2025

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…

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.)