The male painted bunting showed up this morning at the previously reported
feeder in Moorhead. I arrived at 8:30, but it didn't show up until 11. I almost
gave up and left! While waiting for over 2 hours, other birds kept me
entertained. In the yard I saw Canada Warbler, Orchard Oriole,
This morning I found 29 Cattle Egrets-13 in Grant county, and 16 in Douglas
county and 3 Snowy Egrets in Grant. The area was on the south side of Pelican
Lake near Ashby. The 13 Douglas county Cattle Egrets were at the end of Ashby
Estates Rd. E. Then as you enter the Bah Lakes WMA area a
No one has commented on the Wigeon that was found in Hennepin county about the
possibility that the bird is a hybrid. Looking at Dave Cahlander's photo, it
looks like the bird has a dark stripe extending behind the eye similar to an
American Wigeon. I would believe that this bird is a hybrid
Something special is happening in Grant Countylast evening(10/1), I found
myself at Pelican Lake just south of Ashby. I was there for over an hour, a
little before the sun started to set. What I found was a sight to behold. The
lake was absolutely covered with Franklin's Gullsand this
I've noticed that pine siskins have been common in central minnesota this year.
I've had 6 of them at my feeders in southern Todd county for a few weeks. I've
never seen them in Todd county in the summer(probably nested in the area).
Also, I've had them in a couple other counties around here
This morning I finally relocated the Eurasian Collared Dove in Long Prairie. I
actually found not one but two birds! The birds were two blocks east of Hwy. 71
just north of Hwy. 27. I finally was able to get looks at the under tail and
was able to see the black outer webbing ruling out Ringed
The spread continues. I found a first county record Eurasian Collared Dove in
Todd County today at about 1 p.m. I had to get to work, so I didn't have much
time to watch it, and thus I never got a great view of the under tailI'm
going to go look for it again soon. But as far as I could
Did a little birding this afternoon with Dave Nafus. We birded around Ashby and
Bah Lakes WMA. We found a Snowy Egret in Douglas County. The bird was just
north of Olson's Bay Rd. on the east side of the Grant/Douglas County line road
in the pond here. 8 Cattle Egrets were also found in Grant
This evening, on my way to the Browerville Sewage Ponds, I wondered why I had
never seen a scoter there. The main pond is certainly large for a sewage pond.
I arrived there at about 7 p.m., and I found an interesting duck that made me
get out my scope. I soon realized I was looking at a Black
Thanks to Bobby D. for posting the Black-necked Stilt. I found the bird at 8
P.M. and as of 9:15 when it got too dark to watch the bird anymore, it was
still present. Ron Erpelding showed up soon after he got word of it and he was
able to watch it with me. Also of note was an American Avocet
Just thought I'd send out an update about the Snowy Owl found by John Ellis in
Osakis. I spent an hour from about 6:30 to 7:30 looking for the Snowy Owl
tonight. After searching the ponds and surrounding fields and lakes, I could
not relocate the Snowy Owl. Only bird of interest was a
John Hockema gave me a call today and at around 10:45 this morning, Chuck
Krulas, Chris Hockema, and John refound the 2 Evening Grosbeaks at Eagle Bluff
Environmental Learning Center near Lanesboro. John held out the phone and I
could actually hear the Evening Grosbeaks calling! Can I add this
John Hockema gave me another call to let me know that yesterday Chuck and him
had found a White-winged Scoter at 9 A.M. at the Leroy Sewage Ponds. Today at 2
P.M. they returned (with Chris Hockema) and found the White-winged Scoter still
present. The access road is about half a mile east of
The Philbrook CBC was held January 1st. Philbrook is located in NE Todd County.
This is only the 5th year the count has been held. Our previous high had been
31 species, but this year we ended up with 34 species! New species for the
count include Northern Flicker, Hoary Redpoll, and the
I spent the weekend birding in northwestern Minnesota with Dedrick Benz and
John Hockema. Saturday(11/10) we found a Wood Thrush in Moorhead, Clay County.
Not only is this bird tough to find in Clay County, but it seems to be one of
the latest dates on record for this species in Minnesota! The
The White-winged Dove near Fergus Falls in Otter Tail County continues to be
seen as of 10/20. I arrived there this morning to the most horrible words in
the English dictionary: you missed it by 5 minutes. It didn't take long for
the White-winged Dove to reappear though, allowing long looks as
Lake Osakis continues to be good this fall. My grandma and grandpa located 2
Long-tailed Ducks this morning on Lake Osakis while trying to relocate the
scoters. They didn't leave too much information other than the birds were seen
on the south side of the lake near the Welcome To Osakis sign.
This evening (8/29) I made the trek up to Agassiz NWR to look for the Jaeger
first reported last week. It magically showed up right at 6 P.M. on the
gravel road previously reported by Jeanie Joppru. It was a very tame bird.
Several times it got very close to me. At one point it was hunting the
This morning, I (along with Carol Schumacher, Bob Ekblad, Jeff Stephenson,
and Ron Erpelding) was fortunate enough to find two very rare warblers for
Todd County. I've lived in Todd County for 7 years now, and both were new
for me in the county. We also had a Clark's Grebe at Lake Osakis, which
This afternoon I found a Ross' Goose in Moorhead. The bird was at the
Moorhead Sewage Ponds, and was standing on the berm, so I could see it from
the road. It was hanging out with Canada Geese, no other goose sp. was seen.
It was at the ponds that are on the east side of Hwy. 75. These ponds
Today I found a Snowy Owl in Wilkin County. The bird was actually right
along I-94 on the westbound lane side. The owl was in plain view in a tree
0.3 miles west of Mile Marker 30 right next to the highway. This is a few
miles west of the Hwy. 108 exit. The location isn't too far from the
This afternoon I decided to take a quick trip to try and refind the Moorhead
Gray Jay reported a few weeks back. Unfortunately, I still have not refound
it. But, as I was leaving the area, I decided to stop by some crabapple
trees to look for waxwings. A couple weeks ago, there were several
The Long-tailed Duck found on the Pillager CBC was refound today by myself
around 11 A.M. below the dam. It took a little while to find it, but
eventually I watched as it flew along the Morrison Co. side, then across the
river to the Cass County side where it landed. It was the only duck
I know a few people might be interested in the status of the Whooping Crane
in Mahnomen County. I drove around the area for a couple of hours and had no
luck refinding the bird. There is a lot of area to search, so it may have
just eluded me, but they are pretty hard to overlook, thus I believe
Bob Dunlap and I spent Saturday and Sunday birding Mahnomen, Norman, Polk,
Clay, and Wilkin Counties. Our best bird was found this morning around 11,
which was the California Gull at the Hawley landfill. It was relocated a
little later by Kim Eckert and his MBW group, but it was on the east
I figured I'd pass on a little on information from the North Dakota birding
listserve. Earlier there has been a noted migration of Gray Jays along the
North Shore, and in the past week, several Gray Jays have turned up in
northeastern North Dakota. There have been 6 reports of Gray Jays in
Bob Dunlap just called me (1:45 P.M.) to let me know that the Purple
Sandpiper has not been relocated as of yet today. He's been there for
several hours, and no sign of the bird has been found. He said there is a
pretty large group of birders there, so coverage of the area has been pretty
I went down to see the Snowy Plovers today. As soon as we got past the elm
trees onto the sand, my mom pointed out a plover on the same spit we were
on. I put my scope up, and found it to be one of the Snowy Plovers. I
believe it was the male based on the darkness of its markings. We then
I spent yesterday (6/27) birding out west.
Grant County:
Cattle Egrets-9 of them in amongst and on top of the cattle in the normal
pasture south of Pelican Lake on Ashby Estate Rd. E.
Traverse County:
Eurasian Collared Doves-2 of them still present in Wheaton near the grain
elevator.
Marbled
This afternoon while birding in Steele County, I happened upon a Snowy Egret
near Rice Lake. The bird wasn't at Spindler's Pond. It was actually at a
pond a few miles northwest of Rice Lake. Take the road going north out of
the town of Rice Lake. This is the Dodge/Steele County line road. It
Today I got a call about a Cinnamon Teal in Todd County at the Eagle Bend
Sewage Ponds. I arrived there this evening, and in the rain and wind I
refound the Teal. At first glance it appeared to be a Cinnamon Teal, but
after I set up my scope, I started to see things that didn't fit a pure
This morning, I searched for the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher near Downer and
found it after a bit of searching. Unlike Matt Mecklenburg and Bob O'Connor,
I found it in the original location just north of Downer on Hwy. 9. This was
at around 9:15, so after it had been a mile to the east it
Earlier this spring, I noticed a decent movement of Greater White-fronted
Geese in Minnesota and thought this would be the year for them to finally
show up in Todd County. Up until now there has been no record. I thought my
chance to find some was over this spring because it seemed the peak
This morning I took off from Fargo very early. I went south down Hwy. 75,
and in southern Wilkin County, the fields were flooded completely in some
areas on both sides of the road, and it was in one of those spots(1/4 mile
south of 440th St. on Hwy. 75) that I flushed a Snowy Owl from the
Both the Long Prairie and Philbrook CBCs were conducted on January 1st. Both
of the circles are located within Todd County. The preliminary results are
in, and Long Prairie ended up with 40 species on count day, which I believe
is one behind the record for the count. Three other species were
Today I went out to the Mud Lake area to look for some shorebirds. I did not
find the Red Knot previously reported, but there were several hundred
shorebirds of 11 species, although none out of the ordinary.
To get to the flooded field, go north on the dirt road from Hwy. 117 just
east of the
This morning I found a wet field at Agassiz NWR that had a good variety of
shorebirds in it; well at least for late June. There were 9 species with 77
birds present. The most interesting bird was a lone White-rumped Sandpiper.
The list:
White-rumped Sandpiper-1
Least Sandpiper-7
Dunlin-1
Lesser
Yesterday afternoon(June 4th) I drove a loop around western Morrison County
looking for Yellow Rail habitat. I ended up making 12 marks on my map where
I found suitable habitat. At 10 P.M. I went back out and checked every place
I had noted on my map. The first 11 stops resulted in 1 Marsh Wren
I was looking for an excuse to take a break from studying for finals...and
the Louisiana Waterthrush was the perfect excuse. I arrived this afternoon
to the Waterthrush spot, but I couldn't see any birds from the road. I drove
around a little while and came back. Again I scanned the water edges
This morning a farmer near Long Prairie had two Cattle Egrets on his farm
associating with his cattle. Last year, he had a Cattle Egret on his farm
also about this time of year. His farm is private property, but you should
be able to spot the Egrets from the road.
Directions:
Go south on Hwy
I got a call from back home in Long Prairie to tell me that the Sandhill
Cranes that nest in our swamp arrived today. This is one of the earliest
dates they've arrived at our farm up here in Todd County. Have a good week
everyone,
Ben Fritchman
Went to look for northern owls today in Mille Lacs, Kanabec, and Pine
Counties.
Pine County:
It held its usual owls everywhere, but we did have 2 Hawk Owls on CR 28, one
1/2 mile east of the Kanabec/Pine line, and one just east of where CR 17
goes south.
Kanabec:
I think the owls are moving
Today, January 28th, I drove around Todd and Wadena County looking for Great
Grays. I didn't expect to find any, and Todd definetely lived up to its
expectations. Wadena County actually produced one Great Gray though. It was
seen around 3:30. I found it in the small town of Nimrod. It was along
Calculus 2, long and boring, but when my professor let us out early this
afternoon, there was only one thing on my mind, so I sped up to Mahnomen
County to look for a Great Gray. I got there just around 4:30, the beginning
of the magical hour.
I arrived at MN 200 where the Great Gray Owl was
How can I be in two places at once? I wasn't, I'm not that good, but anyway
my mom called me to let me know that she refound the Hawk Owl in Morrison
County in the same place earlier posted, 6.3 miles west of the Little Falls
population sign on HWY 27. Then later today, possibly the same Hawk
This morning yielded an unsuccessful try at the Yellow-billed Loon in Two
Harbors, but while walking around the lighthouse a Gyrfalcon zipped right in
front of my mom and I. It was a very light individual, probably a gray
phase. It headed southwest across Agate Bay, and we lost it in the
New Year's Day brought many wary partyers to the annual Long Prairie CBC. A
preliminary count, without the feeder watchers results in, has the species
at 37 for the day. We usually average around 34, so it was a pretty good
year.
Highlights:
Brown Creeper-1
Horned Larks-one small flock
Hoary
Northern Hawk Owl-I thought I would update everyone on the status of the
Chippewa County Hawk Owl. Yesterday(Dec 15) I drove to the area and after a
little searching I found it actively hunting the area. I didn't find it on
the telephone poles along the road, so I parked in a pull off on the
Hello all,
I received a second-hand report of a possible Great Gray Owl near St. John's
University in Stearns County. I know a few people will be looking for it in
the next few days, and I'm sure they will update if seen again.
The location:
The bird was first found ½ mile north and ¼ mile
Sorry about not posting last night as I should have, but I refound the red
Phalarope at about 6:30 last night in the NE corner of Salt Lake. It was
pretty easy to pick out and it spent most of its time out in the water a few
feet, I guess as most phalaropes do. The bird seemed pretty content
Yesterday(Sep.5) I was driving down I94 when a flock of 13 Cattle Egrets
flew over at mile marker 32, just north of the Pelican Rapids exit. They
were heading north at the time. I had pretty good looks at them as they flew
right over my head at a pretty low level.
Ben Fritchman
Yesterday evening(Sept. 3) I headed up to Big Falls after classes. My mom
met me in Park Rapids, and we went up together. We got to the traditional
location on CR 13, 2.3 miles south of CR 1 around 7 P.M. Soon after we
arrived we found a male Three-toed on the west side of the road. We watched
Tonight on my way home from up north I stopped at the Clarissa sewage ponds
in Todd County. In the first pond swam 2 Red-necked Phalaropes, my first
ones for the county. Hopefully they stick around for awhile, because that's
about all that's happening for shorebirds in Todd County right now.
Ahhh...Aitkin County, where only hitchhikers outnumber deer along the road.
Just joking, anyway McGregor Marsh was really quiet this morning, yellow
rails are winding down the singing process. I did however end up hearing 2
Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrows, several Sedge Wrens and 1 LeConte's
I arrived at Lake Osakis and searched the place where the Ibis had been. I
found 2 Caspian Terns loafing in with the Franklin's Gulls. As I pulled back
on the road I noticed a large shorebird across the road on the lake
shoreline. I turned around and here I was treated to 3 Willets! They were
Late last night I got a call saying that a farmer has had a Cattle egret
since Sunday. Well, this kind of dissapointed me that they waited so long to
inform me, and I was even more disapointed when I got there this morning
only to find it had probably moved on. It had been there for 5 days, but
Today on the way down to try to locate the Brown Pelican I decided to stop
at Red Rock Prairie in Cottonwood County. I just couldn't justify driving
within six miles of it and not stopping. So there I was wandering around the
prairie, hoping to view some Smith's in breeding plumage. When I was
Today I was excited to hear Lake Osakis opened up. All the wind broke up the
ice, so after school I headed over there. I was greeted by a lake full of
whitecaps, the wind was blowing very hard. But within the waves I found
several rafts of Red-breasted Mergansers. I also saw many flocks of
I dropped everything and headed to Paynesville today. There were a lot of
Canada Geese on the dikes of the ponds, but no Brant. After a little while,
several people showed up, and we drove nearby roads, checking fields for the
Brant. We arrived back at the ponds after awhile. We were hoping
I spent all yesterday birding the north shore. I was particularly looking
for the Iceland Gull in Two Harbors. As I was driving up I found a few rafts
of Red-breasted Mergansers on the lake. When I arrived in Knife River I
noticed a few Gulls flying around, so I went down to the marina. There
Yesterday afternoon, Feb. 21, I decided to drive to Rothsay. On my way I
found 2 Robins and 3 Mourning Doves in Long Prairie. I got to Rothsay around
2, and I drove to the traditional lek west of town. I found 3 Red-winged
blackbirds in a flock of Starlings, they were streaked, which I assumed
Today I went back to look at the swans in Monticello. I was looking over the
birds and soon I found a Black Duck in with the mallards...it looked pure,
but I didn't have my scope.
Then after a little while I noticed a Snow Goose sitting on the ice. It was
a juvenile blue phase. It soon got up
After all this snow and freezing temperatures, something good came out of
itbirds flocked to the roadsides today. On my way to school I had a
pretty immense flock of Snow Buntings numbering around 300. After school I
went to the Airport just south of Long Prairie. Here I had a flyby N.
While on our 4 day hiatus to try and see 100 birds, John Chris Hockema and
myself found some unusual birds.
It started on Jan. 1 with a SWAMP SPARROW in Whitewater WMA, along with a
SONG SPARROW and RW BLACKBIRD. Later at Black Dog we located a BROWN
THRASHER! We also found a Whooper Swan
Today I set out to see how many Clark's Grebes were actually on Lake Osakis.
I found 2 where I had seen them before on the Todd County side. Better
directions: Take the road to the lake across from where CR4 goes east from
27.
The lake was choppy but I explored more of the lake and eventually
I decided to take a trip to the osakis sewage ponds today and surrounding
area. On the way I stopped at Lake Osakis in Todd County. The 5th Western
Grebe I looked at turned out to be a Clark's! It's the first one I've seen
in Todd. It was very close, and I could see the bill and face and sides
Today I took a quick jaunt over to Lake Osakis looking for a Clark's Grebe
among the Westerns, but to no avail, so I checked out the Osakis Sewage
Ponds. There was basically nothing for shorebirds, a couple of Spotteds and
a few Killdeer, but when I checked the back pond there were 2 Red-necked
My grandpa, John Kroll, has been birding Todd County for over 70 years, and
every time we go out birding he points out fields that should have
Henslows Sparrows. After scanning every mullein(spelling?) stalk in Todd
County for the last 3 years I never expected to actually find one, but he
A Blue-winged warbler was seen and heard 0.6 miles south of highway 27 on
295th Ave. 295th is a few miles(6 or 7?) east of Long Prairie. The bird was
on the east side of the road. Blue-winged Warblers are very rare in Todd
County. Blue-winged Warblers have been spotted here in previous years
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