The return of what could best be described as an “old fashioned” winter with plenty of snow cover throughout the period was accompanied by an overall lackluster showing of rarities, with the notable exceptions of two rare Arctic gulls, causing some birders to cry “fowl!” or worse. Late or potentially overwintering geese were represented by only a single Snow Goose in Sherburne in early January. Birders have become increasingly adept at identifying and documenting the recently split Cackling Goose (but beware small B. c. parvipes, Lesser Canada Goose). Mute Swans were found in Winona and Wright; a record high concentration of Trumpeter Swans was reported in Monticello, and large concentrations of Tundra Swans were once again not reported due to early ice conditions.

Gadwall lingered north in St. Louis (Duluth) and apparently overwintered in Dakota. Other overwintering dabblers included Northern Shoveler in Scott and Northern Pintail in Wright and Dakota. All five Aythya diving ducks were recorded well into January at Point Douglas Park, Washington, and all attempted to overwinter in the metro counties, including an impressive 37 Ring-necked Ducks in Scott. Headlining the “Most Watched and Certainly Unexpected” list this season was a wayward male Harlequin Duck that spent nearly the entire period near Prescott, WI, in Washington and Dakota. Playing second fiddle to the Harlequin were two alternate plumaged male Barrow's Goldeneyes at the same locale. Pt. Douglas also hosted two interesting hybrid ducks: a Common Goldeneye X Hooded Merganser and an apparent and rarely described Barrow's Goldeneye X Common Goldeneye.

Six of Minnesota's seven regular species of gallinaceous birds showed continued increases, including Gray Partridge. Spruce Grouse may also be on the rise, but their population is much more difficult to monitor and assess. Wild Turkeys now seem to be, well, everywhere based on reports from a record 43 counties. January grebes included Pied-billed in Rice and Horned in St. Louis. Double-crested Cormorants lingered until mid-January in Dakota and persisted thru February in Ramsey near Pig's Eye. Great Blue Herons were found through late January in Ramsey and Sherburne.

A very late migrant Turkey Vulture was well described in early December in Cottonwood. Approximately 50 Bald Eagles feeding on chicken offal at a plant at Buckman must have been quite a sight. Of 23 Northern Goshawks reported, none was described and only one was aged (an adult), raising concerns about identification of the other 22 individuals. Red-shouldered Hawk reports were numerous with 16 on the state's Christmas Bird Counts (CBC), double the 20-year average.

The highlight of the season was the well photographed third state record adult Ross's Gull that provided county records for Dakota, Ramsey, and Washington — all in one day. A painfully short stay (two hours) by a first-cycle Ivory Gull in Duluth was bliss for a few, but cruel and painful for the die-hard larophiles whom the clock did not favor.

Expanding numbers of Eurasian Collared-Doves were reflected by a 325% increase over the recent CBC average. Found in late October, the state's first Inca Dove in Lake survived a 14-inch snow storm on 2 December and was last seen three days later. Overall, northern owls were present in reduced numbers, especially Boreal Owl with only one report from Cook. Great Gray Owls were found on only two CBCs — Grand Rapids and Grand Marais.

An impressive 29 Red-headed Woodpeckers were found on the Cedar Creek Bog CBC while an equally impressive 35 American Three-toed Woodpeckers were reported during the period. A female Mountain Bluebird continued at the Grand Marais Coast Guard station in Cook. Townsend's Solitaires were found in good numbers across the state and only absent in the West-central and Southwest regions.

Exceptional was a well-photographed Chipping Sparrow in late-January in Mower. Two Savannah Sparrows in McLeod provided only the fifth winter season record for this species. Increased reports of meadowlarks came from seven counties this season. Very rare in winter, a male Yellow-headed Blackbird was photographed at a feeder in Hennepin. Winter finch numbers were again modest and unremarkable. Maybe next year!

Weather Summary: Generally lacking statewide in recent years, snow covered much of the state during the 2007–2008 winter season. And it was the coldest winter since 2000–2001, although some extreme temperature swings did occur. Here are a few highlights by month.

December precipitation totals topped normal by roughly one-half inch in most locations and snowfall totals exceeded one foot in nearly all locations. In the snowiest December since 2000, some locations in northeastern Minnesota received two to three feet of snow. Cold weather early in the month was counter-balanced by seasonal to above-normal temperatures in the second half of December. Extreme values for December ranged from a high of 40^o in Canby (Yellow Medicine County) on the 19th and in Grand Marais on the 20th, to a low of -32^o at Embarrass (St. Louis County) on the 9th.
In January, the weather took a turn as snowfall dropped below historic averages in most areas of the state with the exceptions of the southeast corner and along Lake Superior where things were about normal. A classic “January thaw” cut the snow pack a bit and temperatures climbed to a record-setting high of 48^o in Grand Rapids on the 5th. Two bitter cold episodes came late in the month when Embarrass (St. Louis County) reached -39^o on the 24th and the temperature fell 45^o or more in a 24-hour period at nearly all reporting locations on the 29th.
In February, below average snowfall continued in most Minnesota locations with the exception once again of the far southeastern corner of Minnesota where totals were near average. Temperatures ranged from 5^o to 7^o below normal statewide with extremes ranging from 52^o on the 24th in Canby (Yellow Medicine County), to a low of -40^o at International Falls and at Embarrass on the 11th, the latter a record low for that date. Numerous low temperature records were set on 20 February when temperatures dropped into the -20^os and -30^os in northern and western Minnesota. Due to colder than average temperatures in December and February, the 2007–2008 winter season was the coldest since the winter of 2000–2001.
Undocumented Reports: Common Loon 1/4 Rice; Yellow-bellied Sapsucker late December through mid-February in Dakota and on the Hastings/Etter (2), St. Paul NE Suburban (2), and Winona CBCs; Ovenbird 12/1 Olmsted; Chipping Sparrow 12/2 Olmsted; Hoary Redpoll Hibbing CBC, Philbrook CBC (2), 1/1 St. Louis (Hibbing), 1/12 Wilkin, 2/9 Itasca/Koochiching, and 2/17 Lake.

Acknowledgments: Thanks to all of you who submitted seasonal reports and documentation, especially to those using the on-line seasonal report at <moumn.org/moureports/season.html>. Special thanks to Dave Cahlander for his continuing efforts to streamline and improve this process. Carl Greiner did a great job taking over the helm of statewide CBC coordinator (thanks again to past coordinator, Roger Schroeder) compiling and summarizing mountains of data. Thanks also to Anthony Hertzel, Jeanie Joppru, and Jim Lind for their tireless compilations of weekly RBAs.