Summer 2018 was relatively quiet compared to some recent years. Nonetheless, there were many good birds seen, and several first county records.

In June, Cinnamon Teal were enjoyed in three western counties. A single White-winged Dove celebrated the Fourth of July in Ramsey, Anoka County. Also in July, Traverse County saw its first Common Gallinule record.

Two Piping Plovers visited Lake of the Woods in June. Two Red Knots seen at Duluth in early June were late migrants. A Parasitic Jaeger sitting on Lake Superior in July was unexpected.

A Red-throated Loon spent several days near Park Point in Duluth in mid-June. Both Snowy and Cattle egrets were found in western Minnesota during the season. First county records were provided by White-faced Ibis in Pope and Redwood counties.

Summer Boreal Owl reports are always unusual, but even more unusual was one in St. Louis County, found dead sitting on a branch. American Three-toed Woodpeckers were reported from three counties along the northern border. A Prairie Falcon in July was a first county record for Stevens County; another was seen in Traverse County that same month.

A Scissor-tailed Flycatcher visited Carlton County on 5 June. A family of Say’s Phoebes, consisting of two adults and two juveniles, provided a first county record for Traverse County. Winona and Hennepin counties hosted Carolina Wrens during the season.

A male Eurasian Tree Sparrow spent the entire season in Duluth, and was seen feeding a juvenile in August for the state’s first breeding record. Chestnut-collared Longspurs were notable for their absence. For years their stronghold in the state has been Felton Prairie in Clay County, but in recent years the number of reports has been declining, and Summer 2018 saw no reports at all.

For the second consecutive year, a Yellow-breasted Chat spent much of the season at Afton State Park in Washington County. Reports of Great-tailed Grackle came from Lincoln County in June and Sherburne County in July.

A Kentucky Warbler persisted from spring until 8 June in Brown County. Also in June, both Houston and Washington counties were visited by Yellow-throated Warblers. There were two Summer Tanager records, one from Kandiyohi County in June and the other from Carver County in July. Traverse County had yet another first county record with the appearance of a Blue Grosbeak on 8 July.

Weather Summary: June was about 2.8ºF above normal statewide, while July was only 0.5º above average. Marshall experienced the highest temperature, 99º on 5 June, while Brimson saw freezing temperatures (30º) on 5 June.

Precipitation in June was just over one inch above average on a statewide basis, though some areas especially in the southern half of the state experienced much wetter weather. At the extreme, a weather station in Murray County and another in Blue Earth County were 8.6 and 7.4 inches above normal, respectively. Major storms brought rain and strong winds to central Minnesota on 11 June, heavier rainfall to the northeast and east-central regions on 15–17 June, and hail and strong winds in the form of a derecho to northwestern and north-central portions of the state 28–29 June.

In July the statewide precipitation average was only 0.4 inches above normal, though some areas saw much more. Two major storms hit the state during the month. A 3 July event brought flash-flooding to parts of the southwest and pushed Redwood Falls’ monthly precipitation total to over 12 inches. Another major rainfall centered over Kanabec County resulted in over seven inches of rain on 12 July. Mille Lacs Lake rose over one-half foot in less than 24 hours due to this event.

Documented Records Still Under Review: Least Tern 6/12 Rice (Cannon Lake).

Insufficiently Documented Reports of Regular Species: White-rumped Sandpiper 7/25 Stevens (rare fall migrant before mid-August); Pacific Loon 7/5 Lake (very rare in July); Sharp-shinned Hawk 7/24 Hennepin, 6/24, 7/15 Isanti, 6/17, 7/22, 7/24 Sherburne, 7/2 Stearns (easily confused with other species and not known to occur South during summer); Rough-legged Hawk 6/21 Roseau (late date); Gray-cheeked Thrush 6/4 Clay (very late and out of range); Purple Finch 7/1, 7/5 Fillmore (far from usual summer range).

Maps: A map is included for each species having at least one confirmed breeding record during 2018 (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: Thanks to all who submitted summer reports and breeding records. Your data make this report possible. Special thanks to Steve Stucker and the Minnesota DNR for providing Minnesota Biological Survey (MBS) data. We are also grateful for the data provided by eBird. Thanks also to Jeanie Joppru for providing transcripts of weekly hot line reports, 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. Anthony Hertzel and Dave Cahlander produced the maps used in this report.