BIRDS OF THE ST. CROIX RIVER VALLEY 



121 



Migration: Common spring and abundant fall migrant throughout the 

 Valley. Spring migrants arrive in the Western Upland 5-10 May (earliest— 

 30 April 1950, Polk County), reaching the Northern Highland 10-15 May. 

 Peak abundance through the Valley occurs 15-25 May and departure by 

 5 June (latest— 8 June 1968, Polk County). This species is the first of the 

 Catharus thrushes to arrive in the fall. The first migrants arrive in the 

 Western Upland 5-10 August (earhest— 27 July 1966, St. Croix County). 

 Peak abundance through the Valley occurs 25 August to 15 September and 

 departure by 10 October. 



Nesting Season Distribution: Rare and local in the Northern Highland 

 during the nesting season. There are no confirmed records of nesting in the 

 Valley. Green and Janssen (1975) showed the probable breeding range of 

 this thrush to include northern and central Pine County. Roberts (1932) 

 mentioned records that suggest nesting in Pine County in 1918. I recorded 

 one singing male along the St. Croix River in Douglas County on 20 June 

 1976. This is my only summer record for the Valley. 



Habitat: During migration, Swainson's thrush regularly uses a wide range 

 of deciduous and coniferous communities. My only nesting season record 

 was obtained from a large tract of Lowland Coniferous Forest that was 

 dominated by black spruce, balsam fir, and yellow birch. 



Gray-cheeked Thrush {Catharus minimus) 

 Status: Regular migrant. 



Migration: Uncommon migrant throughout the Valley. Spring migrants 

 arrive in the Western Upland 5-10 May (earhest— 1 May 1967, St. Croix 

 County), reaching the Northern Highland about 10 May. Peak migration 

 occurs 15-25 May and departure by 5 June. Fall migrants arrive in the 

 Northern Highland in mid-August, reaching the Western Upland 

 25-30 August. Peak fall migration occurs 5-15 September and departure by 

 1 October. 



Habitat: Largely restricted to mature tracts of Upland and Lowland Decid- 

 uous Forest in the Western Upland. In the Central Plain and Northern High- 

 land, this species is most numerous in Northern Hardwood and Lowland 

 Coniferous Forests. 



Veery {Catharus fuscescens) 



Status: Regular migrant and nesting species. 



Migration: Common migrant throughout the VaUey. Spring migrants arrive 

 in the Western Upland 25 April to 1 May, reaching the Northern Highland 

 1-5 May. Peak spring migration through the Valley occurs 10-25 May. Fall 

 migration begins in early August. Peak abundance occurs 20 August to 

 10 September and departure by 1 October. 



Nesting Season Distribution: Common nesting species in the Northern 

 Highland and Central Plain, uncommon to rare and local in the Western 



