relentlessly from elevated perches. Their loud, ringing songs can be heard from late May through mid July. DO NOT PLAY TAPES TO ATTRACT THIS SPECIES! A quiet approach on foot is all that is required to see most singing males. Simply locate a singing Connecticut Warbler, put on your mosquito repellent and walk slowly and quietly toward the singing bird. Better locations include Savanna Portage State Park, Remote Lake Solitude Area, bogs along County Road 18, Rice Lake NWR and in many conifer bogs of northern Aitkin County. Patience and a keen ear will reward the searcher with a sighting of this warbler.

Another locally common breeding warbler of Aitkin County, the Mourning Warbler is found throughout the area. Look for them in wooded habitat near wetlands or swamps, they tend to be lower down in the bushes and respond well to pishing.

LeConte’s Sparrow

Much more common than the Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrow, this similar looking sparrow has much the same habitat requirements—wet, grassy meadows.

LeConte’s Sparrows are found at Rice Lake NWR (particularly the grasslands just north of the observation tower), McGregor Marsh WMA and SNA (just about everywhere!), County Road 1 near Aitkin, County Road 18 and the marshy meadows along Kestrel Avenue north and south of Tamarack.

Their wheezing song, heard at dawn and dusk or, most often, after dark, is often the only clue to their presence. The wet, sedge meadow habitat that is home to Yellow Rail is also the most likely spot to find Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrow. Listen for their quiet, wheezy, two-syllabled song that sounds like somebody plunging a hot poker into a bucket of water, ‘kshhhh shrrrr’. Singing males can sometimes be seen from a slightly elevated perch, a taller tuft of grass, a dead willow branch or bent mat of sedge grasses. More often, they sing from the ground or a hidden perch, so some patience is be required when searching for these colorful sparrows.

Winter Finches – Common Redpoll, Hoary Redpoll, Pine Grosbeak, White-winged Crossbill, Red Crossbill

Flocks of these winter finches descend on the north woods in winter. Often seen near conifers or foraging along the roadsides for seeds and grit, the number of finches present varies from winter to winter. During good ‘finch winters’, they can be found visiting bird feeders in huge flocks. It is a challenge to find the Hoary Redpoll among the flocks of Common Redpolls. Pine Grosbeaks and both species of crossbills also visit feeders, but are more likely to be seen foraging for seeds in the conifer trees.

Evening Grosbeak

An uncommon, local resident in the northern areas of the county, Evening Grosbeak is more likely to be found in winter when large flocks visit local bird feeders to fill up on sunflower seeds. Evening Grosbeaks breed in and near Savanna Portage State Park. They can often be seen visiting the bird feeder near the office. Also, look in the forests surrounding the Park to find Evening Grosbeaks. Check areas with large pines in summer or, in fall, look for birds feeding on Box Elder seeds.