MINNESOTA BIRDING WEEKENDS
APRIL 2009 - FEBRUARY 2010 / OUR 24th SEASON
Minnesota Birding Weekends (MBWs), which began back in 1986,
will again be directed by Kim R. Eckert, author of four editions of
A Birder's Guide to Minnesota and birding tour guide for nearly 30
years. Our modest MBW fees and five-fold mission as we begin our 24th year
still remain as a successful and popular combination:
• To
introduce participants to Minnesota's best birding places;
• To find
the specialty birds of these locales, and to enhance the county, state, and
life lists of our participants;
• To study
both the basic and finer points of bird identification;
• To meet
other birders – we feature two-way radios to keep everyone in contact, a group
dinner at day's end, plus
other personal touches which contribute to a
sense of community;
• And, to
simply have fun – while we are serious about finding birds, our MBWs have long
been characterized
by an easy-going approach, with a sense of
humor always setting the tone.
We have now had a total of 282 MBWs,
more than 5,300 registrations, and our composite bird list is 352
Minnesota species. The winter Birding Weeks in South Texas (our
23rd) and in California-Arizona are again being offered this season,
along with new summer trips to Big Bend and Southeast Arizona!
Continuing as well is our "Frequent Birders" Program, in which
participants earn a $5 credit for each MBW attended, with the credits
accumulating to earn free registrations on future MBWs.
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY – THERE ARE SEVERAL CHANGES FROM PREVIOUS MBW
SEASONS:
Registration
and fees for MBWs can be sent in at any time, are accepted on a
“first-come-first-served" basis, and please note that some MBWs become
filled weeks or months in advance. Maximum registration for most MBWs is 15
participants. More than one MBW can be included on a single registration
form and on a single check: please make checks payable to Minnesota Birding
Weekends. All MBW registrants must have access to an e-mail address.
Unless a MBW is filled, checks are deposited as they are received and registrations
are confirmed by e-mail.
Confirmed
registrants canceling at least one week before a MBW will receive
a refund of 80% of their registration fee (unless stated otherwise in
the MBW's information); any refund for a later cancellation will depend on the
individual circumstances. Those on waiting lists receive full refunds. There
will be full/partial refunds for canceled/shortened MBWs.
The
meeting time and place and other MBW information is sent by e-mail to
those registered, usually about 3-4 weeks in advance of the MBW. Unless stated
otherwise, MBWs normally begin at dawn on Saturday, end early to mid-afternoon
on Sunday, and are typically based in the same city from Friday night until
Sunday.
Transportation,
meals, and lodging are normally not included in MBW fees, but
arrangements can be made by participants to car pool to the base city or to
share lodging – a list of those registered and lodging options in the base city
are included with the MBW's e-mailed information. Participants will be able to
bring their own food along for meals and/or to eat at restaurants, and our
car-pooled birding caravans are normally limited to 4 vehicles as we
travel.
All
MBW participants are expected/encouraged to become members of Minnesota
Ornithologists’ Union ($25 individual membership / $35 family; checks
payable to MOU), and memberships can be included with MBW registrations.
The
Friday-only, pre-Weekend options to mostly new counties (those not
normally included on previous MBWs or covered by most birders) may be taken
separately or in combination with the corresponding two-day MBWs in adjacent
counties.
* * *
• April 11-12 / Rothsay Wildlife Management
Area / $45
• pre-MBW option / April 10 / Grant
Co. (more extensive wetlands and woodlands than at Rothsay) / $30
Nowhere is the arrival of spring more dramatic
than in western Minnesota as migrants of all kinds advance with winter's
withdrawal. And at Rothsay WMA, booming prairie-chickens, staging Sandhill
Cranes, early territorial Marbled Godwits, Short-eared Owls, Lapland (and
possibly Smith's?) Longspurs will also be in evidence – and maybe Prairie
Falcon, Mountain Bluebird, or some other western stray? (Base Fergus Falls)
• May 2-3 / Cottonwood and Murray Counties /
$45
• pre-MBW option / May 1 / Watonwan
Co. (a nice mix of overlooked habitats attractive to migrants) / $30
Cottonwood County, often passed over by those
heading for nearby Jackson County, has plenty to see at such wetlands as Talcot
Lake WMA, at wooded Pat's Grove and Red Rock county parks, and in Red Rock
Prairie's grasslands. We will also explore adjacent Murray County, an even
more neglected county, and concentrate there on Lake Shetek State Park and
Chandler's Coteau des Prairies hillsides. (Base Windom)
• May 23-24-25 / Northwestern Minnesota I /
$75
• pre-MBW option / May 22 / Kittson
Co. (a visit to Minnesota's most remote and least-birded county) / $30
The attraction is obvious: places like Agassiz
NWR, Beltrami Island State Forest, Thief River Falls (and other) sewage ponds; and
possible birds like Least Bittern, Yellow Rail, Short-eared Owl,
Whip-poor-will, Connecticut Warbler, and Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow. Past
May MBWs here have included a trip list of 25 shorebirds, nesting Mountain
Bluebirds, displaying Sprague's Pipits, and in 1997 we set a MBW record of 195
species, with a wave of 24 warblers (including Yellow-throated) at Agassiz.
(Base Thief River Falls)
• June 20-21 / Clay County / $50
• pre-MBW option / June 19 / Norman
Co. (prairie birds in seldom-birded grasslands and woodlands) / $30
Among all of Minnesota's birding areas, Felton
Prairie has long ranked as one of the best – this is where the now-casual
Sprague's Pipits and Baird's Sparrows were once regular, and Chestnut-collared
Longspurs still are. Other prairie specialties here include Swainson's Hawk,
Upland Sandpiper, Marbled Godwit, Willow Flycatcher, Western Kingbird,
Grasshopper and LeConte's sparrows, and Orchard Oriole. (Base Moorhead)
• July 3-4-5 / Lake County / $75 (Leader
Craig Mandel)
• post-MBW option / July 6 /
Sax-Zim Bog (Minnesota's most renowned boreal bogs and meadows) / $20
This MBW, concentrated in the boreal landscapes
of the vast Superior National Forest, will also serve as a song identification
workshop for nesting passerines. Flycatchers, vireos (including Philadelphia),
Boreal Chickadee, Winter Wren, kinglets, thrushes, warblers (20 species likely,
including Black-throated Blue), sparrows, and many others will still be in
song. With luck, we might turn up something rare, like a Spruce Grouse family,
a Great Gray or N. Hawk owl, or American Three-toed Woodpeckers. (Base Silver
Bay)
• JULY 26 - AUGUST 1 /
BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK / $100 deposit
• AUGUST 1 - 9 / SOUTHEAST ARIZONA /
$100 deposit
Join us for either – or both! – of these
special Birding Weeks in the southwestern U.S., as we return to Southeast
Arizona (where there have been nine previous late summer MBWs) and experience
Big Bend National Park, a brand new and unique destination on the MBW schedule.
Big
Bend is probably our most remote national park, easily one of the most
scenic, and renowned as the only U.S. site for Colima Warblers. Among
the many southwestern specialties here (and at the nearby Davis Mountains), we
also will especially search for Montezuma Quail, Mississippi Kite, Common
Black-Hawk, Lucifer Hummingbird, Gray Flycatcher, Gray and Black-capped vireos,
Cave Swallow, and Black-chinned Sparrow – all birds hard to find, or even
absent, in Southeast Arizona.
The unique birds of the canyons and mountains
of Southeast Arizona are more famous and accessible, and our return here
has been long overdue. Gray and Zone-tailed hawks, owls (including Whiskered
Screech and Spotted), at least a dozen hummingbirds, Elegant Trogon,
Arizona Woodpecker, at least 15 flycatchers, Mexican Chickadee, Bendire's and
Crissal thrashers, warblers (including Olive, Grace's, Red-faced, Painted Redstart),
Hepatic Tanager, Botteri's and Five-striped sparrows, Yellow-eyed Junco, Varied
Bunting, and Scott's Oriole are just a few of the too-numerous-to-mention
possibilities.
Information on both MBWs will be sent in April
about the itineraries, lodging, weather (July-August is the somewhat cooler
"monsoon" season), and estimated costs: $650 Big Bend National Park /
$800 Southeast Arizona (both double-occupancy; air fare and meals not
included).
• August 22-23 / Stevens - Traverse - Big
Stone Counties / $45
• pre-MBW option / Aug. 21 / Swift
Co. (additional wetlands, shorebird mudflats, and woodlands) / $30
With good reason we will again visit Traverse
County's excellent wetlands and remnant prairie grasslands, with Clark's Grebe,
White-faced Ibis, Henslow’s and Le Conte’s sparrows all occurring in recent
summers. There are also numerous wetlands (and sewage ponds) in Big Stone
County, and this is the peak time and best part of the state for finding
shorebirds (20 species likely) and concentrating on their ID. (Base Morris)
• September 5-6-7 / Northwestern Minnesota
II / $70
• pre-MBW option / Sept. 4 / Clearwater
Co. (extensive mix of boreal habitats near Lower Red Lake) / $30
Our seventh Labor Day MBW in this corner of the
state will again include Agassiz NWR, Thief Lake and other remote WMAs, and
Lake of the Woods and other sites on the Canadian border (which are not on our
Memorial Day itinerary). With little birding here in fall, the possibilities
are many, less predictable than in spring, with 150+ species likely, often
highlighted by 20 species of shorebirds and warblers each, and by previous
rarities such as Prairie Falcon, Red Knots, and 2007's adult Long-tailed
Jaeger! (Base Roseau)
• September 26 / Duluth I / $20
• September 27 / Duluth II / $20
Join us again for either (or both) of these
now-traditional one-day trips in Duluth and vicinity, as we scour Lake
Superior, Park Point, and the North Shore from Stony Point to Two Harbors for
migrants of all kinds – rarities included. In recent Septembers, for example,
just at Park Point: Red Phalarope, Little, California and Sabine's gulls,
Arctic Tern, all 3 jaegers, Say’s Phoebe, and Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. (Base
Duluth)
• October 17-18 / Marsh Lake - Lac Qui Parle
- Big Stone N.W.R. / $40
• pre-MBW option / Oct. 16 / Yellow
Medicine Co. (sites outside the river valley near the S.D. line) / $25
While birders tend to visit these famous lakes
and refuge lands in spring, the birding here loses none of its appeal during
fall migration. In October, this stretch of the Minnesota River Valley and
its unique mosaic of wetlands, granite outcrops, juniper groves, riparian
woodlands, and grasslands also attract waterbirds, raptors, passerines, plus
perhaps a Spotted Towhee or another western rarity or two. (Base Montevideo).
• November 7-8 / North Shore of Lake
Superior / $40
Brant, King Eider, Yellow-billed Loon, Purple
Sandpiper, Black-legged Kittiwake, Ancient and Long-billed murrelets,
Anna's Hummingbird, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Fieldfare, Sage Thrasher: all
recent North Shore November records! More likely are Long-tailed Duck, all
three scoters, Pacific Loon, Thayer’s Gull, Townsend's Solitaire, Bohemian
Waxwing, winter finches, and more. (Base Duluth and Grand Marais)
• January 9-10, 2010 / Duluth III / $35
Little wonder this Weekend is such an annual
tradition, with Sharp-tailed Grouse, Great Gray, Snowy and
N. Hawk owls, Black-backed Woodpecker, Northern
Shrike, Boreal Chickadee, Bohemian Waxwing, and winter finches all among the
specialties. Also, some not unexpected rarities have included Harlequin Duck,
Spruce Grouse, Gyrfalcon, Am. Three-toed Woodpecker, Varied Thrush, and many
others. (Base Duluth)
[• JANUARY 16 - 24, 2010 /
CALIFORNIA & ARIZONA
(Co-Leader Craig Mandel)]
Coastal and montane
habitats near San Diego, the Salton Sea, the Yuma and Phoenix areas of Arizona,
and canyons and grasslands near Tucson will combine to produce well over 200
species. This
Birding Week is already filled with 8 on the waiting list – sorry, no
additional registrations are being taken at this time.
• FEBRUARY 6 - 14,
2010 /
SOUTH TEXAS / $100 deposit
During this Birding Week,
our 23rd to the Lower Rio Grande Valley, we can expect a long list of
birds not found in Minnesota, many of which normally occur nowhere else in the
U.S. – Muscovy Duck, Plain Chachalaca, Least Grebe, Hook-billed Kite,
White-tailed Hawk, Red-billed Pigeon, White-tipped Dove, Green Parakeet,
Red-crowned Parrot, Groove-billed Ani, Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl, Common Pauraque,
Buff-bellied Hummingbird, Ringed
Kingfisher, Great Kiskadee, Couch's Kingbird, Green Jay, Black-crested
Titmouse, Clay-colored Robin, Tropical Parula, White-collared Seedeater, Olive
Sparrow, Altamira and Audubon's orioles, and more. Mexican strays occur almost
every year, and 200+ species are expected. Information is sent in November
about the itinerary, lodging, cost (last year about $750 double-occupancy + air
fare + meals), and weather (normal highs in the 70s – some 50 degrees warmer
than in Minneapolis).
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MINNESOTA BIRDING WEEKENDS
REGISTRATION (please
photocopy this form as needed)
NAME(s)
____________________________________________________________________________
E-MAIL address _________________________________________ (Note: an e-mail address is
required on all MBW registrations – confirmations of
registrations and the information on all MBWs will only be sent by e-mail)
U.S.
mail address
______________________________________________________________________
Telephone(s) _________________________ _________________________ (Note: address and telephone numbers not
needed if you have previously registered for an MBW and your contact
information has not changed)
• WEEKEND
___________________________________
$ _____ MBW fee x ___ person(s) = $ _______
Others included in this registration:
___________________________________
• WEEKEND
___________________________________ $ _____ MBW fee x ___ person(s) = $ _______
Others included in this registration:
___________________________________
• WEEKEND
___________________________________
$ _____ MBW fee x ___ person(s) = $ _______
Others included in this registration:
___________________________________
TOTAL: $ __________ (multiple MBWs can be included on one check)
Please make checks
payable to:
MINNESOTA BIRDING
WEEKENDS
c/o Kim R. Eckert
1921 West Kent
Road
Duluth, Minnesota
55812
Participants are
encouraged to join the Minnesota Ornithologists’ Union ($25
individual / $35 family); membership dues on a separate check payable to MOU
may be included with your MBW registration.
Questions? Contact Kim
Eckert / telephone
(218) 349-5953 / e-mail
<eckertkr@gmail.com>