[mou] RFI: Baird's & Connecticut?

[Patrick McNulty]

Dear MN Birders,

I am going to be at a conference (administrative computing in higher ed) July 15-17 in Minneapolis.  I am using four days of vacation before that to go birding.

I was very grateful for the information and help I received on this list (and in person) two years ago when I could not resist coming to look at your owls.  So here I am again.

(FEEBLE DISCLAIMER: I am not a rabid ticker.  I do appreciate simply being in and experiencing the natural world.  (I think that if your Blue Jay was a rare bird, and maybe a litle less raucous, it would be considered a strikingly beautiful bird.)   I bird responsibly.)

NEVERTHELESS,  I do of course have a target list.  I won't bore you with all 10 or so.  You can probably guess them, and I'm willing to let most of them take care of themselves, on this trip or another one somewhere else.   However, there are two birds I would REALLY like to see: Baird's Sparrow and Connecticut Warbler.  I fear they have become the measure of whether I will sit in the conference sessions later thinking "gee, maybe I shoulda..."

I am flying in to MSP on July 10, Tuesday afternoon and renting a car.  My current plan is to drive directly to the Fargo area and spend the next day and night in Kidder County trying for a Baird's.  Sometime Thursday, depending on how things have gone, I will drive towards Aitkin, St.Louis, and Lake counties in the hopes of seeing a Connecticut Warbler somewhere in that area, perhaps Sax-Zim, perhaps Route 2, or perhaps somewhere else that I learn about between now and then.  I need to return the rental car at the airport Saturday afternoon, take a shuttle to the hotel, and resume my other identity.

So, if you've had the patience to read this far, perhaps you might also have some advice on additions or corrections (or complete revisions) to my plan.  

In particular, do I have any hope of hearing either of these two birds during July 10-14?  Are there better ways to maximize my chances for these bellwether birds for the trip?

I have been over Kim Eckert's most recent edition thoroughly;  I have looked at all the other relevant  MN and ND bird-finding materials that I can find.  (The only dates for Baird's singing I can find are "through July". )  I would be grateful for any additional insights or info that would be particularly relevant for July 10-14 of this year.  Is this year dry or wet, early or late?   And now that I've gone this far, although I hate to be so predictable, I might also mention Yellow Rail for those dates?

Thanks for any information or informed opinion you can give me,

Patrick McNulty
Santa Barbara, CA
mcnulty at gte.net 
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