It does not sound glamorous … roadside ditch birding. Folks talk about taking exotic birding trips to Costa Rica or the Texas barrier islands during spring migration … and where do I bird? Ditches!
Actually my approach makes great sense and is quite productive. After days of rain, and multiple stormy weather days, the ditches hold both water and bugs. Given there is now snow on the ground to our north and west, and overnight lows routinely are down in the 20’s inland from Lake Superior, these ditches represent food to starving, migrating birds. Our weather has caught the late migrants by surprise. Our normal highs for this time of year are 53F. Lately we are lucky if a day tops out at 40F.
The other present birding advantage is starving birds let you get very, very close. While in the spring and summer I need to know habitat, all I need right now for a successful birding excursion is my bicycle which allows me to go slowly and then stop to observe.
All Roadside Ditch Birds … photographed from just a few feet distant:
Wilson’s Snipe
American Redstart (at my feet)
Yellow-Rumped Warbler (and in a pine)
Not in a ditch, but a large group for these parts … Snow Geese in Two Harbors
Thanks for insights about the approachability of migrating birds – had sparrows and longspurs walk up to me while I was trying to photograph them in Grand Marais and almost had to watch where I stepped to avoid trampling on Myrtle Warblers by the feeders at Tettegouche SP.
Richard, once again thanking you for your generosity in sharing your birding with all of us. Your pictures and comments are thrilling!
Thanks! The ditches of northern Minnesota have been swarming with birds since our big storm. I think everyone wants to “get out of Dodge”. In addition, I saw my first northern raptor yesterday morning at the Bog, a rough-legged hawk.