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.)

Washington Portion of the Northwest Sagebrush Country Trip, May-June 2023

In January 2016 an armed group of protesters seized and occupied the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon.  By the time the occupation was over in February 2016, there was a considerable amount of destruction of the refuge facilities, resulting in closure of the headquarters facilities for months.  Unfortunately, I had planned a summer 2016 birding trip to the sagebrush country of eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and southern Idaho to include a lengthy stop at Malheur NWR.  But given the issues at Malheur I shelved those plans and headed to Alberta and British Columbia that summer instead. 

But my interests in birding eastern OR, eastern WA, and southern ID continued as this was the last large section of the Lower 48 that I had not yet birded.  And a new part of the country for me would equate to considerable statebirding potential.  So after further delays first due to moving, and then due to Covid, I finally got around to scheduling the OR/WA/ID sagebrush country trip for the summer of 2023.  Plus I added a short side-trip to the South Hills of ID for Cassia Crossbill.  I reached out to birding friend David Donsker who often joins me on these trips, and he agreed to come along. 

After considerable research on-line especially on eBird, and with invaluable advice from a number of local birders, I set up an 11-day itinerary from May 24th to June 3rd, starting in southern ID, then into eastern OR, next into southeastern WA, then back to ID for flights back home.  Plus I reached out to long-time WA birding buddy Blair Bernson for his advice.  He also helped me connect with local expert birders Mike and MerryLynn Denny and Phil Bartley who provided excellent advice to bird southeastern WA.  Given the potential statebirds in the area I hoped to add perhaps 12 new birds in WA.

But simply adding a lot of statebirds wasn’t my only objective for the trip.  Years ago, the ABA allowed you to report your totals for a given state only if your total exceeded half of the total number of species ever recorded in that state.  Early in my birding career I had set a goal to be able to report my totals to the ABA in each of the continental 49 states.  Eventually I exceeded those thresholds in each state except one – OR, for which I exceeded the threshold on this trip.  Although those ABA reporting thresholds no longer exist, they still represent a logical set of standards to strive for in each state. 

But the state totals inch up over the years as new birds are added to the official state list.  As a result, I set a somewhat arbitrary goal of being 15 over those old ABA thresholds (I call it “ABA plus 15”).  I started the 2023 trip with 267 species in WA, 19 over the old ABA reportable threshold of 248, and 4 over my ABA plus 15 threshold of 263.  But WA has added so many birds to its state list in recent years that as of October 2022 the official state list has risen to 522.  Half that total is 261 – simply being 15 over the old ABA threshold may not be enough to stay over half the state total for much longer.

So adding enough WA birds to stay comfortably above half their state list was a secondary objective for this trip. 

This blog post presents a summary of the WA portion of the trip.  My previous posts briefly summarized the entire trip and detailed the ID and OR portions.

Day 7 – May 30 - Drive to Walla Walla

My initial plan was to have Walla Walla as our home base for most of our WA birding.  While there we would stay at the home of a good friend of David’s, Alan Peterson.  But since my first birding spots were to the west in the Tri-Cities area, we decided that I would make those stops on my own after dropping David off at Alan’s house.  On Day 7 of our trip, after a morning of birding in northeastern OR, we arrived in the Walla Walla area mid-afternoon.  I then dropped off David and was off to WE Johnson Park in Benton County to meet up with Blair.  This spot was suggested by Blair because of the potential to see Black-chinned Hummingbird at private feeders adjacent to the park, and Yellow-breasted Chats in the park nearby. 

But even before I left Walla Walla I spotted my first WA statebird – a Swainson’s Hawk flying along the roadway.  My statebird map for this species is inserted below.  Blue-shaded states are those where I’ve seen this western species; the cross-hatched states are those in its regular range where I’ve yet to see it.

When I arrived at the park Blair was waiting for me at the edge of the private yard with lovely gardens and most importantly a pair of hummingbird feeders.  Just minutes before I arrived he had both a Black-chinned at the feeder and a Chat perched prominently in the park next door.  Now we just had to wait for them both to return.  We waited a while for the Hummer but with no luck, so we decided to take a short walk into the park.  And after a few minutes we started to hear a Chat though it was being bashful and never popped out into the open (WA statebird #2).  WA was my last western state for this species – I just need it in a couple Midwest states near the northern edge of its range.  And I’ve seen it in 4 New England states shaded in brown as a rarity.

With that one out of the way we headed back to the yard and continued our vigil for the Black-chinned.  After a while with no activity we thought about calling it quits.  And then we noticed the homeowner had come out to her front yard and we struck up a conversation with her.  She invited us into her back yard where we could have a better view of the feeders while standing in the shade on that hot day.  And within just a few minutes we had a female come to the feeder and nearby flowers (WA statebird #3).  And a couple minutes later a male arrived and proceeded to go through its elaborate “U” shaped courtship display.  Quite amazing to watch and glad we waited.  Here’s a picture of part of the gardens with the Black-chinned perched at the top of the bare snag with the park in the background.

Afterwards we made a feeble attempt to try for Grasshopper Sparrow and Chukar seen nearby last year, but realized the locations given in eBird weren’t sufficiently detailed.  So we decided to call it quits for the day and we’d meet up again the next morning.

Day 8 – May 31 – Benton County and Tri-Cities

I was on my own on my first stop of the day in excellent sagebrush habitat south of Rattlesnake Mountain in Benton County.  Phil had given me great advice for finding my targets at this location, and I mapped out a route through the sagebrush to get to all the suggested spots.  I started there pre-dawn along Rotha Road on the off-chance that I could run into a Poorwill reported there in previous years, even though Phil said they were no longer possible there.  I should have listened to Phil as I struck on the Poorwills though I had 24 individual Horned Larks sitting on the road in front of me – couldn’t turn any of them into a resting Poorwill.  I also heard numerous Common Nighthawks overhead.  Plus, in the light of my headlights 3 different Lark Sparrows flushed from the roadway (WA statebird #4) – a nice bird for a nocturnal list.  WA was the last western state where I still needed this species, though I’ve seen it in 8 eastern states as a rarity.

It was now closing in on sunrise so I drove to the Rothrock Rd. parking lot hotspot where Sagebrush Sparrow is quite regular.  While I waited for the sky to brighten I got this nice picture of the sun about to rise over the sagebrush.

I then positioned myself at the eastern edge of the parking lot and listened for my target Sparrow.  I just had to wait a few seconds before I started to hear a Sagebrush Sparrow singing (WA statebird #5).  And within a couple minutes I could hear 3 different birds singing from throughout the sea of sagebrush.  Although I was able to add this species to my lists in all 3 states I covered on this trip, I still need it in 4 other western states.

Next I tried walking along the grassy shoulder just north of the parking lot for Gray Partridge but this species continued to elude me. 

I went back to the car to warm up a bit (temps were in the low 40s – 50 degrees colder than yesterday’s high) thinking I had now seen all my potential statebirds that I could in this habitat.  But then I started to wonder why I needed Sagebrush Sparrow in WA but not Sage Thrasher.  Since this was my first time birding in this habitat in WA I bet I needed Sage Thrasher as well.  Luckily I had just enough cell reception to allow me to pull up my WA statelist on eBird and sure enough I was missing Sage Thrasher.  Good thing I realized this before leaving.  I quickly pulled up Phil’s e-mail and noticed he suggested the swails around the intersection of Crooks and Franks Roads as a possible spot for the Thrasher.  I drove over to Phil’s suggested spot and had no sooner gotten out of the car when I could hear a Sage Thrasher in song (WA statebird #6).  Once again luck was on my side to add this species to my WA list.  Here’s the lush vegetation from which the Thrasher was singing.

It was now time to connect with Blair and the Denny’s who agreed to show me around for the morning in the Tri-Cities area.  So I started my drive south out of the sagebrush and had only gone a couple miles when I noticed a sparrow perched on a bush near the road.  I pulled to a stop and found it to be a White-crowned Sparrow, the only one of the trip.  And then I heard another singing Sagebrush Sparrow.  While I was trying to track down the Sparrow I heard some “chuck” calls behind me.  I turned just in time to see a Chukar crossing the road behind me (WA statebird #7).  That was a most unlikely spot for a Chukar with no exposed rocks in the area.  Another lucky find, and the 5th state where I’ve seen this species.

Now I was truly leaving and set off to Hood Park in Walla Walla County to meet Blair and the Denny’s.  We weren’t planning to bird there, but while waiting in the parking lot I spotted an Eastern Kingbird in the distance, the first of many (WA statebird #8).  I’ve now seen this species in each state in its range except for NV.

Our first stop with the Denny’s was the Peninsula Unit of McNary NWR.  Our key birding spot there was a small peninsula that afforded good views of the Columbia River.  My key targets here were Terns, with Forster’s being the most likely and with outside chances for Common and Black.  We were able to quickly find a small group of 7 Forster’s Terns perched together in the distance (WA statebird #9).  WA was the last state in which I needed Forster’s Tern in its regular range across the US.

We were also able to pick up several Caspian Terns, but no other small terns.  We stayed at this spot for about an hour, picking up 37 species including a rare male Common Goldeneye, before heading off to our next stop.

And that next spot was an eBird hotspot known as the Tyson Blood Ponds.  These “ponds” are at the edge of a very large cattle feed lot, which apparently accept wastewaters generated from slaughtering the cows.  Although the pond appeared to be solid, the gray material is actually fats floating on the surface.  Not surprisingly the area was rather aromatic. 

We didn’t stay here long, but were able to quickly pick up 2 Black-necked Stilts likely breeding here (WA statebird #10), along with an Avocet.  Just one more state to go in the Stilt’s regular range, though I’ve seen it in 5 states in the northeast as a rarity. 

Our next stop was the Port of Walulla with more views of the Columbia River.  Here we picked out both Clark’s and Western Grebes, and more Caspian Terns, but found no new target birds.

Then we took a short drive south along the river to a steep cliff face to look for White-throated Swifts.  Mike Denny mentioned to look for them flying in one of the gaps between two parts of the cliff and sure enough there they were, flying among the Violet-green Swallows.  Although that wasn’t a target bird for me in WA, I needed it for my OR list.  Just a few days earlier I had an unsuccessful search for White-throated Swifts on a very similar cliff south of Malheur NWR in OR.  Ironically the Swifts we were looking at were only about a mile from the OR stateline.  Statebirding is like that sometimes…

Next we were on to another hotspot in McNary NWR called Millet and Woodland Ponds.  The Denny’s had a Wilson’s Phalarope there 2 days earlier, so I was hopeful we would be successful with that target.  We parked in the small parking lot for the site and began to walk through some cottonwood and riparian vegetation toward the ponds.  One of our first birds was a Common Nighthawk perched on a horizontal branch – always a nice find.  Then a short distance ahead a small bird flew in to feed on some grasses just a short distance away – it was a Lesser Goldfinch (WA statebird #11).  WA was my last state in which to see this species in its regular range.

When we arrived at the wetlands we all scoped from numerous angles but could not come up with a Phalarope.  Perhaps it was feeding back in the brush out of view.  Though we did find 6 species of dabblers and a couple more Stilts.

It was now lunchtime and we had pretty much covered all the possible locations for my target statebirds in the Tri-Cities area.  And it was time for the Denny’s to move on, so I thanked them for all their help for our morning searches.

What to do next?  I had thought that the locations we birded that morning would take all day to cover, so I had quite a bit of free time on my hands.  Blair mentioned that a Wilson’s Phalarope and a rare White-faced Ibis had been recently seen at an eBird hotspot named Para Ponds.  Plus Tricolored Blackbirds are possible there.  With a bit of eBird research I found Para Ponds and reports of as many as 4 Phalaropes as recently as 2 days earlier, and both the Ibis and Tricolored Blackbirds were last seen 3 days earlier.  It was only about an hour’s drive to get there, and I had spare time and statebird potential, so I was off to Para Ponds.

Para Ponds are located in a broad area of wetlands just north of the little town of Othello in Adams County.  Just after coming through the town the road descended down a pretty considerable hill into the valley and the wetlands beyond.  I parked on the shoulder at the edge of the Ponds and started my search.  On my first scan I hoped for a large dark wader but just found a Great Blue and a couple Great Egrets.  Then a quick scan of the mudflats just netted a Spotted Sandpiper and a few Killdeer.  This was going to be difficult…

Over the next hour I viewed the ponds from as many different angles as possible, but couldn’t come up with any of my targets.  There were a few dabbling ducks in the ponds, but considerably less waterfowl than in the previous checklists, so I wondered if water levels had dropped enough that the Phalarope and Ibis were no longer interested in this spot.  I was getting ready to leave when a Blackbird flew by just a few feet away.  Even without binoculars I could see that it had a bright white band on the shoulder and there was no red visible – it was a male Tricolored Blackbird (WA statebird #12).  Later I found another make feeding along the water’s edge, and then came upon a flock of 5 males on another bank, along with a flyby female.  Here is a distant photo of several on the shore. 

I’ve now seen Tricolored Blackbird in each state in its regular range, including in isolated colonies in OR, NV, and now WA.  That’s quite a nice range expansion for a species that was once thought to breed only in CA.

After looking at the Blackbirds I spent more time searching for my other targets but still came up empty.  Little did I know that another birder would see a Phalarope there that evening.  Ugh…

My last realistic statebird target of the day was Wild Turkey.  There were numerous eBird reports of Turkeys throughout the Walla Walla area so I was cautiously optimistic.  But Turkeys can be difficult to find since there aren’t often specific locations where they are very reliable.  But the Denny’s mentioned that they are often seen at the Whitman Mission National Historic Site near Walla Walla.  That was right on my way back to Alan’s place and reconnecting with David so it would make for an easy stop.  I arrived at 4:30 and went into the visitors’ center to see if anyone had suggestions for finding Turkeys at the park.  One of the park employees said that the Turkeys are most often seen there at sunrise and sunset, and that she had seen them most anywhere in the park.  I took a quick stroll around without seeing any Turkeys, so I headed out to get dinner and come back later that evening.  Unfortunately, I still came up empty.  Maybe I’ll be luckier at dawn the next day.

Day 9 – June 1 – Biscuit Ridge Road

David and I had one key stop this day, and that was to bird our way up Biscuit Ridge Road.  We left Alan’s place around sunrise and as we walked toward the car we could hear a Wild Turkey gobbling (WA statebird #13).  That was easy – I shouldn’t have spent so much time looking for them the previous day.  I just need this species in 5 more states across the country.

Fresh from finding one new gallinaceous bird for my statelist, we reminded ourselves that Alan sometimes sees Gray Partridges on his property.  As we headed down the hill through Alan’s property we paused briefly at the hedgerow where he often sees them, then continued very slowly down the hill watching the grasses nearby.  And just then we spotted the head of a Gray Partridge sticking up above the grass (WA statebird #14).  We continued to watch it walk slowly along feeding on seeds at the top of the blades of grasses.  And just a couple minutes later it walked back into the grass and was once again out of view.  Here’s the grassy field the Partridge was walking through.

WA is only the 6th state where I’ve seen this elusive species.

And then as we left Alan’s property we heard a California Quail calling and saw a Pheasant on the road side – that gave us 4 gallinaceous species in less than 5 minutes!  Then just a mile away we passed by this flock of Turkeys in a farm field.  I really shouldn’t have stressed so much over this species!

After a short drive we reached the base of Biscuit Ridge Road where our two key targets were Veery and Green-tailed Towhee.  We started our climb up through scattered houses often tucked into nice riparian habitat.  We kept our ears open for Veerys but couldn’t make frequent stops among all the houses.  Then a couple miles uphill there was a break in the houses with some nice riparian habitat nearby so we made this one of our first key stops.  And sure enough we soon heard a couple singing Veerys (WA statebird #15).  Nice to fill in the northwest portion of my statebird map for this thrush one might think of as an eastern species.

 As we continued uphill we heard quite a number of singing flycatchers, most notably 3 different “Western” Flycatchers.  Although the songs sounded the same to me, Merlin repeatedly ID’d 2 of them as Cordillerans, and 1 as a Pacific-slope.  Many birders in the region don’t agree with the 1989 split of these species given the similarities between their songs and plumage, particularly in southeastern WA.  Plus there is a proposal for the AOU to re-lump these 2 species later in 2023.  As a result, I decided to enter all 3 as Pacific-Slope/Cordilleran Flycatchers in my eBird checklist. 

We were some 9 or 10 miles up the road when we ran into a couple of other birders heading upslope as well.  They too were looking for Green-tailed Towhee, in their case for their year lists, since this was just about the only spot to find them in all of WA.  They had seen the Towhee here before, and knew their preferred habitat as isolated patches of thick brush on grassy slopes high up on Biscuit Ridge.  Luckily they let us join them on their search, and we followed them for several miles while the road entered into nice Ponderosa pine habitat.  But our target was the Towhee, so we passed by the pines and pulled over in a spot where the slope below us to the southwest was grass-covered but had patches of thick brush.  At our first stop we had no Towhees, but did find this mother bear and two cubs in the distance.

We drove a bit farther up the road and stopped at areas of similar habitat.  And this time we had success, hearing at least 1 and maybe 2 singing Green-tailed Towhees singing below us (WA statebird #16).  One was singing from the brush in the middle of this picture.  And the scenery was nice as well!

We also had a MacGillivray’s Warbler that perched up nicely in the distance long enough to get this phonescoped photo.

On our way back down the ridge we birded the Ponderosa pine habitat and had species like Red Crossbill, Cassin’s Finch, and Red-breasted Nuthatch.  Plus we were treated to more nice scenery of the valley below us to the west.

We left Biscuit Ridge Road about 11 AM and once again had spare time on our hands.  So we decided to take a drive north to Harder Spring in Franklin County where a colony of Tricolored Blackbirds were breeding.  This spot turned out to be an isolated oasis consisting of a wetlands covered in cattails and surrounded by riparian vegetation.  As soon as we arrived we spotted numerous blackbirds flying between the wetlands and the desert.  Upon closer look nearly all of these turned out to be Tricolored Blackbirds foraging out in the sagebrush desert to look for food to feed their young.  I wondered how sustainable a colony of this size could be, not only since the parents had to fly so far to find food, but also to have to look for that food in the desert vegetation.  Must be a tough existence.  In any case, we got good views of both the females that were darker than female Red-wings, and the males with their white-trimmed shoulder patch that only occasionally showed any red plumage.  We also ran into an Olive-sided Flycatcher perched in a tree at the oasis.  A nice way to end our day and to end the WA portion of the trip.

Conclusion

The WA portion of our trip featured 112 species, most importantly including 16 new statebirds, much better than the 12 I hoped for.  That brings my statelist to 283, now 35 over the old ABA reportable threshold of 248.  With the official WA statelist at 522 as of October 2022, the new threshold for half of the total would be 261.  Looks like I’ll stay over the threshold of half the statelist total for some time to come. 

Here is a link to my eBird Trip Report for the WA portion of our trip –

WA Portion of 2023 Trip - eBird Trip Report

Many thanks to Blair Bernson, Phil Bartley, and Mike and MerryLynn Denny for all their help on so many of our searches.  And thanks to Alan Peterson for allowing us to stay at his home, not to mention creating habitat on his property for the elusive Gray Partridge.

2 Texas and 3 Louisiana Statebirds, Plus 2 More to Bank, April 2017

In planning for my March 2017 work trip to Houston I noticed a number of reports of a reliable colony of Bachman’s Sparrows a couple hours northeast of Houston.  And with a little more digging I realized that the Sparrows were in an area where Swainson’s Warblers breed – another bird I need for my TX list.  I normally only have very limited time for birding on my TX trips, so a 4-hour round-trip was not in the cards for most of my trips, including the March one.  And besides, the Swainson’s weren’t back yet anyway.  But I kept this area in the back of my mind as a possibility on a future trip. 

Then as my April Houston trip was getting scheduled, a short side-trip to Port Arthur came up.  Port Arthur is in southeast TX, near the TX Gulf Coast, and a bit closer to the Bachman’s Sparrow spot than Houston.  So with a little extra driving I could likely make a late day run to try for the Sparrows, and then make my way back to Houston for more meetings there.  Plus by April maybe the Swainson’s would have returned. 

And then there was the possibility of spending a little time at migrant hotspots on the coast.  Although my trip was in early April which was before the peak of migration, there should still be good potential for early migrants.  If I could get going early enough in the morning I could spend a couple hours at coastal hotspots starting at dawn, and still make it to work for the day.  And there had already been a few sightings of early Swainson’s Warblers on the coast, so that target was now a possibility both at a migrant spot and maybe at their breeding sites.

So my plans were set, with a bit of birding before or after work each day.  I would catch up my sleep after I got home…

Day 1 – Dawn in Houston

One of the good migrant hotspots in Houston is the Edith Moore Nature Sanctuary – a small area of native vegetation tucked in the middle of this bustling city.  A Swainson’s Warbler had been seen there about a week before my trip, so I thought it could be worth a quick stop.  When I arrived pre-dawn the woods were alive with song.  But all singing species were nesters, like Carolina Wren, Cardinal, woodpeckers, etc.  And I only found exactly one migrant warbler – a singing male Wilson’s.  So given the lack of migrants, I only spent about an hour there.  And with work only 15 minutes away, I was at the office right on time.

Day 2 – Dawn on the TX Coast, or is it the LA Coast?

With mid-day meetings in Port Arthur, my plan was to be at Sabine Woods at dawn.  This migrant hotspot is on the coast just south of Port Arthur, where a Swainson’s had been reported a week earlier.  I had birded this spot a couple years earlier to see the Tropical Mockingbird that bred there with a Northern Mockingbird.  Unfortunately the Tropical Mockingbird was not accepted by the TX Rare Bird Committee so I couldn’t count it on my lists.

But when I woke up that morning I started thinking about the possibilities of heading to the LA coast instead.  I remembered that I needed many reasonably common migrants in LA, so I quickly pulled up an eBird Needs Alert for LA to see what might be around.  Two of my targets, Ovenbird and Rose-breasted Grosbeak, had been seen in the last couple days at Peveto Woods, a migrant trap on the LA coast.  And 7 other targets had been recently reported elsewhere on the coast.  Peveto Woods was only a bit farther from my hotel than Sabine Woods, so with many more possible targets in LA, I changed my plans at almost the last minute and headed to Peveto Woods instead. 

I arrived at Peveto Woods a bit before dawn and unfortunately there was very little song – not even local nesters.  I then spent the next hour or more slowly walking the trails through the woods and didn’t find a single warbler or vireo.  Very disappointing. 

With few birds in the woods I took a short walk to the beach to see what might be there.  One of my targets was the Western inornata subspecies of Willet, which might soon be split from the Eastern semipalmata subspecies.  By April I expected that Willets in the marshes would likely be nesting Eastern birds, while Willets loafing on the beaches could include Western birds that hadn’t yet migrated to their inland nesting grounds.  There were several Willets on the beach, and at least one was larger-billed, taller, and paler than the others – a “Western” Willet.  I’ll have to bank that one as a possible new statebird for the future.

After the short side-trip to the beach I headed back to the woods and spent some more time wandering the trails.  But the best birds I could find were a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher and a lone singing Blue-headed Vireo.  During my walk I noticed lots of swallows passing low overhead, most all flying east to west.  So rather than continue to look for nonexistent warblers, I decided to just spend some time watching the skies.  Most of the swallows were Trees, with somewhat lesser numbers of Barns, along with Martins that were nesting locally.  Then twice I spotted individual smaller Bank Swallows passing quickly by.  A bit later I realized that maybe I needed Bank Swallow for my LA list.  So I fired up my computer, checked my lists, and sure enough it was a new LA statebird.  That was a nice surprise. 

That fills in one of my last gaps in my Bank Swallow statebird map – I just need it in AL, DC, and OR.

Back at my “sky watch” I spotted a lone swallow flying west to east, unlike most all the other migrant swallows.  I got it in my binocs and I said to myself “pale-throated Cliff Swallow”.  Then I realized that if it had a pale throat it would be a Cave Swallow – my second swallow statebird, and again not one I had counted on.  And my seventh swallow species of the day – a personal record.

LA is my third state for the southwestern pelodama race of Cave Swallow as a breeder (or potential breeder).  I’ve also seen it as a fall rarity in 4 New England States.  Plus I’ve seen the West Indies fulva race as a breeder in FL.

But swallows weren’t the only birds passing overhead.  Twice a Caracara flew by – their numbers have increased quite a bit in LA lately.  Plus a single Whimbrel and a lone Black-bellied Plover were nice.  But by far the best was a large Buteo that circled low overhead with trailing primaries and secondaries much darker than the wing linings, and dark upper chest and head – a Swainson’s Hawk!  My third unexpected LA statebird of the morning!

One of these days I’ll get to eastern WA and OR and be able to fill in that last key gap in my statebird map for Swainson’s Hawk.

It was now time to head to Port Arthur to get to work, and as I drove out of Peveto Woods I reflected on a bittersweet early morning of birding.  I was happy to have added 3 new statebirds for my LA list – bringing my total to 273.  Plus the “Western” Willet which might be #274.  Quite a nice increase from the 256 I had when I started 2017.  Though I sure was looking forward to seeing a number of migrants in the woods.  Hopefully I would do better the next morning in Galveston. 

And one last note on the morning’s birding – just after I crossed back into TX I spotted another Swainson’s Hawk soaring low over the road.  Certainly not a new bird for my TX list but a nice find in southeastern TX nonetheless. 

Day 2 – Evening at Boykin Springs, TX

My meetings in Port Arthur went longer than I expected – which is almost always a good thing as far as work is concerned.  Though of course the trade-off is that it cuts into birding time.  Plus I was starting to feel tired from walking around Peveto Woods hours earlier.  As a result I was tempted to pass on the Bachman’s Sparrow/Swainson’s Warbler attempt that evening.  But as I pulled out of the parking lot I talked myself back into my original plans, and started my nearly 2-hour drive north.  My destination was the access road to Boykin Springs, where numerous reports of up to 10 singing Bachman’s Sparrows had been posted since February. 

It had been pretty windy on the coast that morning, but I wasn’t too worried that the wind would be a problem in the more protected pine forest.  The bigger concern was whether the birds would be singing in the evening.  As I started my slow drive down the access road there was at best only a light breeze.  Plus it was easy to pick out the likely areas where the Sparrows had been reported – areas of pine forest with limited if any brushy undergrowth and a lush carpet of grasses.  That was the good news.  The problem was - the woods were extremely quiet.  Not only were there no singing Sparrows, almost nothing else was singing either.  Twice I ran into vocal families of Pine Warblers with recently fledged young (that seemed early), but that was it.

Would the Bachman’s be tape responsive?  I hated to play tape at a location where the birds were likely breeding, but that was my only option if I wanted to find them that evening.  So I got to an area of good habitat and played just 2 songs – and almost instantly a Bachman’s Sparrow replied nearby!  It’s been a really long time since I’ve seen a Bachman’s, so I wanted to see one that day.  But not wanting to bother a breeding bird, I stopped playing tape and was content to just go with a heard-only bird.

TX is only my seventh state for Bachman’s Sparrow.  And sightings in two of those states – IN and MD – are so old that this declining species doesn’t even breed in those states anymore. 

Unfortunately I was much less successful in my Swainson’s Warbler searches.  I went to 3 nearby locations where Swainson’s had been reported in the last couple years but with no success.  Each of those reports had been later in April, and there were no inland eBird reports yet this year, so perhaps Swainson’s hadn’t yet made it to their breeding spots this year.  Or at least not to these former breeding locations.

Day 3 – Early Morning in Galveston

I had two key targets on Galveston Island – Black Rail and Swainson’s Warbler.  The Rails had been reported for a couple weeks at two locations on the island – Houston Audubon sanctuary Dos Vacas Muertas (“two dead cows” in Spanish – I can only imagine the story behind that name), and Galveston Island State Park.  Information on the specific locations was a bit cryptic in the eBird reports, but eventually I thought I had it figured out.  The reports seemed a bit more reliable at Dos Vacas Muertas, so I decided to make that my first stop.  As for the Swainson’s Warbler - although there had been no reports in Galveston yet this spring, I hoped spending some time at key migrant trap LaFitte’s Cove might prove to be successful.  And since I wanted to be looking for migrants starting at dawn, my plan was to try for (and get!) the Black Rail pre-dawn, and then quickly get over to LaFitte’s Cove. 

I left my Houston-area hotel 90 minutes before dawn and arrived at Dos Vacas Muertas just as the sky was starting to lighten.  After parking my car I took a short walk into the sanctuary and soon found the blind and boardwalk that had been mentioned as the location for the Rails.  I spent 5 or 10 minutes listening quietly at an area of good habitat, but the only calling Rails were a Sora and a King/Clapper (I was leaning toward King but couldn’t be sure).  I then played some tape but to no avail.  After about 30 minutes I decided that my target Black Rail wasn’t going to cooperate at this spot, and I would head over to the State Park.  Unfortunately that meant I wouldn’t get to LaFitte’s Cove at dawn.  On the way back to my car I spotted a Lincoln’s Sparrow – maybe there would be some good migration that morning, making my delayed arrival at a migrant hotspot more problematic.

Just 10 minutes later I had arrived at the Galveston Island State Park, heading toward the area close to the observation deck.  Over the last couple weeks several Black Rails had been heard both along the road heading toward the parking lot for the observation deck, and in the marshes just southwest of the deck itself.  As I drove up the road I was flanked by this excellent marsh habitat on both sides – a great spot for Rails!

I pulled over and walked to the edge of the marsh and almost instantly flushed a larger rail from the grasses on the side of the road; well larger than a Black Rail anyway.  At least that was my first thought so I didn’t put it in my binocs.  Then as an afterthought I raised my binocs and got it in view just before it landed in the marsh.  With my brief look I could only tell it was uniform tan bird with a short bill – could it have been a Yellow Rail?  Of course I didn’t see the white wing patches.  And I guess I couldn’t eliminate a Sora.  Ugh…

I then scanned the area and spotted a couple Indigo Buntings and a small flock of Savannah Sparrows along the edge of the road.  And then a pair of Scissor-tailed Flycatchers flew into a low bush nearby.  Sure seemed like it could turn out to be a good morning for migration.  But I first needed to find my target Black Rail.  I listened intently but didn’t hear any Rails of any type, though I did spot a Sora walking in an opening in the marsh a short distance away.  It was now at least 30 minutes after sunrise so I figured I would have to do a bit of coaxing to get my bird.  I played a bit of Black Rail tape and almost instantly heard one reply a short distance to the north.  It called a couple more times and then it was once again quiet.  Good enough to add to my TX statelist. 

TX is only my eighth state for Black Rail.  Though for this elusive species, maybe I should be excited about having this bird in so many states.  And because this bird is so difficult to find, I fondly remember hearing, and in 3 cases seeing, Black Rail in each of those 8 states.

I wanted to stay longer but I needed to head to LaFitte’s Cove to cash in on the migrant passerines that had arrived overnight.  But there was one more possible target to look for – “Western” Willet.  As in the day before on the LA coast, I hoped that birds on the beaches might well be of the non-breeding Western race, and birds in the marshes were more likely territorial Eastern birds.  And just as I started to head out of the Park I passed by a mudflat with several Willets.  I pulled over and could pick out at least a couple Western birds feeding out in the open.  Like the LA bird the day before, it was one to put in the bank for now.  [After I returned home I checked eBird and there had been almost no inland records of Western Willet yet this year, meaning that they were mostly still on the coasts on their wintering grounds.  Maybe that’s why I had troubles finding one larger, taller, paler, larger-billed Western bird among what I thought were Easterns – maybe they were all Westerns!]

As I drove out I had to make one last stop – a pair of Bronzed Cowbirds were right along the side of the road.  I took this picture of the male by holding my phone up to my binocs.

And then I was lucky enough to get this photo as it raised its ruff to display to the female.

As I made the short drive to LaFitte’s Cove I was wondering how many migrants I missed because it took me a lot longer than expected to find the Black Rail.  After parking I took the short walk to the woods and spotted an Orange-crowned Warbler and a Yellowthroat in one lone bush along the way.  It was looking promising.  But then I met a birder leaving the area who said she didn’t see a single bird in the woods!  I spent the next 90 minutes slowly walking the short trails through the woods and found a grand total of 4 warblers – an Orange-crowned, a Parula, a Black-throated Green, and a Nashville.  Interestingly, the latter 2 would have been new for my LA statelist.  And the only singing migrant was one solitary Blue-headed Vireo.  With all the other migrants I saw earlier I sure would have thought it was going to be a good migrant day.  So rather than spending more time on a fruitless migrant search, I called it quits early and headed back to Houston.  Though on my walk back to the car I did stop long enough to snap these shots of cooperative Black-bellied Whistling Ducks.

And check out this one scanning the skies – maybe looking for Swallows like I did the day before in LA.

And then I couldn’t pass up these sleeping Redheads.  Sleeping birds are much easier to photograph when holding your phone up to your binocs.

I ended the trip with 2 new statebirds for my TX list which now stands at 438.  Plus I added the “Western” Willet which could be a new species someday soon.  And along with my morning in LA, I added 5 new ticks to my statelists – an excellent result given that I struck out on my primary objective of finding migrant songbirds.