Birding

Common Loon

                        Saw Whet Owl                                                                                                                         Scarlet Tanager

Bird watching opportunities are abundant at Itasca State Park, Tamarac Wildlife Refuge, Two Inlets State Forest and on Two Inlets Lake, all located close to Park Rapids. The spring and fall bird migration can bring a wide variety of birds to northern Minnesota, which add to our year around birds.

Two Inlets Resort is your getaway to birding Itasca State Park located in Park Rapids and Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge near Detroit Lakes.  You can also bird Minnesota’s first International Pine to Prairie Birding Trail that offers 275 species.  Starting from the resort, Two Inlets State Forest is a good place to look for spring and fall migrants.  The merging Pine Forest with the western prairies gives this area a rich diversity of bird species and habitat.   This area provides some of the best birding in the state throughout the year with many locations regarded as Important Bird Areas!

Two Inlets Lake is home to several Common Loon nests that successfully produce young each spring. All can quietly be viewed from a canoe from the lake. This is an exceptional opportunity, especially for birders from out of state.

"Most of Minnesota's songbirds that migrate here to breed or continue their journey northward are called neotropical migrants. This large group of birds winter in Central and South America and breed in North America. The first Minnesota migrant to arrive is the horned lark, which arrives in southern Minnesota late winter. The spring migration lasts much longer than the fall migration, usually starting in March and continuing through early August. The fall migrations start as early as August and ends in November. The spring migrations starts with geese, swans and ducks followed by raptors such as hawks, eagles and falcons. The peak migration for the songbirds and other neotropical species is the month of May."  ~~ Judd Brink, Owner/Guide, MN Backyard Birds

This is a wonderful opportunity to witness the migration and to learn more about birds.

Year around birds include:
Bald Eagle	Pileated Woodpecker	Osprey	Black-capped Chickadee
Mallard Duck	Purple Finch	Red-bellied Woodpecker	Pine Grosbeak
Hairy Woodpecker	Goldfinch	Northern Flicker	Trumpeter Swans and Others

Spring/Summer birds include:
Baltimore Oriole	Rose-breasted Grosbeak	Yellow-bellied Sapsucker	Common Grackle
Indigo Bunting	Sharp-shinned Hawk	Ruby-throated Hummingbird	Great Blue Heron
Pine Warbler	Sandhill Crane	Red-headed Woodpecker	American Robin
Cedar Waxwing	Red-winged Blackbird	Mourning Dove and Others

Migratory birds include:
Dark-eyed Junco	Wide Variety of Ducks	Evening Grosbeak	White-striped White-throated Sparrow
Summer Tanager	White Pelicans	Yellow-rumped Warbler	Common Merganser and others
Fox Sparrow