[mou-net] Crow Wing, Aitkin, Sax-Zim, and Canal Park (LONG)

Dear Minnesota Birders: This past weekend (March 3–4), Alex Cruz and I drove up from the Twin Cities to bird some spots in northern Minnesota. We left Saturday shortly after noon and drove first to Hwy 210 west of Aitkin to look for Great Gray Owls. While we struck out there, our luck turned when

[mou-net] Lake and St. Louis Counties (LONG)

Dear MN Birders: Alex Cruz and I had a great day yesterday (Sunday, February 5) in Lake and St. Louis counties. We got an early start to the day by driving up from the Twin Cities to stay at the Whispering Pines Motelhttp://.whisperingpinesmotel.comin Ilgen City (Hwys 61 and 1 just north of

[mou-net] Black Dog Power Plant Franklin's Gull

Went out with my husband today and looked for the Snowy Owl and Glaucous Gull in the Black Dog Power Plant area on the Minnesota River. We found neither, but did see a Franklin's Gull along with a number of Common Goldeneyes, Mallards, Common Mergansers, Herring Gulls, Ring-billed Gulls, Trumpeter

[mou] Bass Ponds: Kentucky Warbler and Black-billed Cuckoo!

Dear Minnesota Birders: Yesterday (5/23), while birding with my mother at the Bass Ponds in Bloomington, we saw a Black-billed Cuckoo at the bottom of the downhill entrance trail. This was a first species for me during Minnesota migration. I thought it would be the highlight of the day, but

[mou] Yellow-billed Cuckoo at Eloise Butler

Numbers were fair-to-low at Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary in Minneapolis this morning, but quality was incredibly high. The highlight was a singing Yellow-billed Cuckoo! Other highlights from a quick, 40-minute stroll through the sanctuary included: Eastern Kingbird (flew

[mou] Wood Lake Today

Despite the beautiful weather, there was not a large quantity of birds at Wood Lake this morning. *Quality*, however, was high. Highlights included: Forster's Tern Belted Kingfisher Pied-billed Grebe Hooded Merganser Wood Duck Great Blue Heron Green Heron Yellow-rumped Warbler Palm Warbler

[mou] Hooded Warbler at Wood Lake

In addition to American Redstart and Yellow-rumped, Palm, Black-throated Green, Black-and-White, Tennessee, Bay-breated, Blackpoll, and Blackburnian Warblers at Wood Lake today, there was also a beautiful, singing male Hooded Warbler in the NW portion of the nature center. Warbling Vireo,

[mou] St. Louis and Aitkin Counties

Saturday, November 6: My parents and I birded the Sax-Zim area in St. Louis county and the area around Pietz's Road in Aitkin county. Though we were only out from noon to 5PM we managed to see the following highlights in addition to a number of more common birds: Northern Hawk Owls: along Hwy

[mou] Murphy-Hanrehan and Fort Snelling State Parks

Yesterday I went birding with my parents and husband in Murphy-Hanrehan and Fort Snelling State Parks. In Murphy-Hanrehan between horse-trail markers 14 and 15 and along the road we had numerous singing Blue-winged Warblers, American Redstarts, Ovenbirds, Veeries, Great-Crested Flycatchers,