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.

During my short time in the area I found a total of 110 species and added two new states to my travel list.  In Minnesota I had 79 species and in Wisconsin I had 84 species (obviously some overall of species).

Full eBird trip report here:  Minnesota and Wisconsin trip report

The third week of October

Nashville Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 21, 2025

Palm Warbler 'yellow', Amherst, MA, Oct 21, 2025

Swamp Sparrow, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Oct 21, 2025

Song Sparrow, Hickory Ridge Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Oct 21, 2025

Common Loons, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 20, 2025

Winsor Dam, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 20, 2025

Tennessee Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 19, 2025

 

Blue Jay, Belchertown, MA, Oct 19, 2025

 

House Wren, Amherst, MA, Oct 19, 2025

Yellow rumped Warbler 'myrtle', Amherst, MA, Oct 19, 2025

White crowned Sparrow, Amherst, MA, Oct 19, 2025

Tennessee Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 17, 2025

Orange crowned Warbler, Amherst, MA, Oct 17, 2025

Bald Eagle, Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 16, 2025

Winsor Dam, Quabbin Park, MA, Oct 15, 2025

The last week has seen more great migration conditions early on and then a bit of a warm up and some rain to end the time period.  Warbler migration is largely over beyond the late season migrants although I did have a very good day yesterday with a total of eight species of warblers (quite good for this late in the month this year given all the great migration conditions).  Sparrows continue to arrive in numbers with a great selection of species around.  Waterfowl numbers and diversity have been on the low side so far although I expect that will change with the arrival of cooler weather into the four week of November.  Purple Finches and Pine Siskins continue to increase in number and will hopefully be just the vanguard of irruptive species to arrive this year...time will tell.  I'm a bit behind for the month as waterfowl has not really shown up in numbers and I have concentrated on finding late warblers...I currently stand at 125 species, which is my lowest count at this point in October since 2017.  I also presented a program at the Hampshire Bird Club on the evening of the 14th and it was apparently well received and had the biggest crowd for a program at the club since Covid.  The topic was "Endemic Warblers of the Caribbean".  I have made a couple presentations recently and have found that I really enjoy doing them.

End of the first week of October

Savannah Sparrow, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Oct 3, 2025

Belchertown Land Trust Trail, Belchertown, MA, Oct 4, 2025, East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Oct 3, 2025

Palm Warbler 'yellow', East Meadows, Northampton, MA, Oct 3, 2025

Green winged Teal with a Greater Yellowlegs, Arcadia, Northampton, MA, Oct 3, 2025

Nashville Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 4, 2025

Bay breasted Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 4, 2025

Eastern Wood Pewee, Belchertown, MA, Oct 4, 2025

Ruby crowned Kinglet, Belchertown, MA, Oct 4, 2025

Pale Tiger Moth caterpillar, Belchertown Land Trust Trail, Belchertown, MA, Oct 4, 2025

Orange crowned Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 5, 2025

Northern Parula, Belchertown, MA, Oct 5, 2025

Bobcat, Belchertown, MA, Oct 5, 2025

Slug Moth caterpillar (Red Cross button slug or an abbreviated button slug), Home, Belchertown, MA, Oct 4, 2025

Swamp Sparrow, Aqua Vitae Rd, Hadley, MA, Oct 6, 2025

Lincoln's Sparrow, Honey Pot, Hadley, MA, Oct 6, 2025

Common Yellowthroat, Wentworth Farm Conservation Area, Amherst, MA, Oct 6, 2025

Song Sparrow, Eastern Towhee and White throated Sparrow, Home, Belchertown, MA, Oct 5, 2025

Black and White Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 7, 2025

Black throated Blue Warbler, Belchertown, MA, Oct 7, 2025

The first week of October ended sunny and warm as we enjoyed four days in a row with mostly sunny conditions and temperatures way above normal in the upper 70's into the low 80's...a last gasp of summer as we continue the long, cold slide toward the hell that is winter.  After great migration conditions for the first couple days of the month the last couple days have had less than favorable winds and there was not a big turnover of species.  I continued to concentrate on warblers and have found a number of unique individuals including the possible hybrid and an odd Black throated Blue Warbler mentioned in the previous link plus an oddly plumaged Yellow rumped Warbler.  I stayed mostly in the Pelham and Belchertown area for most of the days except yesterday when I spent multiple hours in Amherst and Hadley before an appointment.  The highlight by far yesterday was a brief look at a Common Gallinule along the rail trail in Amherst...a fairly rare species in the area with this one being just my ninth record in the county.  Today I finished out the first week fairly close to home with a decent selection of species although the early low clouds and breezy conditions made photography a bit of a struggle compared to the previous few days.  In addition to birds I have had some good luck with finding both mammals and a variety of caterpillars.

I will be presenting a program at the Hampshire Bird Club a week from today...the title of the program is "Endemic Warblers of the Caribbean".  The program is free and open to the public...more info at the following link.