Yesterday, May 26, there were a Henslow's Sparrow at Great River Bluffs State Park in Winona Co and 2 Bell's Vireos at McCarthy Lake WMA in Wabasha Co.
The Henslow's was easily heard and seen along the state park entrance road, just W of the first parking area you come to next to the stand of pines. (As many birders are aware, this field has been an amazingly consistent site for this normally ephemeral species almost every year since at least the 1960s.) The Bell's Vireos were seen and heard near the SW corner of the large wet thicket about 1/4 mi W of the gate and WMA sign on Wabasha Co Rd 84. (This site has also been consistent for this highly local species for several years.) Both these birds were found during this past weekend's Minn Birding Weekend trip, which covered Houston Co on May 24 & 25 and small parts of Winona and Wabasha counties on May 26. Some other birds of note were: Least Bittern - heard-only at the wetlands just E of Mound Prairie, along Houston Co Rd 21 Yellow-billed Cuckoo - 2 locations: along the road off Hwy 16, on the E side of Mound Prairie SNA, Houston Co; and at the Zumbro River bridge on Wabasha Co Rd 84 Black-billed Cuckoo - heard-only near the campground at Beaver Creek Valley State Park, Houston Co Acadian Flycatcher - several along the main hiking trail at Beaver Creek Valley Tufted Titmouse - 2 locations along Hillside Rd, Houston Co: ~2 mi S of Co Rd 3, and just W of Reno Cerulean Warbler - heard-only along Hillside Rd just W of Reno Prothonotary Warbler - several at 3 Houston Co locations: Millstone Landing along Hwy 26, ~ 1 mi E of La Crescent on Shore Acres Rd, and Sheperd's Marsh in La Crescent Louisiana Waterthrush - 2 locations along the main hiking trail at Beaver Creek Valley (with the one by the bridge at the start of the trail easiest to see) Dickcissel - along Wabasha Co Rd 84, just N of the McCarthy Lake WMA sign In addition, several later-than-usual migrants were found: Olive-sided Flycatcher, Blue-headed Vireo, Philadelphia Vireo, Swainson's Thrush, Tennessee Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, N Waterthrush, Mourning Warbler, and Wilson's Warbler. Kim Eckert
