One of the most consistently successful roads for watching birds and wildlife in the county is Aitkin County Road 1. The first one and one half miles are primarily farm fields and pastures; the next three miles are sod farms. During spring migration, the sod farms have turned up species such as American Golden Plover, Black-bellied Plover and Buff-breasted Sandpiper. Just north of the sod farms look for include Red-tailed Hawk, Northern Harrier, American Kestrel, Eastern Meadowlark, Brewer’s Blackbird, Wilson’s Snipe, Sedge Wren, Savannah Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Eastern Kingbird and Black-billed Magpies who have nested in the windrows around several farms in the area.

The Mississippi River diversion ditch channel, built in the early 1950’s to divert waters that often flooded part of the town of Aitkin. The diversion channel is also home to a number of species. Large numbers of Cliff Swallows nest under the bridge. Birds such as American Redstart, Black and White Warbler, Red-eyed Vireo, Common Yellowthroat, Eastern Phoebe, Song Sparrow and Swamp Sparrow nest near the bridge.

The three miles of farm fields north of the Mississippi River diversion channel have been a magnet for a wide variety of birds for some time. Sharp-tailed Grouse have dancing grounds (leks) in the fields and can be seen any time of year, although they are much more conspicuous when they are in dancing groups during the spring.

Short-eared Owls are found in these fields most years as well as American Bittern, American Kestrel, Le Conte’s Sparrow, Eastern and Western Meadowlark, Bobolink, Northern Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, large numbers of Rough-legged Hawk, Sandhill Crane, Great Horned Owl, Sedge Wren, Common Yellowthroat and Eastern Bluebird. These fields have turned up some rarities in birdlife over the years, including Peregrine Falcon, Prairie Falcon, Gyrfalcon and Greater Prairie Chicken. Carefully scanning the fields on both sides of the road can be well worth the effort.

Besides looking at the two miles of rice paddies that are along CR 1, additional paddies extend for a mile and a half east along 430th Street (Township 367) and east for a mile and a quarter along 450th Street (Township 379). Spring migration can be spectacular around the rice paddies with hundreds of Tundra Swans and other waterfowl including Canada Goose, Ross’s Goose, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, American Widgeon, Gadwall, Wood Duck, Bufflehead, Redhead, Lesser Scaup, Greater Scaup and others. The flooded paddies also bring in a good variety of shorebirds (far too numerous to give a full list, even the rare Piping Plover has been seen) as well as American Bittern, Green Heron, Great Blue Heron, occasional Great Egret, Sandhill Crane, American White Pelican, Sedge Wren, Marsh Wren and Swamp Sparrow. The concentration of small birds also brings in birds of prey such as Bald Eagle, Merlin, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper’s Hawk, Northern Harrier and Peregrine Falcon.