After three summers in a row of devastating drought and extremely high July temperatures, Summer 1977 was a welcome change. While July was a bit on the warm side, it was easily tolerable after a generally cool June. And moisture was back up to being closer to normal, resulting in healthier prairie pothole levels and virtually no major grass or forest fires. Birding conditions, therefore, were generally pleasant, and the 4 7 contributors to this report found plenty to keep them in the field. A total of 261 species was reached, probably the highest ever for any summer, though it must be admitted that an unusual variety of shorebirds lingering into June accounted for part of this exceptional total. But nesting evidence was gathered for 155 species, only one short of last summer's excellent total, so there were still a lot of birds around.

Leading the list had to be the variety of herons at Pelican Lake and Big Stone N.W.R. Not only did Cattle Egrets and Little Blues occur at both rookeries, but also Snowy Egrets turned up at both locations, with the first Minnesota confirmed nesting at Big Stone. Even more exciting to most listers were the Louisiana Herons at Pelican Lake, since there had been only two previous state records. All of this makes it easy to overlook the Yellow-crowned Night-Herons at Big Stone and the population boom in Green Heron and Least Bittern. Also interesting from the western part of the state were two Ferruginous Hawk reports, a survey of good numbers of Greater Prairie-Chickens, and reports of the always elusive King Rail and the even more elusive Burrowing Owl that even successfully nested. Northern Bobwhite numbers are encouraging in the southeast, but on the other hand we may have seen the last of the Chukars at Ely. As mentioned above, migrant shorebirds seemed all over the place in June, the probable result of an influx of observers in pursuit of rarities in western Minnesota. No less than 29 species of shorebirds were found into June, including possible nesting Piping Plover on Lake of the Woods, a Ruff at the Moorhead sewage ponds, and almost unbelievable numbers of American Avocets. The best bird of the season, also from western Minnesota, had to be the second ~ate record Western Wood Pewee in Roseau Co. which even included a nest with three young! Also nesting and of interest were a pair of Northern Mockingbirds at Blue Mounds St. Pk., also (you guessed it!) in the western part of the state. But warblers are a specialty of eastern Minnesota, and of special note here were the unprecedented reports of Blue-winged in the North Woods, Tennessees turning up in most unlikely numbers and places, a singing male Kentucky near the Twin Cities, and continued mid-summer reports of Wilson's which suggest the first Minnesota nest of this species is a future probability. Also probable is that White-winged Crossbills have managed to nest without detection in Minnesota, since huge numbers of adults and juveniles were found in the northeastern counties. Of final note, appropriately enough back on the prairies, was the return to Felton of Baird's Sparrows, an event somewhat dampened by the lack of Sprague's Pipits here.