BIRDS OF THE ST. CROIX RIVER VALLEY 



31 



Record: One adult was seen near Dunroven, Washington County, on 

 23 April 1962 (Huber 1962). Because of the recent noticeable expansion of 

 this species in the upper Midwest, I would expect this species to be recorded 

 more regularly in the future. 



Cattle Egret {Bubulcus ibis) 

 Status: Casual migrant. 



Records: The first cattle egret record for the Valley was obtained in Chisago 

 County on 7 May 1971, when six birds were observed. One was observed in 

 Washington County on 25 April 1977 (Savaloja 1977). In Pierce County a 

 single bird was observed near River Falls on 28 April 1976. At Crex 

 Meadows, Burnett County, groups of four birds each were observed on 

 24-28 May 1974 and 16 April 1976. J. O. Evrard reported that cattle egrets 

 were present during July 1979 at Crex Meadows (Tessen 19796). 



Great Egret {Casmerodius albus) 



Status: Regular migrant and nesting species. The Wisconsin DNR has hsted 

 this species as threatened (Les 1979). Wetland drainage, loss of mature nest 

 trees, pesticides, and human disturbance are listed as reasons for the 

 dechne. 



Migration: Uncommon migrant in the Western Upland, rare and local in the 

 Central Plain. Except in the vicinity of Crex Meadows, Burnett County, this 

 species is rare north of a line extending from Chisago to northeastern St. 

 Croix counties. First spring migrants arrive in the Western Upland 10-15 

 April (earUest— 29 March 1968) and in Burnett County about 20 April. One 

 Polk County record was obtained on 10 April 1970. Fall migration begins in 

 mid- August. Peak fall populations occur 25 August to 10 September and 

 departure by 10 October (latest— 30 October 1970 and 31 October 1956, 

 Burnett County). 



Nesting Season Distribution: Rare and local nesting species with docu- 

 mented breeding records from Washington, St. Croix, and Burnett counties. 

 EstabHshment of this bird as a breeding species has been fairly recent. Jack- 

 son (1941) failed to observe great egrets during 1919 in northwestern Wis- 

 consin. Roberts (1932) described the great egret as "occasionally a straggler 

 from the south," yet cites no records from the Minnesota counties. The first 

 record for the VaUey is provided by King (1949), who reported this species at 

 Prescott, Pierce County, in 1946. Great egrets were first reported at Crex 

 Meadows, Burnett County, in 1948. Later, summer observations ranged 

 from 19 in 1956 to 1 in 1969. Nesting at Crex Meadows was first recorded on 

 25 June 1975 (Evrard 1975). Since 1975, a small nesting colony has remained 

 on the Fish Lake Wildlife Area, Burnett County. In Washington County, 

 nesting has been estabUshed with a colony of undetermined size (Green and 

 Janssen 1975). St. Croix County breeding records were established in 1976 

 when two young were seen feeding with adults along Ten Mile Creek on 

 11 July. These birds nested in a small great blue heron colony along the 



