BIRDS OF THE ST. CROIX RIVER VALLEY 



71 



fields. Occasional use is made of flooded alfalfa fields and edges of man-made 

 impoundments. 



Marbled Godwit {Limosa fedoa) 

 Status: Regular migrant. 



Migration: Rare and local migrant in the Western Upland and at Crex 

 Meadows, Burnett County; most records are from central St. Croix County. 

 Spring migrants arrive about 20 April. Peak numbers (five to seven) occur 

 1-10 May; departure is by 25 May. Fall migrants arrive about 25 July and 

 depart by 1 September. W. Norling observed an injured marbled godwit at 

 Grettum Flowage, Burnett County, on 8 November 1975. 



Habitat: Observed primarily on temporarily flooded agricultural fields and 

 along the edge of seasonally flooded wetlands. 



Whimbrel {Numenius phaeopus) 

 Status: Accidental, one record. 



Record: I observed one whimbrel along the north shore of East Twin Lake 

 near Roberts, St. Croix County, on 17 May 1976. 



Long-billed Curlew {Numenius americanus) 

 Status: Accidental, one record. 



Record: N. R. Stone observed one long-billed curlew at Crex Meadows, Bur- 

 nett County, on 25 May 1966 (Stone 1967). 



Upland Sandpiper (Bartramia longicauda) 

 Status: Regular migrant and nesting species. 



Migration: Rare spring and faU migrant in the Western Upland and Central 

 Plain, casual to absent elsewhere. Spring migrants arrive 20-25 April. 

 Because most observations are of soUtary or paired birds, dates of peak 

 abundance are difficult to estabHsh. FaU migrants begin to arrive in late 

 July and have departed by 15 September. 



Nesting Season Distribution: Rare and local nesting species in suitable grass 

 habitat in the Western Upland and Central Plain, locally common at Crex 

 Meadows, Burnett County, and at the Sharp-tailed Grouse Management 

 Area near Solon Springs, Douglas County. The latter site has been used 

 since at least 1919, when Jackson (1942) found "a dozen or more." Green and 

 Janssen (1975) considered the upland sandpiper "very scarce" in Pine 

 County. One nest was found in Washington County in 1971. In northern 

 Pierce and central St. Croix counties, this species was fairly common until 

 1972. Increased conversion of remaining grasslands, primarily related to 



