North-central United States Trip ~ June 9, 1995

I had planned this trip in a way that I would have the best chances of finding all of the specialties of north-central North America that I had not yet seen. My target birds included six species: Sharp-tailed Grouse, Gray Partridge, Sprague's Pipit, Connecticut Warbler, Baird's Sparrow, and the extremely secretive Yellow Rail. I realistically hoped that I'd see at least four of the six during the trip.

My dad picked me up at around 5:30 AM and drove me to the A.B.E. Airport for my 7:00 AM flight to Detroit. I took Northwest Airlines to Duluth, Minnesota, which entailed a plane change in Detroit and another in Minneapolis where I had lunch and got to see a replica of the "Spirit of St. Louis" that was used in the movie about Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic. I landed in Duluth in the early afternoon. The airport consisted of one main runway and three gates, quite a welcome change from the "madhouses" of Detroit and Minneapolis. In a very short time, I had my luggage in the rental car and headed to the nearest grocery store for supplies (an ice chest with ice and some 'goodies').

I headed west on I-35 and stopped at the Thompson Hill Information Center, a rest area and welcome center located atop a large hill just outside of town that afforded great views of Duluth, the Wisconsin city of Superior, and Lake Superior itself. Farther down I-35, I drove west on Route 210 to the McGregor Marsh.

The rental car at McGregor Marsh outside McGregor, Minnesota.

I searched the area for the spots where a local birder had heard Yellow Rail just two weeks before. I wanted to get my bearings while it was still daylight so when I returned later that night I wouldn't be totally "in the dark". While check out the marsh, I heard a Yellow Rail periodically 'ticking' just south of the junction of Routes 65 and 210. Birds that were seen there included Common Snipe, Tree Swallow, Sedge Wren, Common Yellowthroat, and Swamp and Savannah Sparrow.

I left the marsh and headed north on Route 65 to Road 14. After going about three miles east on Road 14, I stopped at a bog where I was told Connecticut Warblers were possible. There, I found Alder Flycatcher, Eastern Bluebird, Red-eyed Vireo, Ovenbird, and Nashville, Chestnut-sided, and Yellow-rumped Warblers, but no Connecticuts.

I also visited Rice Lake National Wildlife Refuge, but I didn't spend a lot of time there since I wanted to concentrate my efforts on the night search for Yellow Rail. So, I drove to the town of Aitkin and checked into the Ripple River Motel. I took a nap until dusk. When I told the desk clerk that I wanted a wake-up call at 9:00 PM, he questioned me whether I meant "PM" or "AM". I assured him that I meant "PM", but I didn't even try to explain why.

I got up and headed back east to McGregor Marsh. I stopped at the spot where I had heard the rail earlier and rolled down the window. There were at least two Yellow Rails calling roughly 50 yards out in the marsh, so I put on my "Swamp Thing" clothes (old pants, socks, and sneakers) and started out towards the calls. The air temperature was around 50 degrees and the water felt like it was close to freezing. I trudged through the thick grasses and steadily got closer to the birds when it started to rain. As soon as the rain began, their calling stopped. I don't know whether this was normal behavior or just a coincidence. Nevertheless, after standing in the rain in cold, ankle-deep water for an additional 20 minutes, I gave up. I sloshed back to the car and drove back to the motel. At 1:00 AM, I set the alarm clock for 4:00 AM, about a half-hour before dawn.

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