Judd Brink is a local guide and naturalist who provides a weekly birding report during the spring bird migration, the summer nesting season, and the fall bird migration for Visit Brainerd. This is the 12th season Judd has provided birding reports about the Brainerd Lakes Area in Central Minnesota.

Birds Spotted in the Brainerd Area:

Green Heron, Great-blue Heron, Trumpeter Swan, Common Merganser, Woodduck, Belted Kingfisher, Common Loon, Ring-billed Gull, Bald Eagle, Osprey, Turkey Vulture, Broad-winged Hawk, Cooper’s Hawk, Barred Owl (2), Red-headed Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Eastern Towhee, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Baltimore Oriole, Northern Cardinal, Wild Turkey, Common Raven, Red-tailed Hawk, Common Grackle, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Nighthawk, House Wren, American Goldfinch, House Finch, Mourning Dove, Cedar Waxwing, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Sandhill Crane, Eastern Phoebe, Eastern Bluebird, Chestnut-sided Warbler, American Redstart, Nashville Warbler, Golden-winged Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Brown Thrasher and Eastern Kingbird. Happy Birding!

The fall bird migration is on its way now! Watch for young birds at your bird feeders, they can be very curious.  Visit https://birdcast.info/ (type Crow Wing County in search) to get last nights estimated bird count of birds migrating!  For example on 8-31, 2024 this is the number of birds 4,441,700 that took flight over our heads!  Amazing!

Watch for young birds at your bird feeders, they can be very curious. If you want to share a photo or have a unique bird sighting please email them to Judd Brink.
Brainerd Area Birding Locations:
  • French Rapids ( Mississippi River): Waterfowl
  • Kiwanis/Rotary Park (Mississippi River): Waterfowl and Warblers
  • Northland Arboretum: Sparrows, Warblers and Tanagers
  • Crow Wing State Park: Songbirds, Waterfowl and Warblers
  • Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge: Sandhill Cranes

Judd Brink is the owner of MN Backyard Birds and can help make your home and or business more active and attractive for our feathered friends with bird-scaping. This is 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 area.

Plan your birding trip to Brainerd/Baxter, MN, today. There are a variety of hotel accommodations, wonderful dining, and a lot of other indoor and outdoor activities to enjoy.