Friends of Sax-Zim Bog

WARBLER WEDNESDAY #2
May 23, 2018
24 folks joined us for our second Warbler Wednesday of the season, including a couple from Washington state who are in the midst of a 3-week “warbler expedition” where they had seen 32 species so far. We helped them add two more…Connecticut (heard only) and Canada. They will add 3 more on their way home to end up with an impressive 37 species of warblers! Jimmy from Oregon also joined us and his excitement for our more common eastern birds was infectious…including the Blue Jay!
Sparky’s group found 81 species and combined with Clinton’s group’s totals we ended up with 99 SPECIES for the morning! Not bad. And the first Tiger Swallowtail of spring.
The weather was perfect with temps ranging from mid 40s to near 80 degrees. Highlights included several “southern” species that aren’t that common in the Bog (Wood Thrush, Yellow-throated Vireo), fantastic looks at the secretive LeConte’s Sparrow (photo included), American Bittern near the Welcome Center (photo included), dancing Sharp-tailed Grouse, close Black-billed Magpie, Bobolinks courting, Red Crossbills including juveniles (Clinton’s group) and 21 species of warblers including the aforementioned Connecticut, Canada, Blackburnian, multiple Golden-wingeds, Tennessee, cooperative Mournings and Black-throated Green.

WARBLERS AT 26 DEGREES
Sunday May 20, 2018 (6am-1pm)
Our first ever Waffles & Warblers field trip started off chilly with an air temp of 26 degrees, but things heated up fast and our group of 9 (including leader Sparky) found 80 SPECIES! The sunny, calm and all around gorgeous day warmed up to 60 degrees by waffle time.
From 6am to 11 am we birded the Bog and even got in some hiking. Highlights included 13 species of warblers including great looks at Blackburnian, Black-and-white, Mourning, Magnolia, Chestnut-sided and Black-throated Green. We also had Ovenbird, Nashville, Common Yellowthroat, American Redstart, and Yellow-rumped Warbler. We heard a single Connecticut and a Golden-winged Warbler.
A walk to the Whiteface River netted some “southern” birds, including 2 Wood Thrush, Great Crested Flycatcher (close views) and Yellow-throated Vireo (heard only). Most also enjoyed good looks at Sedge Wren, Bobolink, Brown Thrasher, Golden-crowned Kinglet and Veery.
Grouse are still in courtship mode and we witnessed a close Ruffed Grouse drumming (a couple folks saw) and 6 Sharp-tailed Grouse, five of which were still dancing on the Racek lek. The only Wild Turkey we saw was not displaying.
Jeri, on her second straight field trip, spotted a motionless American Bittern for the group. No easy feat…Thanks Jeri!
We ended up the day with waffles, sausage, OJ and good conversation at the McDavitt Township Hall. Thanks to Nancy and Jim Fisher for making our excellent brunch! I really think this will become an annual event.

** WARBLER WEDNESDAY #1 WRAP-UP **

Yesterday, May 16th, saw the completion of the first Warbler Wednesday of the season! The group assembled at 6:00 am at the Welcome Center to traverse the the Sax-Zim Bog, looking for warblers and other bird goodies! This first field trip saw a full crew of 24 and, with help from guest field trip leader John P Richardson, we set off to see what we could find.

Head Naturalist Clinton's group set off to the southern reaches of the Sax-Zim Bog, in search of prairie and upland birds. However, before even reaching the end of Owl Avenue, the group was stopped with a massive wave of warblers! The group stood and watched hundreds of warblers migrating overhead. Some of the birds were kind enough to drop in to the spruces and tamaracks, allowing for some great looks at Cape May Warblers, a couple of gorgeous male Bay-breasted Warblers. Add to that singing Black-and-white, Tennessee, Nashville, and Yellow-rumped Warblers and this was an amazing chance to see migration and view some good warbler diversity. However, this wave accounted for nearly all of the warbler diversity seen by either group!

Following a detour with warblers, the group got to view Sharp-tailed Grouse dancing, had killer views of a LeConte's Sparrow, and enjoyed the aerial displays of Bobolinks along Racek Road. While leaving Racek Road, one of the trip attendees mentioned seeing a SHRIKE! Though Northern Shrikes are a common sight in the Bog during the Winter Season, they all leave by the end of March. A shrike seen in May is a big deal!! Sure enough, we were able to locate the first LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE in the Sax-Zim Bog in about 7 years, with very few record of this southern and western Minnesota species in the area. Both groups were able to see this amazing record!

John's group was focused on the northern reaches of the Sax-Zim Bog and didn't have as much warbler luck, but did add some awesome species to their day list. A nice Northern Parula added some warbler color to their day, as did an American Redstart, both species Clinton's group did not see! The big find for the second group was a Caspian Tern on Stone Lake! Terns are very uncommon in the Sax-Zim Bog, even though there are a couple of lakes present. Their Caspian Tern was watched gliding over Stone Lake, and is another great sighting for our first Warbler Wednesday of 2018!

Many thanks to John Richardson for co-leading this first Warbler Wednesday! All told, we had an incredible composite list of 93 (!!!) species in 6 hours! Highlights for the list include 17 warbler species, 10 species of sparrow, and all 5 corvids and of course Loggerhead Shrike! Below is a link to the eBird checklist from today: https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S45771053

We hope to see you at one of the last two Warbler Wednesdays of the Season! Please remember to RSVP to naturalist@saxzim.org, as the field trips are nearly full!

(Photo of the Loggerhead Shrike by Clinton Nienhaus)

40 ACRES ADDED TO WARREN NELSON BOG! Urgent Need! FIELD TRIPS. Report on Things that Go Buzz, Croak, Hoot & Bump in the Night trip - https://mailchi.mp/saxzim/springsummer-field-trips-rare-owl-surveys-spring-wildlife-photos-lichen-ferns-dragonfly-workshops-1484521