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.)

Western Grebe, Cabarrus County, NC, January 1, 2022

My NC Needs Alert on 12/27 featured multiple reports of a Western Grebe on Lake Norman north of Charlotte, NC.  Then likely the same bird was re-located the next day on Coddle Creek Reservoir in Cabarrus County some 6 or 7 miles to the east.  That’s one I need for my NC list, and within my typical chase distance.  Now I just needed the bird to stick around till January 1 – the first day I was available.  That would be a great way to ring in the new birding year.   

My experience with wintering Western Grebes in the northeast is that they will often stay in protected lakes and bays for quite a while.  And luckily that was the case with this bird as it continued to be reported daily.  The good news was that it was often seen in the same part of the reservoir.  The bad news was that it was almost always quite distant – perhaps a mile or more away.  My birding friend Bill Hooker went to see it on the 30th, and he shared his notes with me including the best viewing spot (which interestingly was only mentioned in 1 eBird post).  Plus he offered to meet me there on the 1st which would be most helpful.  The trip was set!

I pulled in at 1 PM and Bill and Anita were already there.  They had scoped the area the Grebe preferred but hadn’t found it yet.  That was mostly because that part of the reservoir was full of birds, most notably perhaps 3,500 Ring-billed Gulls.  There were also 50 ducks on the far shore that were just too far away to identify.  This was going to be difficult. 

I scanned the area multiple times but just kept finding the same birds.  It had been nearly an hour without success when the entire flock of gulls took off, perhaps spooked by an Eagle.  With the gulls temporarily off the water, I hoped that my target bird would be much easier to find - that is if it wasn’t spooked as well.  And sure enough on my first scan through the area I picked out the Western Grebe close to the far shore.  We watched it slowly swim along before it mixed with the distant ducks and disappeared behind a nearby point.

Here is an unmagnified picture of the area where we saw the grebe, perhaps 1.2 miles away. 

And a relative “close-up” of the duck flock it mixed with for a while.

Western Grebe was #312 for my NC state list.  My statebird map for this species is inserted below – in its regular range the blue states are those where I’ve seen this species and the cross-hatched states are those where I still need it. And given that Western Grebe is prone to vagrancy, it’s not surprising that NC was the 8th state where I’ve seen Western Grebe as a rarity (the tan states). 

As an aside – This was not the first time I’ve seen a Western Grebe a mile or more away.  In April 2016 I was able to re-find a Western Grebe on a coastal bay in Brunswick, ME where the bird was roughly 6,500 ft away.  (see my blog post - State Birding: Western Grebe, Brunswick, ME, April 2016 ).One local birder said the bird was “wicked faahh out”.  Needless to say birders’ viewing the NC bird had quite a different accent.

What a great way to start 2022!

Iowa Statebirding Trip, Part 1 of 2 – North-Central IA, July 2016

I don’t get to the upper Midwest very often, so when a business trip to Minneapolis came up in July I naturally started to think about statebirding possibilities.  My MN list was at 226, which was 8 over the old ABA reportable threshold of 218.  One of my original statebirding goals was to be over the ABA threshold in each state.  Those thresholds, last published by the ABA in 2011, were one half of the total list for each state.  And since the overall state lists slowly inch up as new species are added, the thresholds slowly rise as well.  As a result of this slow rise in the state thresholds, I revised my goal to be 15 over the old 2011 ABA threshold in each state – I call it “Reportable Plus 15”.  Although somewhat arbitrary, my hope is that by reaching that goal I would stay above the state threshold for many years to come. 

Now it was time to do some research.  I set up an eBird Needs Alert for MN which revealed that there were quite a number of possible new statebirds within a couple hours’ drive of Minneapolis.  But then I realized that a few of these potential targets southeast of Minneapolis were actually not too far from IA.  I’ve only birded in IA twice before, and with a statelist of just 178, my statebirding potential was of course even greater there than in MN.  Now I started to consider coming into Minneapolis a couple days early to be able to bird in IA as well as MN.  Like I said – I don’t get to this part of the country often so I may as well take advantage of these trips when I get them.

I did a quick search through the range maps in the field guides and made a long list of possible IA statebirds by season.  Not surprisingly I had gaps throughout my list that could potentially be filled on a summer trip.  However, July is frequently thought of as a slow month for birding - landbird targets can be tough to find since it is late in the season for breeders to still be singing, and it is early for most shorebirds that might be passing through.  Then again the optimist might find this as a great time – breeding birds are still around plus the early shorebirds are just arriving – a nice confluence of both breeding and migration seasons.  Ever the optimist, especially when it comes to statebirding, I was hopeful that I could find quite a number of new birds for my IA list, as well as for my MN list.

My first IA eBird research focused on the northern tier of IA counties to minimize driving time.  And one of the first sightings I keyed in on was of a Red-necked Grebe just south of the MN-IA line at Silver Lake WMA.  The range maps in the field guides show that species as a rarity in IA at any time of the year, and certainly not a breeder that far south, so I started to dig a little more.  That’s when I also found recent eBird reports of multiple Red-necked Grebes to the west at Trumbull Lake.  And when I opened those checklists I saw that Western Grebes were being seen there as well, along with Eared Grebes (though I already had that one on my IA list) – and all were breeding at the lake!  Then I noticed nearby reports of a great shorebird spot with a lot of diversity especially for this early in the year.  And another spot had several of my target grassland sparrows.  Then the icing on the cake was a report of a King Rail nearby.  All told that gave me 24 possible targets reported from this prairie pothole country in Clay, Palo Alto, and Dickinson Counties.  Although this was farther west than I was originally planning to travel, needless to say I now needed to include this area in the IA portion of my itinerary.  And my chances of finding these birds picked up significantly when I was able to contact a couple of the local birders in the area who offered to take me around to help me find my targets.

I also needed a number of landbirds for my IA list, and some were reasonably common breeders throughout the state, such as Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Wood Thrush, and Ovenbird.  Although these might be possible in the area where I hoped to find all those grebes and shorebirds, that area is more known for its prairie and farming than for its woodlands.  In addition I needed a few landbird breeders that are limited to the eastern part of the state, including a number of warbler species.  So I wondered if I could also do some woodland birding in the eastern edge of the state on this trip.  It would make for a long drive across IA, but it would put me nearly directly south of several of my southeastern MN targets, resulting in a nice loop through MN, IA, and back into MN.  Then again, it was late July and I continued to worry that my target breeders might prove too difficult to find.

The alternative to the eastern IA woodland sites was to head to southcentral IA including Hawkeye WMA where excellent numbers of shorebirds had been recently reported, including several rarities like Avocet, Piping Plover, and Marbled Godwit.  I could also do some landbirding in the area and potentially pick up some of my more southern landbird targets.  But on the day before my trip there was a post from the area that mentioned water levels were way up and shorebird numbers were much lower, with Avocets being the only rarity that remained.  I sure hated to pass up the opportunity for good shorebirds, but it seemed like my timing wasn’t the best, and decided on the eastern IA woodland stops instead.

After digesting all that research I came up with this itinerary making a large loop down to IA and back –

• Day 1 – land in Minneapolis midday, bird in MN toward the southwest in the afternoon and evening
• Day 2 – bird in north-central IA for prairie birds, drive to the eastern end of the state that evening
• Day 3 – start in northeastern IA for woodland birds, then try for targets in southeastern MN on the way back toward Minneapolis

With that itinerary I expected to get 19 new species for my IA list.  Though I sure hoped to be able to stretch that total a bit to 22 to get my statelist to 200.

And then while on the plane to MSP I realized that my planned stops in eastern IA would put me just across the Mississippi River from WI.  I’m 14 over threshold in WI, so just 1 bird shy of that magical Reportable Plus 15 goal.  With some quick eBird research I found Wyalusing State Park right across the river from one of my IA stops had recent reports of no less than 8 possible WI statebirds.  Though with a very full itinerary, I didn’t think I would actually be able to squeeze in a stop at the park.  At the very least it was something to keep in the back of my mind as the trip unfolded…

This post details the northcentral IA portion of my trip.  The previous post detailed the MN part of the trip and my next post will summarize the eastern IA and WI portion of the trip.

Day 1 – Southern MN, and a Little Time in IA

I made multiple stops in MN adding 5 birds to my statelist as I worked my way south.  And although I didn’t leave my last MN stop until 7:30 PM, and still had an hour to go to get to my hotel in IA, my statebirding wasn’t over yet for the day.  One of the species I needed for my IA list was Common Nighthawk.  And since I was arriving so late into IA I was going to be passing through several towns at dusk when Nighthawk might be a possibility.  Sure enough the first larger IA town I came into was Estherville and I quickly spotted 3 Nighthawks flying through the downtown area (IA statebird #1).  Plus I had several a few minutes later in Emmetsburg.  I’ve now seen this species in 45 states (see my statebird map below).

With this bird disappearing as a nester back home in New England, sure nice to see this species is still a common breeder in this part of the country.  And a nice start to the IA portion of my trip.

Day 2 – Northwestern IA

My plan was to bird through mid-afternoon in Clay, Palo Alto, and Dickinson Counties where so many targets birds had been recently reported, including several that are rarities for IA.  Local birders Lee Schoenewe and Joe Jungers had offered to bird with me that day.  And since they knew the area so well, I was very optimistic about my chances for finding many of these birds. 

We met just after 7 at Lost Island Prairie Wetland Nature Center.  I say “just after” 7 because although I arrived before 7 I went to the wrong part of the park to wait for Lee and Joe.  As a result I wasn’t with them a short distance away when they had a calling Black-billed Cuckoo as they waited for me.  By the time I figured out the correct spot to meet, the Cuckoo has stopped calling.  Ugh.  But things would pick up I’m sure. 

Our first stop was at a small marsh in Dewey’s Pasture WMA on 350^th Avenue north of Ruthven where Lee and Joe had found King Rail just a couple weeks before.  As we arrived we were greeted by a Black Tern flying low over the marsh (IA #2).  Although this species is seen across the country, I still need it in a few Midwest and northwest states.

Then we had several Virginia Rails quickly respond to a bit of tape (IA #3).  But the key target here was their larger cousin, so we positioned ourselves along the edge of the marsh and Lee played some King Rail calls.  While we waited the first of many Marsh Wrens came to the edge of the marsh (IA #4).  Joe got several shots of these most cooperative birds, including this bird right in front of us.

And while we were watching the Wrens a Clay-colored Sparrow called from the dry hillside to the north (IA #5).  But despite playing tape from several locations we couldn’t get the King Rail to reply. 

Next we were on to Trumbull Lake where breeding had been documented for 4 species of Grebes and Forster’s Terns this summer.  Apparently local authorities had recently done a lot of work to rejuvenate the wetlands, and the new conditions were most attractive to these and other more common nesters like my other targets the Common Gallinule and both Bitterns.  One minor challenge was that viewing was getting more challenging of late as the cattails rimming the lake had gotten taller, so we might need a bit of luck to help us see birds out on the water. 

As we drove along we passed through several wetlands, though we only made a couple brief stops so we could concentrate on Trumbull Lake up ahead.  But one stop was most fruitful – we flushed an American Bittern right next to the road (IA #6).  At our first lake stop on the east side of the lake we set up our scopes on a bit of a high spot to peer over the cattails.  I quickly picked up a rare Eared Grebe (an eBird rarity) and several Pied-billed Grebes along with several Ruddy Ducks.  Then Lee got me on a pair of Red-necked Grebes (IA #7).  IA is only my 4th state where I’ve seen this species as a breeding bird (along with ID, ND, and MN).

We couldn’t come up with any of our other targets here so we headed to another overlook a bit to the north.  Here we had a broader view of the lake, though again the tall cattails blocked our view of the near shore.  Lee picked out a couple Western Grebes mostly obscured by the vegetation.  I wasn’t tall enough to see them, though I heard them calling.  Luckily we all had views of this target a couple minutes later (IA #8).  I’ve now seen Western Grebe throughout most of its western range along with a few eastern and 1 Midwest state as a rarity.

Another target we searched for here was Forster’s Tern which nested at the lake and had been quite easy to see in Joe’s and Lee’s recent trips to Trumbull Lake.  We found numerous Black Terns dancing over the lake at these first stops, but no Forster’s.  Then Joe picked out a juvenile Forster’s flying among the Blacks in the distance.  Unfortunately I didn’t pick it out.  But we weren’t worried because our next stop was at the north end of the lake where they had been easiest to see in the past.  But again we came up empty – sure wish I had spent more effort to find Joe’s bird.  Though we did pick up a cooperative Willow Flycatcher (IA #9) driving to one of our overlooks.  And then our last stop on the lake was at a portion of the marsh where Common Gallinules were regular that summer.  We went to “the” spot for them, played some tape, and one called back right away (IA #10).  Another example where I wouldn’t have found one of my targets without the local birders’ help. 

One of our other targets that had been regular at Trumbull Lake earlier in the summer, but had eluded us so far, was Least Bittern.  We made stops at lots of great cattail habitat where they had been heard regularly that summer but couldn’t scare one up.  So we headed to Dan Green Slough, and specifically the boat ramp near the southern end of the lake.  This spot too had lots of cattails, but most importantly had numerous openings in the vegetation where we might spot a Bittern.  We played some tape, but to no avail.  Then just as we were leaving the boat ramp a Least Bittern took off from one of the edges just a short distance away (IA #11).  It must have been there the whole time.  Although I’m slowly filling in my statebird map for this species, I still have quite a number of gaps – especially in the southeast.

We left the wetland habitats very happy to have spotted all but 2 of our targets, though we were all surprised that we hadn’t found a cooperative Forster’s Tern.

Next we were on to a couple sheetwater pools northwest of Spencer.  These flooded fields had attracted some nice rarities recently, though there had been no recent reports from this spot.  Before we even got out of the car we could see quite a number of peeps moving about along with a few larger shorebirds.  With several scans we picked out good numbers of Pectoral and Semi Sands, and smaller numbers of Yellowlegs, but none of the rarer species jumped out at us.  But then slowly we started to pick out some of my targets.  First we spotted a Semipalmated Plover (IA #12).  Then we added a Short-billed Dowitcher to the list (IA #13).  And a nearly breeding plumage Stilt Sandpiper was nice, though not a new statebird for me. 

We then drove over to the other pool just a couple hundred yards away.  One of the first birds I spotted was a basic-plumaged Western Sandpiper (IA #14).  While we were scanning the birds here a couple different shorebird flocks dropped in both to this second pool as well as the first one.  So we headed back over to the first pool and added another half dozen Short-billed Dowitchers, a second Semi Plover, and several more Stilt Sands, but nothing new.  Although diversity was lower than a couple weeks earlier, we still were able to spot 12 shorebird species at the pools.

Our next stops were at some natural prairie and planted pasture fields nearby to try for Upland Sandpiper.  They had nested in these fields this year, and had been reasonably reliable earlier in the season.  But in late July I wasn’t too optimistic – even if they were still around they would likely not be calling, and grasses would be quite high by now.  So it could be a needle-in-a-haystack kind of proposition.  We slowly drove down the road passing along the edge of a very nice prairie habitat, but couldn’t spot an Uppie.  Then we got to the field planted in pasture grasses and saw that about half the field had just been cut.  I wondered if the cut grass might attract Uplands since their food might be easier to find.  Not to mention the birds would be easier to see in the short grass.  And sure enough, a short distance down the road there was an Upland Sandpiper standing in the field near the road (IA #15).  Joe got this great shot right from the car.

Then it was on to an adjacent natural field of prairie grasses where Henslow’s Sparrows had nested earlier in the year.  It was now late morning, and of course late summer – not the best timing to hear singing passerines, so again I wasn’t overly optimistic.  We pulled over and listened – I was pleasantly surprised to hear quite a bit of song – there were a number of Sedge Wrens and Grasshopper Sparrows along with a single Clay-colored Sparrow, and of course the ever-present Dickcissels.  But no Henslow’s.  We pulled up a bit farther and listened again but heard pretty much the same mix of birds.  Then I played some Henslow’s tape and we listened some more.  Again no luck.  Just as we were about to pull away I heard a single “tslick” of a Henslow’s Sparrow (IA #16).  I still have a long way to go to find this species in the states in its range throughout much of the eastern US.

Next Lee took us to a small sod farm just a couple miles away to check for early Buff-breasted Sandpipers.  There had been no reports from this spot so far this year so this location wasn’t on my radar screen.  But within seconds of pulling up Lee spotted 3 Buff-breasteds close to the road that joined 2 others farther back on the sod (IA #17). 

I still needed Vesper Sparrow for my list so Lee next took us to a dirt road that dead-ended at the Spencer Municipal Airport where he said he almost always has Vespers.  We drove slowly down to the end but only picked out a few Dickcissels.  We then turned around and headed back down the road and flushed a sparrow off the ground that had white outer tail feathers – a successful side-trip for a Vesper Sparrow (IA #18).

We then headed back to Lee’s house for a lunch break.  Plus Lee had hummingbirds coming to his feeder – another of my targets.  That’s one I had hoped for the next day in woodlands in the eastern part of the state.  But getting it today would take the pressure off having to randomly run into a bird tomorrow.  We had not been back at his house for more than 5 minutes when a Ruby-throated Hummingbird came in to drink at his feeder (IA #19).  Another of Lee’s stakeouts came through for us.  IA fills one of the last gaps in my statebird map for this species.

After a quick lunch we were off again, this time to Freda Haffner Kettlehole State Preserve near the MN border which has been a traditional spot for Blue Grosbeak.  Along the way I got a quick view of a Yellow-billed Cuckoo as it flew right in front of the car – not the best views but good enough for my 20th IA statebird on the trip.  As we approached the preserve we came upon a small flock of Lark Sparrows in the road as if to welcome us to this new habitat.  When we got out of the car we were serenaded by a nice mix of Grasshopper, Clay-colored, and Field Sparrows, and Dickcissels, but no Grosbeaks.  We had waited a couple minutes when we all spotted a chunky finch-like bird fly over the road and into a nearby brushy tree.  A bit later the bird popped into the open and it was a female Blue Grosbeak (IA #21).  And just a minute later we heard one singing – a male had flown in as well and was singing from the powerlines overhead.  I now have only a couple gaps in my statebird map to fill in for this species that stretches across the southern and central states.

That was the last of my target birds, and as we walked back to the car I quickly reviewed my notes and realized that my IA state list now stood at 199.  I shared that detail with Lee and Joe and none of us wanted to call it a day one short of 200.  Lee mentioned that we might still have a chance at finding Forster’s Tern if we added some stops around Spirit Lake.  So we started with a couple stops overlooking the lake from the west side but with no luck.  Then we made a stop on the north end of the lake right at the MN/IA line but only found some roosting gulls.  Now we were on the east side of Spirit Lake and Lee navigated us to one last spot where he had seen Forster’s in the past.  We got out of the car and scanned a distant shoreline and at first only spotted a flock of gulls.  Then I noticed what appeared to be a smaller roosting bird worthy of a scope view.  A few seconds later we confirmed an adult Forster’s Tern (IA #22).  With that target bird under my belt IA became my 48th state with at least 200 species (I’m under 200 only in MT and HI – and also Washington, DC).

That ended a remarkable day where we found all but 1 of my staked out target birds.  Needless to say I couldn’t have done it without the help of Lee Schoenewe and Joe Jungers.  Great birders who know the birds of their area like the backs of their hands.  As we parted ways I mentioned that I hoped to bird with them again someday, perhaps on a return trip in spring some year to work on passerine migrants in western IA.

My next post summarizes my statebirding stops in eastern IA, and a brief stop in WI.