April 26, 2023
Judd Brink is a guide and naturalist and will provide a weekly birding report during the spring bird migration, the summer nesting season and the fall bird migration for Visit Brainerd. Judd Brink is the owner of MN Backyard Birds.  He can help make your home/business more active and attractive for our feathered friends with bird scaping! This is the 11th season Judd will be providing birding reports for the Brainerd Lakes Area.

Happy Earth Day Week!  TIme to think spring! Here is  what you can do to help attract them.  A few quick ideas birdhouses are a nice way to encourage birds to stay close to home with their own nesting box!  Another is think about native plantings that can provided fruits, cover, nesting and shelter!

Today’s birding report comes from the Brainerd lakes area: the early spring migration is a little slow with the snow and cooler temps in the area.  Bald Eagle, Osprey, Red-tailed Hawk, Peregrine Falcon, American Kestrel, Turkey Vulture, Cooper’s Hawk, Northern Harrier, Tundra Swan, Trumpeter Swan, Blue-winged Teal, Green-winged Teal, Woodduck, Ring-neck Duck, Mallard, Greater/Lesser Scaup, Canada Goose, Common Goldeneye, Common Loon, Common Merganser, Pied,billed Grebe, Sandhill Crane, Great-blue Heron, Killdeer, Common Raven, Veery, Hermit Thrush, American Woodcock, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Pine Warbler, White-throated Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Song Sparrow, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, Wild Turkey, American Robin, Eastern Bluebird, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Pileated Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Ring-billed Gull, House Finch, Purple Finch and American Goldfinch.  Happy Birding!

Pileated Woodpecker

Spring  Birding Locations:

rench Rapids- ( Mississippi River) waterfowl

Kiwanis/Rotary Park (Mississippi River) waterfowl and warblers

Northland Arboretum-  Sparrows, warblers, tanagers

Crow-wing State Park –  Walking/biking trails, songbirds/waterfowl/warblers

Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge – NOW see migrating Sandhill Cranes!

Be BEAR AWARE!!!!  It’s that time of year when curious and hungry bears come out of their dens looking for an easy meal. If you have had bears in the past, there’s a good chance they will visit again so its a good time to get in the habit of bringing in your bird feeders in the evening.
A great time to think about bird scaping your yard to help attract more colorful birds!  Ask for native fruiting trees and shrubs to plant around the house or cabin to bring in more birds naturally!  we hope you can share the joy of watching birds from your home or with others when visiting one of the many great birding areas found in the Brainerd lakes.
we hope you will enjoy and follow the weekly birding reports from Visitbrainerd.com.  If you want to share a photo or have a unique bird sighting please email them to info@birdminnesota.com.

Woodducks

Happy Birding!