Big Stone Wildlife Refuge - Ortonville, Minnesota

July 14

I forgot to mention that I spared you reading about the International Vinegar Museum. We gave that a pass while in the area near Sisseton. Come on, you know you want to Google it. LOL

We had a State Park picked out to visit near here for today, but Greg found one in Minnesota that had a ton of birds reported recently and a few would be new for us, so we chose to cross back over the border to Big Stone National Refuge in Minnesota. Very beautiful area and we could hear tons of birds.

The first area was a drive through area that had prairie and some wetlands. We got out of the car several times trying to get better views of the elusive birds. We had hoped to find Bob-O-Links, but we didn’t find any. We did stop part way through the drive to walk one of the trails. We did see quite a few birds, a deer and some rodents. 

 Barn Swallows in a nest above the restroom door (mother & 1 baby in this photo)

 Mother & 2 baby Barn Swallows (same nest)

 Yellow Warbler

 Common Yellowthroat

 Green Heron

 American Goldfinch

American Goldfinch

 Ring-billed Gull

 Sedge Wren

 Common Yellowthroat

 Sedge Wren

 Mourning Dove

 Common Yellowthroat

 Common Night Hawk 

 Red-winged Blackbird

 Cormorant 

 Song Sparrow

 Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel

 Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel

 Black Tern

 juvenile Gull - unknown

Yellow Warbler

Marsh Wren

 Pied-billed Grebes

 Pied-billed Grebe

 American Coot

 goats on the rock

 Barn Swallow

 Yellow-headed Blackbird (not great shots, but like the wrens we heard many in the tall grass)

 weird shot of a White Pelican & a Cormorant

 Song Sparrow

 Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel

 Red-necked Grebe

 Wood Ducks

 Wood Ducks 

 Franklin's Ground Squirrel

we stopped in nearby Ortonville for lunch - they had a DQ and a Subway

 mother Goldfinch feeding a young one

 Blue Teal

 Since we crossed back over the South Dakota Border I was able to get a border sign. Whoo Hoo!

We also saw 2 beavers, 3 deer and a bald eagle. It really was a beautiful spot and just tons of birds. (though most didn't wish to have their photos taken....) Besides seeing tons of the Ground Squirrels, we also saw Voals. (small fluffier mouse looking rodents) 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/5H1mxwqT1sSyN3Fz5

 I know I'm behind with the posts, but I have been having technical issues with computer, phone, & internet not working well or at all. Plus, birding days take longer as we identify them. We do our best to get them right, but I'm sure we have some wrong. (the wrens can be hard to tell apart and the ducks were so far away, that we threw away most of those photos)

Tomorrow, be leave for Jamestown, North Dakota.