[mou] Northwest Minnesota Birding Report- Friday, June 18, 2004

[Jeanie Joppru]

This is the Northwest Minnesota Birding Report for Friday, June 18, 2004
sponsored by the Detroit Lakes Regional Chamber of Commerce. You may
also hear this report by calling (218) 847-5743 or 1-800-433-1888.

Even though the weather doesn't feel like it, summer seems to have
settled in in northwest Minnesota, and the migration is over except for
the stragglers. Trees are fully leafed out, and viewing is a challenge
in the wooded areas. Now is the time to start looking for the Lady's
Slipper flowers of several species.

In Otter Tail County, Carole Brysky found a HENSLOW'S SPARROW singing on
territory in Glendalough State Park on June 10th. Dan and Sandy Thimgan
were able to relocate the bird on June 14th. Directions to the bird are
as follows: =20

Turn off CR 16 at the park entrance, proceed 1.1 miles looking for a
barricade on your left that says "Employees Only. Do Not Enter".  This
means your vehicles.  Park your car at the barricade or across the road,
and walk in about 0.2 miles on the gravel road.  Notice the power poles
to your right, station yourself on the road between  the second and
third poles, looking south (to your left).  There is a sign there that
says "Restored Prairie, 1999". The bird was about 40 yards out in this
prairie.

The Clay County ROCK WREN  at Felton Prairie was again located singing
on Rock Pile #6006- this time by Dan and Sandy Thimgan, and this time he
has a mate. Two birds were seen there on June 13th. They are at the
previously posted location in the gravel pit. Directions to the wrens
are: From US highway 9, take Clay County Road 108 east. It will become a
gravel road in about three miles and at the 'T' go north. The road will
soon go east, and after a quarter of a mile look for the gravel pit. The
bird was singing on top of a rock pile labeled # 6006.=20

At Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge on June 13th, the TRUMPETER SWANS
with their five young were seen on Pool 8. A very dark PEREGRINE FALCON
was observed flying from the edge of the woods at the Maakstad Walking
Trail that day also. Goose broods are very evident now and growing
quickly. WESTERN GREBES can be seen on Headquarters Pool along the
county road.=20

Shelley Steva reported seeing a MERLIN near the Thief River Falls post
office in Pennington County on June 15th. We are still on the look out
for the nesting site.=20

Polk County sightings reported by Bruce Flaig included a pair of
TRUMPETER SWANS with four cygnets; also nesting birds included EASTERN
BLUEBIRD, CEDAR WAXWING, and BALTIMORE ORIOLE. Alex Wendorf sent a
report from Rydell NWR that included TRUMPETER SWAN, COMMON LOON,  and
many common locally nesting species.

Besides the Rock Wren that Herb Dingmann reported from Felton in Clay
County, he also found GREATER PRAIRIE CHICKEN, SWAINSON'S HAWK, MARBLED
GODWIT, CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPUR, and ORCHARD ORIOLE ON June 13th.

>From Becker County, Mary Wyatt also had reports of nesting species which
included an OSPREY nest, and a RED-TAILED HAWK nest with young near the
intersection of CR 12 and the road to the Eagle Wetland. A WESTERN GREBE
was seen on the Hesby Wetland, and at her feeders she had a juvenile
RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD.

>From Glendalough SP in Otter Tail County , Jeffrey Wiersma reported a
CASPIAN TERN on June 10th, BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO on June 7th, OLIVE-SIDED
FLYCATCHER on May 31st, and NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW and BLUE-GRAY
GNATCATCHER on June 3rd.

Thanks to Shelley Steva, Mary Wyatt, Dan and Sandy Thimgan, Herb
Dingmann, Bruce Flaig, Alex Wendorf, and Jeffrey Wiersma for their
reports.

Please report bird sightings to Jeanie Joppru by email, no later than
Thursday each week, at ajjoppru@wiktel.com OR call the Detroit Lakes
Chamber's toll free number: 1-800-542-3992. Detroit Lakes area birders
please call 847-9202. Please include the county where the sighting took
place. When reporting by email please put "NW Bird Report" in the
subject line of your message. The next scheduled update of this report
is Friday, June 25, 2004.