Brief trip to Minnesota and Wisconsin produces three new warbler species for the year (and lots of other stuff)

Kirtland's Warbler, Marinette County, WI, Jul 10, 2026

Kirtland's Warbler, Marinette County, WI, Jul 10, 2026

Kirtland's Warbler with leg bands, Marinette County, WI, Jul 10, 2026

Kirtland's Warbler, Marinette County, WI, Jul 10, 2026

Jack Pine habitat, Marinette County, WI, Jul 10, 2026

Golden winged Warbler, Marinette County, WI, Jul 10, 2026

Golden winged Warbler, Marinette County, WI, Jul 10, 2026

Nashville Warbler, Marinette County, WI, Jul 10, 2026

Mourning Warbler, Marinette County, WI, Jul 10, 2026

Brewster's Warbler, Marinette County, WI, Jul 10, 2026

American Redstart, Marinette County, WI, Jul 10, 2026

Northern Waterthrush, Marinette County, WI, Jul 10, 2026

I flew out of Hartford late morning on Thursday the 9th into Minneapolis to begin a roughly two week vacation away with multiple stops before heading back home. The main part of the trip would be Alaska (covered in a later post) with the bookends being Minnesota/Wisconsin at the beginning and Oregon at the end (also covered in a later post). The first part of the trip I would be on my own with the goal being to track down at least two and possibly three species of warblers I had not yet seen for the year in the continental US (Kirtland’s Warbler, Golden winged Warbler and Connecticut Warbler)…much more on that at the following post: Minnesota and Wisconsin warblers.  I arrived in the early afternoon and after a little snafu with picking up the rental car I started the long (about 5 1/2 hour) drive to my Airbnb in northeast Wisconsin near the Michigan border. I eventually made it to the lodging around 7:30, had a quick dinner, a shower and went off to bed to try to get some sleep. However the place I rented was a basement location and the noise from above was super annoying and sleep was in short supply. 

With little sleep I headed out before dawn to drive to a spot to the south about 40 minutes away to try to find my first target…the Kirtland’s Warbler. I would have a much better chance to catch up with a Kirtland’s Warbler in their core breeding range in the lower peninsula of Michigan but I really didn’t want another three plus hour drive each way to get there. After lots of messages with a few people ‘in the know’ as far as possible locations for the species I had what I hoped would be a productive plan to find one. The species came close to extinction just a few decades ago and after lots of effort to provide suitable habitat (they need Jack Pines at a height of five to fifteen or so for breeding locations) and control of Brown headed Cowbirds the species has rebounded and has now been taken off the endangered species list. Wisconsin is at the periphery of the range and the area I would be checking has just a few nesting pairs and the locations are kept secret to protect the species. I arrived in one spot before sunrise and was immediately entertained by some Common Nighthawks calling and diving and making the unique booming sound as they drop from height and pull up just before hitting the ground. As I was enjoying the nighthawks I heard a Kirtland’s Warbler singing…target one down for the day. I then spent the next hour or so trying to get looks, photos and recordings. I had at least two males and a female present in a roughly 60 acre pine lot with the perfect height trees present. One of the males had color bands and I’ll see what I can find out about the history of the individual. I also had a number of other warbler species present with Nashville Warblers being the most prevalent (a theme that continued all day). I moved around the area a bit over the next few hours and found another pair of a Kirtland’s Warblers as well as great selection of other species (warblers and others). With the Kirtland’s Warbler in the bag my next target was Golden winged Warbler. I checked a few good looking spots before eventually seeing one and by end of the morning I had seen several including adults carrying food and fledglings being fed. I even had a Brewster’s Warbler hybrid feeding typical looking Golden winged Warbler fledglings. Besides warblers I had a bunch of other species I was able to add for the day and I had a total of 75 species. 

Canada Jay, Sax Zim Bog, MN, Jul 11, 2026

Blackburnian Warbler, Sax Zim Bog, MN, Jul 11, 2026

Ruffed Grouse, Sax Zim Bog, MN, Jul 11, 2026

Mourning Warbler, Sax Zim Bog, MN, Jul 11, 2026

Magnolia Warbler, Sax Zim Bog, MN, Jul 11, 2026

Boreal forest, Sax Zim Bog, MN, Jul 11, 2026

Without knowing how I would fare on Friday I kept my options open for Saturday. If I had failed to find a Kirtland’s Warbler I planned to perhaps make a trip into Michigan but thankfully I did not have to do that. Instead I decided to get up even earlier on Saturday and make the long drive back to Minnesota with the destination being the famous Sax Zim bog area a few hours north of Minneapolis. The area is very well known as a destination in the winter for those looking for owls and other northern birds but the summer also holds the chance of finding some interesting species with the chief among those being Connecticut Warblers. The downside of heading there is it is another long drive and to get there early enough to have a chance of getting birds while they are still singing meant another very early morning. Even getting up early I still did not get there until around 7AM (it’s a nearly five hour drive so tough to get there at first light!). The area had the feel and sound of the boreal north with both Red Crossbills and White winged Crossbills, Pine Siskins and Canada Jays. Not long after I arrived I heard a Connecticut Warbler sing in the distance and despite lots of effort on my part I never got eyes on the bird and I only heard it sing one more time and it was even more distant. Although I would have loved to have gotten a look I was very happy to finally hear this warbler sing on its breeding grounds. I have actually never heard the song in real life until that morning as the fall birds that come through are not singing and only call. I then tried a few other areas to try to find another Connecticut Warbler before I returned to the original area before heading toward the airport just after noon. I had no luck with finding any others or seeing or hearing the original one again. Nonetheless the warbler became warbler species #51 And was the last one I needed to find for the year in the continental US. This was also one of two warbler species this year that was heard only although I hope to track down some this fall at home.  I hit another milestone by topping my best ever year total for species in the US with White winged Crossbill breaking my previous best total of 449 set way back in 2011. This is all thanks to multiple trips to various parts of the US at various seasons.  It was a great morning in the area with multiple new species for the year with sunny weather every day with progressively warmer temps that topped off in the low 90’s.  I finished the day with 82 species, including 13 species of warblers.

Full eBird trip report here:  Minnesota and Wisconsin trip report