If you set out to find a place on this continent with the highest counts of different breeding bird species, a place with exciting viewing in every season of the year, you’d need look no further than right here in Brainerd Lakes Area of North Central Minnesota.
Here you’ll find a unique coming together of prairie, evergreens and deciduous forests– all centered around the Mississippi River. This is one of the world’s major flyways for migrating birds. This diverse blend of geography– with its lakes, streams, forests and wetlands– and our four-season weather pattern results in a combination unlike any other in the world.
It’s not unusual for a keen-eyed birder to log more than 100 different species in an eight-hour day. The luckiest may spot a northern goshawk or an American woodcock, found in woodland openings. Seeing either of these species, let alone both, is an experience of a lifetime.
This inviting scenic area, long a vacation destination for those looking for family resorts and angling opportunities, also offers an abundance of wildlife and nature-oriented experiences.
Wintering
As geese head south in their great V-formations, they seem to pull winter in behind them. Along with snow and frost, you’re likely to see bald eagles; great horned and barred owls; woodpeckers including the hairy, downy, red-bellied and pileated; gray and blue jays; ravens; nuthatches; snow buntings; and finches. Watch for tree sparrows, juncos, pine siskins and evening grosbeaks.
Passing Through
The open spaces of our beautiful area offer unique viewing opportunities as seasons change. Each fall and spring, you can view an immense variety of birds, including some species that may only be seen as they pass through the area during their annual migration.
Conifer forests of pine, spruce, and fir represent much of central Minnesota, either as pure stands or mixed with several species. Look for red-breasted nuthatches, pine warblers, evening grosbeaks, Swainson’s thrushes, and solitary vireos in this type of habitat.
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Birds of the Byway Tour Guide Checklist. Or
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Birds of the Byway brochure and map, includes Tour Guide Checklist.
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