Yellow-bellied Flycatcher is locally common in the thick Tamarack and Black Spruce bogs of the county. They can be difficult to find when not singing. Listen for their flat ‘chebuck’ with the accent on the first syllable or their sweet, whistled ‘chu whee’. Yellow-bellied Flycatcher are easily found inhabiting the bogs along County Road 18, the Hedbom Forest Road, Savanna Portage State Park, Remote Lake Solitude Area and in most of the Tamarack and Black Spruce bogs in the northern half of the county.

Black-billed Magpie

Look for nesting Black-billed Magpie south and west of Palisade on 450th Street. Be sure check the area north of 450th Street by turning north at the first intersection on 310th Avenue. Black-billed Magpie is often conspicuously flying back-and-forth in the barnyards and pastures. Driving County Road 1 north of Aitkin and checking farmyards and fields west of Palisade may also turn up the resident magpies.

Golden-winged Warbler

A specialty of young aspen forests, look for Golden-winged Warbler in recently cutover aspen, mixed woods and brushy forest edges. In addition to the dapper Golden-winged Warbler, regenerating forests host several species of warblers, Ruffed Grouse and American Woodcock. Easy to find when singing on territory in May and June, they can be secretive and difficult to find after July. Listen for their distinctive reedy, high-pitched ‘bee-buzz-buzz-buzz’ at Rice Lake NWR, the entrance road to Grayling WMA, West White Pine Forest Road and Kestrel Avenue north of Tamarack.

Cape May Warbler

During spring and fall migration Cape May Warblers are found throughout Minnesota, however during the breeding season they are local and rarely seen. The best location in the county, and perhaps all of Minnesota, is the nesting colonies found at the spruce plantations of the Rabey Tree Farm along State Highway 200 east of Hill City.

Connecticut Warbler

A much sought warbler of Tamarack and Black Spruce bogs, Aitkin County boasts a healthy population of Connecticut Warblers. While they nest on the ground and are secretive during migration, when on their breeding territories they sing