MOURC Proceedings Archive - Whistling-Ducks, Geese, Swans, Ducks Accepted
Duplicates
This is the 1981 to present Records Committee Proceedings archive for
The Loon, journal of the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.
The last 2 years are available to MOU members.
Families
Whistling-Ducks, Geese, Swans, Ducks
New World Quail
Partridge, Pheasants, Grouse, Turkeys
Grebes
Pigeons, Doves
Cuckoos
Nightjars
Swifts
Hummingbirds
Rails, Gallinules, Coots
Limpkin
Cranes
Stilts, Avocets
Plovers
Sandpipers
Jaegers
Alcids
Gulls, Terns
Loons
Shearwaters and Petrels
Storks
Frigatebirds
Boobies and Gannets
Anhingas
Cormorants
Pelicans
Bitterns, Herons, Egrets, Night-Herons
Ibises
New World Vultures
Osprey
Kites, Accipiters, Hawks, Eagles
Barn Owls
Screech-Owls, Owls
Woodpeckers
Caracaras, Falcons
Flycatchers
Vireos
Shrikes
Jays, Nutcrackers, Magpies, Crows
Martins, Swallows
Kinglets
Silky-flycatchers
Nuthatches
Wrens
Thrashers, Mockingbirds
Dippers
Thrushes
Old World Flycatchers
Old World Sparrows
Pipits
Finches
Longspurs and Snow Buntings
Towhees, Sparrows
Yellow-breasted Chat
Blackbirds, Orioles
Warblers
Tanagers, Cardinals, Grosbeaks

Proceedings
Species: Whistling-Ducks, Geese, Swans, Ducks
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Fulvous Whistling-Duck
Ross's Goose
[Taiga Bean-Goose]
Brant
Mute Swan
Trumpeter Swan
Tundra Swan
[Whooper Swan]
Garganey
Cinnamon Teal
Eurasian Wigeon
Mottled Duck
Tufted Duck
Greater Scaup
King Eider
Common Eider
[Somateria eider]
Bufflehead
Barrow's Goldeneye
Smew

Brant (C) (Branta bernicla)Start Date 0000-00-00
RefFirstLastLocationCounty23CommentStatus
1MOU1956-11-23Pierce LakeMartinThe Loon 29:85Accepted
avian
information
1956-11-23Martin11/23 Martin (first state record) (first county record)
29:851957indexAn American Brant in Martin County, Minnesota
2MOU1963-11-02Buffalo BayLake of the WoodsJanssen 1987:59Accepted
avian
information
1963-11-02Lake of the Woods11/2 Lake of the Woods (second state record) (first county record)
38:1051966indexBlack Brant at Rice Lake Refuge
3MOU1966-05-171966-05-31Rice Lake N.W.R.AitkinCover of The Loon vol. 38 number 3 The Loon 38:85Accepted
avian
information
1966-05-171966-05-31Aitkin5/17-31 Aitkin (third state record) (first county record)
First Minnesota record; one adult spent several weeks at the Rice Lake National Wildlife Refuge near McGregor, Minnesota where it was found by refuge manager Carl E. Pospichal; also seen by RG, WRP, HFH, RLH and excellent photos taken by Frank Martin of the U.S. F. & W. S. The bird was last seen on May 31. (See front cover).
4MOU1972-10-31Agassiz N.W.R.MarshallThe Loon 45:24Accepted
avian
information
1972-10-31Marshall10/31 Marshall (fourth state record) (first county record)
45:241973indexPossible Black Brant
5MOU1973-10-071973-12-08RochesterOlmstedThe Loon 46:33Accepted
avian
information
1973-10-071973-12-08Olmsted10/7-12/8 Olmsted (fifth state record) (first county record)
46:33-341974indexBrant at Rochester
6MOU1974-10-04Grand MaraisCookThe Loon 47:140Accepted
avian
information
1974-10-04Cook10/4 Cook (sixth state record) (first county record)
47:140-1411975indexBrant at Grand Marais
53:174-1751981indexBrant at Duluth
7MOU1981-06-201981-07-01Duluth St. LouisThe Loon 53:174Accepted
avian
information
1981-06-201981-07-01St. Louis6/20-7/1 St. Louis (seventh state record) (first county record)
One on Minn. Pt., Duluth 6-20 7- 1 (Loon' 53:174-5).
855:411982-11-16Grand MaraisCook(vote 7-0, Loon 55:36) 1982: Accepted
avian
information
1982-11-16Cook11/16 Cook (eighth state record) (second county record)
11/16 Cook KE, KMH. See The Loon (55:36)
55:361983indexBrant at Grand Marais
56:1941984indexBrant Seen Near Grand Marais
56:2701984indexBrant at Fergus Falls
56:1601984-04-21Grand MaraisCook(vote 5-2; The Loon 56:194). Recirculated
64:1381984-04-21near Grand MaraisCook(vote 1-6); previously voted on, accepted and published (The Loon 56:194). The flock of five birds was seen only in flight and at a distance, and the only description was of "blackish" heads and necks, "light grayish" belly and "dark brown" wings. Such a description could also fit immature blue-morph Snow Geese, scaup, or Ring-necked Ducks. Not Accepted
957:341984-10-28Lake Alice, Fergus FallsOtter Tail(vote 7-0; The Loon 56:270). Accepted
avian
information
1984-10-28Otter Tail10/28 Otter Tail (ninth state record) (first county record)
10/ 28 Otter Tail L. Nordstrom (The Loon 56:270).
58:421985-07-15near Evansvi lleDouglas(vote 0-7). There was no real description provided , only a crude sketch which could have just as easily fit Mallard or some exotic, barnyard waterfowl. Not Accepted
10MOU1985-11-13OlmstedThe Loon 58:75,77Accepted
avian
information
1985-11-13Olmsted11/13 Olmsted (tenth state record) (second county record)
11/13 Olmsted fide JEB. Shot and identified by DNR.
59:1491987indexBrant at Salt Lake
1160:131987-03-27Manfred Twp.Lac qui Parle(vote 6-1; The Loon 59:149). Accepted
avian
information
1987-03-27Lac qui Parle3/27 Lac qui Parle (eleventh state record) (first county record)
61:2041989indexTwo Immature Brant at Agassiz NWR
1262:121989-10-091989-10-14Agassiz N.W.R.Marshall(vote 7-0 The Loon 61:204). Accepted
avian
information
1989-10-091989-10-14Marshall10/9-14 Marshall (twelfth state record) (second county record)
Reported 10/9-14 Marshall ABe, RJ (The Loon 61 :204).
63:2091991indexBrant at Mountain Lake
1363:1541991-03-28Mountain LakeCottonwood(vote 7-0; The Loon 63:209). Accepted
avian
information
1991-03-28Cottonwood3/28 Cottonwood (thirteenth state record) (first county record)
Reported 3/29 Cottonwood ED, RG (The Loon 63:209).
73:352000-07-09Forest L.Washington(record #2000-64, vote 0-7). The very brief documentation does not preclude the more likely possibility of this bird being some sort of exotic or barnyard waterfowl escaped or released from captivity; the bird also might have been an injured, summering blue-morph Snow Goose. Not Accepted
1474:1612002-04-10near Coon Creek Wildlife Management AreaLyon(record #2002-17, vote 7-0, The Loon 74:179-180). This individual was an adult of the Atlantic race hrota; most previous Brant records in Minnesota have also been of this same race. The documentation includes field notes and sketches made at the time of the observation along with some marginally identifiable photos. Accepted
avian
information
2002-04-10Lyon4/10 Lyon (fourteenth state record) (first county record)
One adult reported 4/10 Lyon (Coon Creek Twp.) ph. †KJB (The Loon 74:179–180). Like most of the previous Minnesota occurrences, identified as the Atlantic race (Branta bernicla hrota).
1576:1522004-03-212004-03-22Paynesville wastewater treatment pondsStearns(record #2004-020, vote 7-0). Distant photographs and written documentation supported its identification as the Atlantic race (Branta bernicla hrota). Accepted
avian
information
2004-03-212004-03-22Stearns3/21-22 Stearns (fifteenth state record) (first county record)
Fifteenth Minnesota record 3/21–22 Stearns (Paynesville W.T.P.) †PCC, †PHS, ph. RLE, ph. JPM (The Loon 76:152). Identified as the Atlantic race (Branta bernicla hrota).
1680:1152008-05-192008-05-27Bayfront Park, DuluthSt. Louis(record #2008-026, vote 7-0). Sixteenth state record. Adult “Atlantic” Brant (subspecies hrota), photographed and seen by many observers. Accepted
avian
information
2008-05-192008-05-27St. Louis5/19-27 St. Louis (second county record)
A bird of the “Atlantic” race (hrota) in St. Louis (Bayfront Park, Duluth) 5/19–27 provided the sixteenth state record (†LBe, ph. †JWL, ph. †PHS, ph. †KRE, ph. DAC, ph. MSS).
1783:992011-04-09southwest of HermanGrant(record #2011-009, vote 7-0). This bird was documented as an adult hrota which may be of consequence because the species may eventually be split. Accepted
avian
information
2011-04-09Grant4/9 Grant (first county record)
Atlantic subspecies discovered in Grant (Nachbor W.M.A.) 4/9 †RMD, †DAB. This is the fourth state record in the last 20 years.
1885:32012-11-20Park Point, DuluthSt. Louis(record #2012-041, vote 7-0). Juvenile, photographed. First fall record for St. Louis County. While the MOURC does not review records with regard to specific subspecies, it is clear from the documentation this record was that of the “Atlantic” or “Pale-bellied” subspecies (B. b. hrota). The “Atlantic” Brant breeds in eastern Arctic Canada, Greenland, and Spitzbergen, and winters along the Atlantic Coast of North America and Ireland. The “Black” Brant (B. b. nigricans) ranges geographically from extreme northeast Siberia to northern Canada, and winters to northern Mexico and China (Clements Checklist 2012). Both of these subspecies have occurred in Minnesota and may be split into distinct species in the future. A search of MOU archives reveals only two “Black” Brant records out of a total eighteen Brant records for the state. The first was an adult 17-31 May 1966 at Rice Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Aitkin County (see cover page of The Loon, volume 38, September 1966) and the second was a purported juvenile at Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge, Marshall County on 31 October 1972. Neither “Black” Brant record has been formally reviewed by MOURC because both records precede its formation in 1974. Accepted
avian
information
2012-11-20St. Louis11/20 St. Louis (third county record)
The first fall report since 1989 was of the hrota suspecies: 11/20 St. Louis (Park Point Recreation Area) ph. †SCZ, ph. †PHS, ph. JLK, m.ob (The Loon 85:93–94).
1989:32016-10-182016-10-22Agate Bay boat launch, Two HarborsLake(record #2016-041, vote 7-0). Juvenile of the hrota subspecies (“Atlantic” Brant), photographed. First county and the nineteenth state record. The first report since fall 2012. Accepted
avian
information
2016-10-182016-10-22Lake10/18-22 Lake (first county record)
The 19th state record and only the second fall report since 1989 was the B. b. hrota subspecies: 10/18–22 Lake (Two Harbors, juvenile seen at several locations) †PHS, ph. RZi, ph. JPR, ph. JWL, and photographs from 14 additional observers submitted via eBird.
avian
information
2020-09-26Houston9/26 Houston (first county record)
An adult “Atlantic” Brant (B. b. hrota) was the first fall record since 2016, 9/26 Houston (Hwy. 26 Overlook south of Brownsville) ph. †DMf. Also see Documented reports still under review in the introduction to this report.
2093:1112020-11-07 near HutchinsonMcLeod (record #2020-091, vote 7-0). Juvenile shot by a hunter and photographed. First county record.

Accepted
avian
information
2020-11-07McLeod11/7 McLeod (first county record)
An adult “Atlantic” Brant (B. b. hrota) was the first fall record since 2016, 9/26 Houston (Hwy. 26 Overlook south of Brownsville) ph. †DMf. Also see Documented reports still under review in the introduction to this report.
avian
information
2021-11-11Beltrami11/11 Beltrami (first county record)
Only the second Minnesota report of two or more together: 11/11 Beltrami (2, “Atlantic” subspecies harvested near Bemidji by a waterfowl hunter) TdN.
2193:1112021-11-11 northwest segment of Lake WinnibigoshishItasca (record #2021-083, vote 7-0). Two adults, both of the pale-bellied subspecies (B. b. hrota), were shot by a hunter and photographed. First county record.

Accepted
 
 Twenty-two records: seven spring, one summer, thirteen fall, and one fall-winter. Recorded in three of the last ten years, most recently 2021.

Notes:

The information in the above table comes from several different sources. The count in column 1 indicates which of the sources is considered the primary source.
'Accepted' MOURC entries from The MOURC Proceedings
'Not Accepted' or 'Rejected' MOURC entry from The MOURC Proceedings
Accepted MOU records assembled by David Cahlander
Sighting records for ()
Avian information from the occurrence maps, in dark red, assembled by Robert Janssen. Seasonal report for the species/season published in The Loon or The Flicker has been added.
Information from The Loon index assembled by Anthony Hertzel and David Cahlander