In modern times (since about 1940) 233 species have occurred as breeding summer residents of Minnesota. In the summer of 1972 observations were made of 214 of these species with actual nesting reported for 145 of them.

Some of the species that were missed in 1972 have been reported in the last two or three years and presumably still nest in the state: Chukar, Great Gray Owl, Short-eared Owl, Saw-whet Owl, Acadian Flycatcher, Philadelphia Vireo, Henslow's Sparrow, Sharp-tailed Sparrow. Others that were missed last summer are known to be irregular or casual nesters in Minnesota and are not expected to be found every year: Barn Owl, Hawk Owl, Bewick's Wren, Carolina Wren, Yellow-breasted Chat, White-winged Crossbill. One species that was not seen, the Peregrine Falcon, has almost certainly been extirpated from the breeding avifauna of Minnesota as it has from the rest of the Eastern United States.

That leaves five species whose current breeding status in Minnesota is uncertain: Willet, American Avocet, Burrowing Owl, Louisiana Waterthrush, Lark Bunting. There has been no evidence indicating breeding for any of them since 1964 or 1965. Have they really disappeared or have bird watchers just not looked hard enough for them? All except the Louisiana Waterthrush are western prairie birds and their extirpation is a distinct possibility with the intensive farming and drainage now practiced on the Minnesota prairie. Next season let's hope that someone does some rigorous field work and turns up some positive answers.

And let's hope that this trend toward habitat elimination does not go on forever.

Highlights of the 1972 summer season include the second consecutive year that Cattle Egrets have been found nesting (in two colonies) and the first confirmed breeding for the Little Blue Heron in Minnesota. Red Crossbills staged a statewide invasion in mid-summer but no nestings were noted. Two species that are normally just winter visitants lingered into June: Bohemian Waxwing and Whitecrowned Sparrow.

In the species accounts that follow the observations have been summarized to provide information on three aspects of the avifauna: abundance, distribution, and breeding. The total number of counties in which a species was seen gives a rough estimate of how common it is compared to other species in the state. This type of "commonness" is really dependent on a species' conspicuousness, widespread distribution, as well as actual numerical abundance. By this measure the top ten birds for last summer were Sparrow Hawk, Killdeer, Mourning Dove, Northern Flicker, Eastern Kingbird, American Crow, House Wren, Robin, Red-winged Blackbird, American Goldfinch, Song Sparrow.

Information on distribution is given by listing the counties where there is a range boundary within the state, and by giving the location within the county at the fringes of the breeding range.

The observer's initials are used for the more unusual observations or to indicate that the bird was seen in more than one location within the county.

Precise knowledge of the breeding range of most species in Minnesota is nonexistent so as many data are provided as possible. Sometimes exact locations are given to help other people find the more unusual species in subsequent years.

Breeding information has been handled in two ways. In the listing of counties in which breeding was reported, county names without parentheses are those for which a nest or brood card was filled out. These breeding cards are filed in the M.O.U. file by species and provide the only hard data on breeding distribution (and other breeding information) for the state. I urge anyone who has unpublished field notes that give evidence for breeding for any species, but especially those that have a range boundary within the state, to write me (JCG) for the cards so that their data can be added to our file and our knowledge.

Where the county name appears inside parentheses no breeding card is on file and the evidence is only the observer's personal assessment of what constitutes "nesting." This obviously varies from "present all summer" to an actual nest found, but unless the data are given there is no way of judging exactly what "nesting" means.

For migrant shorebirds the two or three latest spring dates and the earliest fall dates are given plus an occasional concentration when that information is available to indicate the migration peak. Fall shorebird dates were early with many showing up in late June and early July. Information from other sources indicates that nesting in the arctic was very poor because of the late season, and many unsuccessful birds started their fall migration early. The same situation may have been true for some northern passerines within Minnesota. Extensive mist netting in a bog near Itasca State Park by Dwain W. Warner turned up very few juvenile birds in July and August (report at the Dec. 2, 1972 meeting of the M.O.U.). And Tennessee Warblers became numerous in Duluth in late July and early August rather than the second half of August which is their usual migration peak there. The two middle weeks of June were much colder than average as was the first week in July with an all time low of 27° on June lOth and 38° on July 7th at the Duluth airport. Was this the cause of the poor nesting season that Dr. Warner was able to document?