Frontenac State Park has the highest bird species count of any state park in Minnesota. Over 260 species have been recorded within the boundaries of the park. Twenty or more species of warblers and a total of 100 or more additional species can be recorded here on a single day in May. Hundreds of observers concentrate in the area in May each year to watch the migration of warblers, vireos, flycatchers, thrushes, tanagers, and sparrows.
The location of the park along the Mississippi River Valley provides an excellent variety of habitats for birds. Sand Point is well known as an observation place for shorebirds. The park is a vital nesting area for many Neotropical migrant species such as red-eyed and yellow-throated vireos, eastern wood-pewees, great crested flycatchers, wood thrushes, Baltimore orioles, and scarlet tanagers. In addition, the park provides key nesting habitats for many warbler species, including blue-winged, yellow, cerulean, and prothonotary warblers, American redstarts, ovenbirds, Louisiana waterthrushes, and common yellowthroats. Over 115 species use the park during the June–July breeding season.
Lake Pepin provides habitat for many species of waterbirds. In the Frontenac State Park area, it is the scene of a large concentration of common mergansers during late November when over 50,000 have been counted on a single day. This is the only place in North America where this phenomenon occurs. Besides the water habitat, Frontenac State Park has large areas of mature woodland and excellent restored prairie. In addition to warblers, the woodland areas provide nesting habitat for blue-gray gnatcatchers, red-shouldered and broad-winged hawks, black-billed cuckoos, eastern screech-owls, least flycatchers, warbling vireos, rose-breasted grosbeaks, and indigo buntings. In the prairie, Henslow's and grasshopper sparrows, bobolinks, eastern meadowlarks, and sedge wrens can be found. Just about anywhere you go in Frontenac State Park you will find interesting birds.
You may even find a species that is not on the park list—the potential is there. From the May-June 2015 issue of the MN Conservation Volunteer by Robert B. Janssen Birds from photo above Top row from the left: Magnolia Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Nashville Warbler Bottom row from left: Black and White Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Palm Warbler
What birds are you likely to see on your visit? Here is a bar chart showing the normal distribution of birds in Frontenac State Park since 1900.
Click below to see what has been seen in the park in the past few days and weeks.