-RBA
*Minnesota
*Minnesota Statewide
*May 9, 1997
*MNST9805.09

-Birds mentioned

• Eared Grebe
• American Bittern
• Cattle Egret
• WHITE-FACED IBIS
• Surf Scoter
• FERRUGINOUS HAWK
• Black-bellied Plover
• Willet
• Marbled Godwit
• Sanderling
• Wilson's Phalarope
• LITTLE GULL
• EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE
• Common Nighthawk
• Whip-poor-will
• Great Crested Flycatcher
• Gray Catbird
• Solitary Vireo
• Warbling Vireo
• Tennessee Warbler
• Orange-crowned Warbler
• Nashville Warbler
• Northern Parula
• Yellow Warbler
• Yellow-rumped Warbler
• Black-throated Green Warbler
• Blackburnian Warbler
• Pine Warbler
• Palm Warbler
• Black-and-white Warbler
• American Redstart
• Prothonotary Warbler
• Northern Waterthrush
• Rose-breasted Grosbeak
• Spotted Towhee
• Baltimore Oriole

Hotline: Minnesota Statewide
Date: May 9, 1997
Sponsor: Minnesota Ornithologists' Union (MOU)
Reports: (612) 780-8890
Compiler: Anthony Hertzel
Transcriber: Anthony Hertzel
Re-transcriber: David Cahlander (dac@skypoint.com)

This is the Minnesota statewide birding report for Saturday May 9th sponsored by the Minnesota Ornithologists' Union.

A WHITE-FACED IBIS has been found on the Meeker/Renville County line a few miles south of the town of Hutchinson. Directions from Hutchinson on State Highway 7 are to go west on 7 to McLeod County Road 14. Here 7 goes north west and 14 continues west. Stay on 14 for about 8 miles to Boone Lake. The ibis has been seen on both sides of the road here. Also in this area are a few MARBLED GODWITS.

The EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE in Big Stone County was seen as recently as Wednesday May 6th. Directions are: In the Town of Ortonville at the junction of State Highway 7 and U.S. Highway 12, go west on 12 for 1/2 mile. Turn south on Big Stone County Road 37 and go about one block. Look to the east along the narrow road and a stone bridge. The dove was feeding on spilled grain near here, and apparently has been in the area for about a month.

Interesting is the May 5th report from Steve Carlson of a CATTLE EGRET seen flying over Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis. Steve also found EARED GREBE, SURF SCOTER, and two WILSON'S PHALAROPE at French Lake in northern Hennepin County on the 6th. Up to 30 WILSON'S PHALAROPE were seen in Pipestone County on the 4th, though no specific location was given, and 15 were seen in the town of Paynesville in Stearns County along with a single SANDERLING on the 5th.

On May 7th Ray Glassel found an adult LITTLE GULL at Minnesota Lake in Faribault County. About two miles south of here he found seven WILLETS in a roadside flooded field. WILLETS were also found by Drew Smith at Lake Byllesby Park in Dakota County on the 6th, and by Peder Svingen on the 3rd along Lac Qui Parle County County 7.

Tim Leahy and Bob Clarkson reported a BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER on May 2nd in a pond on the north side of State Highway 7 on the Mcleod/Carver County line. They also report a CATTLE EGRET on just east of Louisburg in Lac Qui Parle County.

A COMMON NIGHTHAWK was reported by Sharon Koval on May 2nd in the Uptown area of south Minneapolis, and WHIP-POOR-WILLS have been heard calling at both Bunker Hills Regional Park in Coon Rapids, Anoka County and by Bob Jessen in his yard in the town of Austin in Mower County.

A FERRUGINOUS HAWK was reported by Doug Shepard on May 6th over the town of Ruthton in Pipestone County.

Both SOLITARY VIREOS and WARBLING VIREOS are being reported mostly from the Metro area, and a few warblers have also begun to show up in widely scattered locations. Most often reported are YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS and PALM WARBLERS. NORTHERN PARULA, NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH plus ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, PINE WARBLER and YELLOW WARBLERS are also being found, though in fewer numbers than what may be expected. I also have a few reports of BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER, BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER, BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER, NASHVILLE WARBLER, TENNESSEE WARBLER, and PROTHONOTARY WARBLER plus AMERICAN REDSTART. Some places to look for migrant warblers and other migrant passerines in the Minneapolis St. Paul area are Wood Lake in Richfield, which is along 66th Street just east of Interstate 35W. The Bass Ponds and Old Cedar Avenue Bridge area, which is along 98th street south in Bloomington, with access to Old Cedar Avenue Bridge about two blocks west of State Highway 77, and to the Bass Ponds about a half mile east of 77. Elsewhere, Prairie Island in Winona County is good for a variety of migrant species. It is part of the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge, situated just north of the town of Winona. And Tamarac NWR is in Becker County at the junction of County Roads 28 and 26.

Other birds reported have been an AMERICAN BITTERN, oddly enough in a north Minneapolis backyard, GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER, GRAY CATBIRD, BALTIMORE ORIOLE, ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK, and a SPOTTED TOWHEE at Blue Mounds State Park in Rock County on the 4th.

The next scheduled update of this tape is Thursday May 14th.

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