Nature
Birding
Warroad
is the perfect spot for birding enthusiasts to complete their
birding checklists. The Lake of the Woods shoreline is easily
scanned from atop the observation tower or the drive up nature
viewing area located on the north side of the Warroad Point Park. The Lake of the Woods area is home to almost 300 species
of birds, including water species such as loons, Canadian geese,
tundra swans, herons, white pelicans, piping plovers, terns and
mallards. Just to the west of Warroad is the Roseau Bog, a birding
“hotspot” featuring Wilson’s phalarope, sharp-tailed
sparrow, gyrfalcon, northern hawk owl, snowy owl and winter finches.
Some
of our area’s familiar bird friends include sparrows, robins,
orioles, black-backed woodpeckers, vireos, juncos, red wing black
birds, chickadees, and hummingbirds. Birds of prey can also be
seen in the Warroad area and include the bald eagle, turkey vulture,
and great gray and snowy owls.
Warroad serves as the northern most point for Minnesota’s
first official birding trail called the Pine-to-Prairie Birding Trail. This trail offers unique bird watching opportunities along
the 223 mile corridor traveling through state parks, wildlife
refuges, wetlands and prairies before reaching its southern end
in Fergus Falls. Over 270 different species of birds can be viewed
along this trail.
Local Birding Reports:
We hope that local birding enthusiasts will submit their sightings to add to this webpage by emailing wcoc@wiktel.com.
Wild Flowers
The
rare and beautiful orchid called the Showy Lady Slipper can be
seen in many magnificent colors along a segment of Hwy 11 between
Greenbush and Baudette along the Waters of the Dancing Sky Scenic
Byway www.watersofthedancingsky.org.
Showy Lady Slippers are extremely hard to establish or transplant. It not only takes very unique soil conditions to originate the growing of a Showy Lady Slipper, but it also takes seven years of growth for the plant to mature, before it will bloom. The Minnesota DNR and DOT have been working together for several years to help preserve the settings that allow the particularly rare flowers of Minnesota to grow in a natural state along the grasslands adjacent to the highways. With less than 1 percent of the state’s original prairie land remaining, the majority of the original prairie lands are found between highway and railroad right-of-ways.
Annual Wildflower Route Celebration - Williams Garden Club
The
City of Williams, located along the Wildflower Route, claims the
title of “Orchid Capital of the Nation.” The immediate
area surrounding Williams contains over 20 varieties of orchids,
adding up to over 10 million flowers. The Williams Gardeners annually
stake approximately 40 different wildflowers and provide detailed
maps for enthusiasts looking for the unique flowers.
To increase
public awareness of this unique area and its flowers, the Williams Gardeners Club annually hosts a Wildflower Route, this year the date is June 18, 2011 from 1 to 3 p.m. at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Williams. The speaker is Sue Olin, former Zippel Bay State Park manager. Please call Beverley Carlson at 218-783-6701 or Sandy Johnson 218-783-2805 with questions.
