Subject: [Tweeters] North Dakota birding report
Date: Jun 13 13:40:04 2007
From: Michael Hobbs - birdmarymoor at verizon.net


Tweets - months back, I asked if anyone had been to the Potholes & Prairies
birding festival put on by Birding Drives Dakota. I didn't get any
recommendations, for or against, but several people expressed interest in
the idea.

Well, I just got back from the 2007 festival, which was held in Carrington,
ND. They alternate years with Jamestown, some 50 miles south. So what can
I say about the festival? It was great.

I was hoping for 4 life birds, and I got 6:

White-rumped Sandpiper
Yellow Rail (heard)
Sprague's Pipit
Baird's Sparrow
Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow
Le Conte's Sparrow

Those last 4 birds are the big targets of the festival, and they've
succeeded in finding them every year. We got GREAT looks. While each of
the field trips was nominally to a National Wildlife Refuge, *none* of those
target birds was found on-refuge. They were mostly on School Trust Sections
(like our DNR lands). It's REALLY nice to have locals to guide you to
those; they're mostly unsigned and you'd have no way to know that you're
allowed to go through fences and walk across the pastures.

Beyond the lifers, there were some notable birds that were seen multiple
times, much to my delight:

Ferruginous Hawk
Sharp-tailed Grouse
Upland Sandpiper
Stilt Sandpiper
Least Flycatcher
Brown Thrasher
Lark Bunting
Swamp Sparrow
Chestnut-collared Longspur
Orchard Oriole

And let me just mention some other birds that were so common as to be nearly
"trash":

American White Pelican
Wilson's Phalarope
Franklin's Gull
Black Tern
Sedge Wren
Clay-colored Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow
Bobolink

The festival was well run and was a great bargain. The meals were true
North Dakota; don't expect drinkable coffee or good vegetables. But the
festival was only $250, and that included: 4 days of field trips with good
leaders; 4 modest breakfasts and lunches; two good dinners; a wine tasting
with lots of hors d'oeuvres; lectures on geology, sparrows, conservation;
and more. Everyone was especially friendly. Carrington is REALLY happy to
have the festival in-town.

I'd heartily recommend this festival to anyone who wants to see some birds
you can't see around here. More information is at
http://www.birdingdrives.com/

== Michael Hobbs
== Kirkland, WA
== http://www.marymoor.org/birding.htm
== birdmarymoor at verizon.net