A Black-bellied Whistling-Duck seen on Grass Lake, Hennepin County, on 11 July provided a Minnesota record for the fourth consecutive summer. Grass Lake was also one of several sites in the county where Mute Swans were found during the season. Continuing the fun for Hennepin County, a Clark’s Grebe lingered for about a week in June and July at Westwood Hills Nature Center.

Hummingbirds made a good showing, with an adult male Rufous Hummingbird in Forest Lake at the end of the season providing a second county record for Washington County. Considerably more surprising was a Broad-billed Hummingbird seen and photographed for about fifteen minutes on 23 July at a backyard feeder in Elk River, Sherburne County.

Big Stone, Sibley, and Stearns counties enjoyed Black-necked Stilts during the season, and a pair in Big Stone County fledged two chicks. A Least Tern at Woodstock W.M.A., Pipestone County, in mid-June was unexpected. Also in June, up to 18 Red-throated Loons were viewed from Park Point in St. Louis County. For the fourth consecutive year, Richfield Lake in Hennepin County hosted a Neotropic Cormorant, which remained for much of the season. An adult and a juvenile Yellow-crowned Night-Heron visited the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley, Dakota County, for a couple of weeks in July.

A Barn Owl was present in Bancroft Township of Freeborn County on 1 June. Providing a third state record and a first record for Carlton County was an adult female Acorn Woodpecker at a residence in a rural area of Corona Township in early July. Later in the month a White-eyed Vireo was found along the Root River Trail in Fillmore County. A Eurasian Tree Sparrow continued into early June at Park Point, St. Louis County.

A Black-throated Sparrow was a surprise visitor to a backyard in Marshall, Lyon County, in early June. It provided a first county record. Later that same month, a Lark Bunting was observed for the first time in Washington County. Mid-July was the time for a first county visit to Carver County by a Blue Grosbeak, which was seen at the Dahlgren Road gravel pits.

By far the biggest excitement of the summer resulted when two Abert’s Towhees spent the season in Grand Rapids, Itasca County, resulting in a first state record. At least one of the birds sang persistently and gathering of nesting material by both birds was observed, but no nest or young was ever found.

Weather Summary: The statewide average temperatures for both June and July were above normal, though only by 1.8° F in June and 0.9° in July, so not nearly as extreme as in summer 2021. The 100-degree mark was reached in both months, at several locations on 19–20 June and at Gaylord on 2 July. The coldest temperature of the season was 29° on 5 June at Celina in northern St. Louis County.

Precipitation totals in most of the state were below normal in both June and July. The Twin Cities, for example, had their fifth driest June in the last 152 years, and in July only saw 30% of their expected precipitation.

Several severe weather events struck in late June. On the 20th, a series of thunderstorms struck central and northern Minnesota; Polk County recorded gusts of 91 mph. Hail and extreme rainfall hit central Minnesota again on 23–24th when baseball-sized hail fell in Otter Tail and an 11-inch rain gauge overflowed in Morrison County. A third major event struck northern Minnesota on 24–25th with damaging wind gusts and at least two tornadoes that touched down, one in Mahnomen and the other in Becker and Wadena counties.

Major storms in July included a derecho event along the Iowa border on the 5th, large hail on the 14th in Becker County, and strong winds and hail along a line from Renville to Houston counties on the 23rd.

Insufficiently Documented Reports of Regular Species: Philadelphia Vireo 6/20 Aitkin (out of range; this heard-only record could easily be confused with Red-eyed Vireo).

Maps: A map is included for each species having at least one confirmed breeding record during 2022 (not necessarily just in summer). A county is colored black to show confirmed breeding, medium gray for probable breeding, and light gray for a summer observation. Those species with no breeding data have no map.

Acknowledgements: For over thirty years, Peder Svingen has worked on the quarterly seasonal reports that have been published in The Loon. He began with the Winter 1990 season, and he has continued in various capacities as an author, editor, and reviewer until today. This season, summer 2022, will be his last. Peder brought an incredible knowledge of the distribution and occurrence of the state’s avifauna to this effort. Just as important has been his carefulness and attention to detail in completing these reports. We are very grateful to him. He will be missed.

Thanks also to all who submitted summer reports and breeding records. Your data make this report possible. We are grateful for the data provided by eBird. Thanks also to Paul Budde for compiling early and late dates, to Bob Janssen and Peder Svingen for maintaining a list of county and seasonal occurrence records, and to Dave Cahlander for his work on the online seasonal report. Weather data is from the Minnesota DNR’s HydroClim Minnesota newsletter (https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/hydroclim/index.html). Anthony Hertzel and Dave Cahlander produced the maps used in this report.

Stacy, MN; Duluth, MN.