July 11 - Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge, Minnesota

I left the Econo Lodge in Wausau after breakfasting and working on the blog (I was a month behind in July; as I post this in September, I’m 6 weeks behind . . .), and drove out of Wisconsin and into Minnesota.  I arrived at the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge around noon, figuring that it might not be too late in the day to find a LeConte’s Sparrow, which would be a “Life Bird” for me.  A couple of birders had recently submitted an eBird checklist that included four of these Ammospiza sparrow species.

I first stopped at the Sherburne Refuge entrance kiosk off County Road 9, where I saw some sparrows in the area, but all I could ID there were Field and Clay-colored Sparrows.  So, I continued to the Mahnomen Trail, which is a short and easy walk through an Oak Savannah Restoration project.

Chipmunk - because you can't only look at birds . . .

"Mahnomen" is an Ojibwe word for wild rice which once grew abundantly in the nearby 600-acre Rice Lake.  The 3-mile-long trail loop winds through patches of forest and out into prairie clearings.  The main drawback to this trail was the swarms of biting deer flies.

It appeared that a portion of the restoration of the oak prairie was being accomplished with the use of prescribed burning, but they were also using flash grazing with goats to remove some of the understory brush.

I couldn’t get a photo of the reticent goats, but was intrigued with the solar panels that powered the electric fence.

Escaping the bugs, I took the Wildlife Drive, which is about 7 miles long.

The Trumpeter Swans and Sandhill Cranes were showing off along the drive.

For the day, I saw 51 species of birds, which I didn’t think too bad for a mid-afternoon bird-watching excursion.

Grasshopper Sparrow

After leaving the Refuge, I drove west until I got tired, & checked into the Super 8 motel in Fergus Falls, Minnesota.  After I’d settled in at the motel, I logged onto eBird, only to discover that a couple local birders had arrived at Kettle Moraine after I’d gone on the long walk yesterday, only to find a couple of singing male Ceruleans right at the Picnic Area where I’d begun my walk!!  Had I only stayed at the picnic area for another half-hour . . .  Ah, well.  I enjoyed the walk anyway.

Butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa)

Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge entrance eBird Checklist is Here

Sherburne NWR Mahnomen Trail eBird Checklist is Here

Sherburne NWR Wildlife Drive eBird Checklist is Here