Previous reports: March 28 , April 0 13 18 26 , May 0 10 18 .
Other Hotlines: Minnesota Statewide | Minnesota Duluth/North Shore

-RBA
*Minnesota
*Detroit Lakes
*May 25, 2002
*MNDL0205.25

-Birds mentioned

• Snow Goose
• CINNAMON TEAL
• Ruddy Duck
• Peregrine Falcon
• Sandhill Crane
• Black-bellied Plover
• American Avocet
• Hudsonian Godwit
• Marbled Godwit
• Ruddy Turnstone
• Red Knot
• White-rumped Sandpiper
• Baird's Sandpiper
• Dunlin
• Short-billed Dowitcher
• Wilson's Phalarope
• Red-headed Woodpecker
• Black-backed Woodpecker
• Yellow Warbler
• Cape May Warbler
• Scarlet Tanager
• Rose-breasted Grosbeak
• Indigo Bunting
• White-throated Sparrow
• Harris's Sparrow
• Orchard Oriole
• Baltimore Oriole
• Evening Grosbeak

Hotline: Minnesota, Detroit Lakes
Date: May 25, 2002
Sponsor: Lakes Area Birding Club, Detroit Lakes Regional Chamber of Commerce
Reports: 1-800-542-3992 (weekdays during business hours)
Compiler: Betsy Beneke (BetsyBeneke@lakesnet.net)

This is the Northwest Minnesota Birding Report for Friday, May 24, 2002, sponsored by the Detroit Lakes Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Lakes Area Birding Club. You may also hear this report by calling (218) 847-5743 or 1-800-433-1888.

This was a superb week for birding in northwestern Minnesota, as virtually all of the warblers and other neotropical migrants were moving through in large numbers. Cool temperatures are delaying leaf-out, allowing easy viewing, and with windy conditions, birds were found closer to the ground, so many fewer cases of "warbler neck" have been reported!

ORCHARD ORIOLES fell out of the northwestern Minnesota skies this week! Seven reports came from Becker County alone - mostly around Detroit Lakes, but these birds also appeared in Ottertail County, at the Rydell National Wildlife Refuge in Polk County and at Old Mill State Park in Marshall County. In all, nine different locations reported 27 birds.

INDIGO BUNTING, SCARLET TANAGER, ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK and BALTIMORE ORIOLE, along with a variety of warblers also continued to arrive in good numbers this week, with reports coming in from Ottertail, Becker, Polk, Marshall, Roseau and Kittson Counties.

At Old Mill State Park in Marshall County on the 19th, Zeann Linder found an amazing 8 RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS. Since these birds are rather uncommon anymore, this was a real treat. Other birds reported by park staff include CAPE MAY WARBLER, ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK, WHITE-THROATED SPARROW, HARRIS'S SPARROW, BALTIMORE ORIOLE and EVENING GROSBEAK.

A male BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKER was found by Doug Johnson just south of the Pine Point Campground on the Mississippi River on the 19th. This is four miles north of the town of Becida off Hubbard CR 3.

At the Hamden Slough NWR in Becker County this week, some of the shorebirds recorded included BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, AMERICAN AVOCET, HUDSONIAN GODWIT, MARBLED GODWIT, RUDDY TURNSTONE, WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER, BAIRD'S SANDPIPER, DUNLIN, SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER and WILSON'S PHALAROPE. A hybrid CINNAMON TEAL, first found during the Detroit Lakes Festival of Birds, was still present on Bisson Lake.

At the Agassiz NWR in Marshall Co., birds reported this week included a variety of shorebirds, including AMERICAN AVOCET, RED KNOT and DUNLIN, RUDDY DUCK, SANDHILL CRANE, PEREGRINE FALCON, CAPE MAY and YELLOW WARBLERS, RED-HEADED WOODPECKER and 15 SNOW GEESE still present on the 19th.

Thanks to the MANY people who shared sightings this week!

To report bird sightings, contact Betsy Beneke by e-mail, no later than Thursday each week, at: betsybeneke@lakesnet.net OR call the Chamber's toll free number: 1-800-542-3992. Detroit Lakes area birders please call 847-9202.

The next scheduled update of this report is Friday, May 31, 2002.

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