Following the warm winter across much of the country, the season was marked by very early returns of migrants that overwinter in the U.S., but typical arrival dates for neotropical migrants.

The migration of Greater White-fronted Geese brought them farther east than usual, resulting in exceptional high counts in the East-central and unusual reports from the Northeast. Waterfowl migration dates are often difficult to track due to confusion with a few overwintering birds of many species, but migration this season was clearly much earlier than usual, as evidenced by the fact that most duck species arrived north at least two to three weeks prior to their recent median arrival dates. Blue-winged Teal, in particular, set records as individuals arrived in five different north counties prior to the previous record early date.

A Harlequin Duck was discovered in Cook. Apart from Surf Scoter reports in Winona and Brown, all other reports of scoters were from St. Louis and Cook. A Barrow's Goldeneye was documented from Lac qui Parle, while an adult male that overwintered in St. Louis lingered until late March.

Gray Partridge counts were down, with no reports exceeding two individuals. Drumming counts of Ruffed Grouse were also down, though reports of this species were spread across its traditional range. Spruce Grouse were only found in Lake and Lake of the Woods. Wild Turkeys were reported from 75 of 87 counties.

Red-throated Loons were confined to St. Louis. They first appeared in mid-April and were found through the end of the season. No Pacific Loons were discovered in the state, however. All grebe species also arrived one to two weeks prior to recent medians.

The fifth state record Neotropic Cormorant was found in Murray at the end of March, while the third state record Brown Pelican was seen in Goodhue and Dakota, and possibly in other counties as it seemed to wander throughout the East-central region.

The highlight among the long-legged waders was the Tricolored Heron in Wright, though it was only briefly seen. Snowy Egrets were in Lac qui Parle, Swift, and Hennepin, and Cattle Egrets were found in 13 counties. No Little Blue Herons or Yellow-crowned Night-Herons were found. Remarkable was the total of 50 ibises at Cory Lake in Lac qui Parle in mid-April. Of these, 30 were identified as White-faceds, while the remainder were cautiously left as Plegadis species. Other White-faceds wandered as far east as the Dakota/Goodhue border and to Hennepin at this same time, and one was found as far north as Agassiz N.W.R. During the last half of May, Common Gallinules were reported from Blue Earth, Houston, and Sherburne.

As with ducks, there were many record or near-record early shorebirds this season. Piping Plovers were discovered in Swift and Lyon in late April. A Black-necked Stilt entertained many in Hennepin for the one day it was present in mid-April. Another lingered for four days in Blue Earth, while a third briefly paused in mid-May at the productive Sleepy Eye W.T.P. in Brown. One Whimbrel was found in Dakota, while north reports were from Cass, Clearwater, and all three counties along Lake Superior. Hudsonian Godwits, with appearances in 22 counties, made their best showing since 2009. While no Red Knots were recorded, a Purple Sandpiper photographed at Split Rock Lighthouse S.P. was the seventh state and first spring record of this species. A Buff-breasted Sandpiper was a nice find in Pipestone, as this species is Casual in the spring. In Olmsted, an alternate-plumaged male Ruff was seen by many in mid-April.

A Little Gull was photographed in late May at Superior Entry in Duluth. Duluth also hosted Iceland and Lesser Black-backed Gulls into March, Thayer's Gulls into April, and a Glaucous and Great Black-backed Gull into May.

Eurasian Collared-Doves continue to expand. They were found in 48 counties, easily surpassing 2011's spring total of 36. A White-winged Dove—another species being found with more regularity in the state, though far less widespread—lingered in Lewiston, Winona for nine days in late April.

Snowy Owls departed by early April, while Northern Hawk Owls went undetected. Great Gray Owls were only found in Beltrami, Lake, and St. Louis.

An out-of-range American Three-toed Woodpecker was documented in Crow Wing; three other reports came from Lake and Cook. Also away from its traditional range was a Black-backed Woodpecker in Stearns.

A Say's Phoebe provided a first county record for Fillmore in late April. A month later, a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher was photographed in Beltrami — also a first county record.

Several reports of Black-billed Magpies in Cook were outside the normal range for this species, as was a Tufted Titmouse found in Scott. An overwintering Carolina Wren was seen in Chisago (Wild River S.P.).

Two Mountain Bluebirds were seen in Cook in early March, while a third was found in Hennepin towards the end of May. All four Townsend's Solitaires seen during the season were holdovers from the winter. Varied Thrushes reported from Dakota and St. Louis (Duluth) also had overwintered, but another from Duluth, one from near Chisholm, and a first county record for Norman were all new for the season. Northern Mockingbirds were located in seven counties, as far north as Marshall County and St. Louis (Ely).

A pair of Bohemian Waxwings seen in Duluth in mid-May were quite late to depart.

Along with traditional locations near the Twin Cities, a Hooded Warbler was discovered in Wabasha for a first county record. The only south report of Black-throated Blue was an individual in Ramsey, but north reports included two new county records for Morrison and Pine. A Yellow-breasted Chat was in Lac qui Parle at the Big Stone N.W.R.

It was a good spring for Spotted Towhees, with singles in Ramsey and Lyon and a pair in Otter Tail. Several sparrows found their way well north of their normal range, including a Field Sparrow in Marshall and a Grasshopper Sparrow in Lake. A Nelson's Sparrow in mid-April was a first county record for Ramsey; it was followed by a second less than a month afterwards. Golden-crowned Sparrows in St. Louis and Sherburne provided the eighth and ninth records for the state.

Two first-year male Summer Tanagers were in Rochester, while females were found in Mower and Hennepin and a fifth individual in Aitkin. The only Western Tanager was an adult male seen at Lac qui Parle Lake in early May. In Jackson, a Lazuli Bunting was photographed at a feeder in early May. A Great-tailed Grackle in Waseca at the end of March was a first for the county; two other individuals were seen in Lac qui Parle and Yellow Medicine in April.

Several Hoary Redpolls lingered south through early March; all were gone from the state by the end of the month, as were almost all the winter finches.

Weather: Mean monthly temperatures for March were astonishingly warm, ranging from 10º to 17º F above the historical average. Consequently, such signs of spring as perennial plant development and lake ice out were about three to four weeks ahead of normal. April mean temperatures were only somewhat above average — about one to four degrees. May temperatures were above average in northern Minnesota, and well above average (4+ degrees) in the south. May marked Minnesota's eighth consecutive month of above-normal temperatures, and for many communities the season was the warmest meteorological spring of the modern record.

March precipitation totals were highly variable across the state, with northern regions generally above average and southern regions below average. Several large storms moved through the northern regions in late March (23 March and 28–29 March). April precipitation totals were either at or above normal statewide. The largest storm was mid-month (15–16 April); it dropped one to two inches of rain in the south and five to eleven inches of snow in the north. May precipitation totals were extraordinarily high from the southwest into the northeast. Here, monthly precipitation totals above eight inches were common. Major storms traversed the state 4–6 May and 23–24 May.

Undocumented or insufficiently documented records of Regular species: Spruce Grouse 3/10 Polk (out of range); Western Grebe 3/20 Lac qui Parle (record early date); Clark's Grebe 5/20 Lac qui Parle (no details); American Bittern 3/15 Ramsey (early date); Osprey 3/12 Ramsey (early date); Red-shouldered Hawk 3/31 Polk, 5/20 Marshall (out of range); Broad-winged Hawk 3/6 Blue Earth, 3/21 Sherburne, 3/24 Ramsey, 3/25 Goodhue (early dates); Spotted Sandpiper 3/30 Becker (record early date); Semipalmated Sandpiper 3/20 Lac qui Parle (early date); Baird's Sandpiper 3/11 Murray (17) (early date); Iceland Gull 5/29 St. Louis (late date); Common Tern 4/1 Chippewa (early date); Yellow-billed Cuckoo 4/1 Big Stone (early date); Great Gray Owl 3/10 Polk (out of range); Common Nighthawk 4/14 Wabasha, 4/18 Goodhue (early dates); Ruby-throated Hummingbird 3/30 Crow Wing (early date); Eastern Wood-Pewee 3/25 McLeod (early date); Eastern Kingbird 4/18 Mille Lacs (early date); Gray Jay 4/1 Rice (4), 5/7 Fillmore (2), 5/26 Pine (out of range); Common Raven 4/1 Lyon, 5/17 Meeker (out of range); Wood Thrush 4/3 Cass (3), 4/17 Ramsey, 4/22 Hennepin (early dates); Gray Catbird 3/6 Ramsey, 3/9 Anoka (early dates); Smith's Longspur 4/10 Otter Tail (no details); Snow Bunting 5/31 Sherburne (late date); Magnolia Warbler 3/31 Chisago, 4/1 Rice (insufficient details); Indigo Bunting 4/22 Goodhue (early date); Dickcissel 3/13 Fillmore (early date); Orchard Oriole 3/12 Ramsey (early date).

Acknowledgements: We thank Anthony Hertzel, Jeanie Joppru, and Jim Lind for compiling and providing transcripts of Minnesota's three weekly birding reports. Special thanks to Dave Cahlander for building and maintaining the seasonal reports submission and production web pages (http://moumn.org/moureports/season.php) through which most of this data is collected and organized. Medians of recent arrivals and departures are based on published and unpublished seasonal report data from 1985 through 2010. Finally and most importantly, our appreciation goes out to all our contributors. We are especially grateful to those who respond to our requests for details and who submit observations online.