[mou] 25 shorebird species

[Kim R Eckert]

During this past Labor Day weekend, the Minn Birding Weekends (MBW)  
group found a total of 25 species of shorebirds in Lake of the Woods,  
Roseau, and Marshall Co's in northwestern Minn.

Of these, all but 3 of the species were at Agassiz NWR, with the  
Tamarac Pool on Aug 31 being the most productive site in the refuge.  
The highlights here included Black-bellied Plover, Willet, both  
Hudsonian and Marbled godwits, White-rumped Sandpiper, Dunlin, Long- 
billed Dowitcher, and both Wilson's and Red-necked Phalaropes.

The only 3 shorebirds not seen at Agassiz were Am Golden-Plover, Buff- 
breasted Sandpiper, and Wilson's Snipe. There was a total of 37 Buff- 
breasteds in agricultural fields in Lake of the Woods Co on Aug 30: 28  
of these were in the field along Co Rd 2, 1.5 mi S of Co Rd 8, with  
about a dozen golden-plovers in this same field.

Other MBW highlights included: Short-eared Owls (3 at dusk along 440th  
Ave, 2 mi N of Hwy 11 in Roseau Co), Horned Grebes (Thief River Falls  
sewage ponds), Olive-sided Flycatcher, Western Kingbird, Philadelphia  
Vireos, 19 warbler species (but no significant waves found anywhere),  
Le Conte's Sparrow (an injured juvenile in Warroad), and White-winged  
Crossbills (Beltrami Island State Forest: N of Norris Camp and Faunce).

Kim Eckert