By Laura Durenberger-Grunow - Boreal Community Media - December 4, 2024


It was mid-October, MEA weekend to be exact, and a line of cars parked along 5th Avenue (County Road 7) in Grand Marais made it look like Yellowstone. Over two dozen people were looking through binoculars and taking photos, all in the same direction. One would easily assume a black bear was making itself known, or maybe even the very rare occurrence that a moose had come into town. But that wasn't the case. The cause for all the spectators was a white, black, and peach/salmon-colored creature 8.7"-14.6" in length with a very long tail. A creature whose typical range is south-central U.S. (Texas, Kansas) and just over the border into northern Mexico. A bird called the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher.

Vagrant birds (a term for a bird outside of its normal range) like this particular Scissor-tailed Flycatcher are not necessarily uncommon along the North Shore during migration season. In fact, a group of birders visit the area specifically in mid-October to catch possible rare bird sightings during peak migration, which was the case in this situation. 

The community of birders who had gathered along 5th Avenue, some who knew each other and some who didn't, were helping each other spot the rare bird, lending binoculars and sharing facts about the Flycatcher on the sunny, autumn day. One bird spectator told Boreal Community Media that the Grand Marais Scissor-tailed Flycatcher was a "lifer," which is a term birders use when it's their first time seeing a particular species. Some birders even keep a wish list of birds they'd like to see, or a list of all the birds they've ever seen. 

But what was a bird like the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, whose range is well south of the North Shore in Minnesota, who migrate south to southern Mexico and Central America, doing in Grand Marais?

© Ricardo Arredondo T. Used with permission via iNaturalist Mexico.

Clinton Dexter-Nienhaus, vice president and chair of the Northeastern Minnesota Bird Alliance (formerly Duluth Audobon Society) Education Committee, told Boreal Community Media that there are two main reasons a bird ends up where "it's not supposed to." First is the weather. The big lake we all know and love can bring in some intense storms (hello, gales of November). And when a big storm hits, birds, especially those migrating in the fall, can get caught up, stopped, or funneled around the lake. The second possible reason, according to Dexter-Nienhaus, is that "sometimes, they simply go the wrong way." Whether it has to do with a mixed-up internal compass, sense of direction, or they migrate at the wrong time, it's not really known. But it happens, and the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher is one of the species where it is not super uncommon to end up where "it's not supposed to be." In fact, Dexter-Nienhaus shared that this particular sighting was the fifth record for Cook County, Minnesota, since the mid-1980s. One was reported in St. Louis County in 2023. Out of the 87 counties in Minnesota, 43 have recorded sightings. They've even been spotted in Alaska (two years ago), as far as the Yukon Territory this past spring, and as far east as Newfoundland. 

A common concern when one sees a vagrant bird is survival. Scissor-tailed Flycatchers are adept flyers and migrants, which can explain why they sometimes appear out of their normal range. They eat insects and berries (mountain ash and sumac berries prevalent in Cook County during the fall provide a good food source), so they can typically find a food source. Temperature plays a bigger role in determining if a particular bird can manage in an area it's not used to. Luckily for the Grand Marais Flycatcher, the warm temperatures lasting long into October and early November were in its favor. Dexter-Nienhaus said that sometimes, a bird's internal compass or clock will "correct itself," and it'll begin migrating back to its normal range. However, many won't survive. Even if food and weather conditions are favorable, a particular bird may not find a place to hide or adapt to the predators in an area. 
Almost three weeks after the initial Flycatcher sighting, a familiar scene of cars and people (albeit on a much smaller scale) could be spotted along the same spot on 5th Ave (County Road 7) in Grand Marais. A Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (one can only assume it was the same one) was perched on a powerline for more birders to see and add to their life list. When this was brought up to Dexter-Nienhaus, he shared that although he didn't have specific data right in front of him (at the time of the conversation), he would estimate that this was probably the longest-staying Scissor-tailed Flycatcher in the state. "It must have a good source of food, tolerable temperatures, and a good place to hide," he added. 

Shortly after, one of the many November windstorms blew through, and the Flycatcher hasn't been spotted since. But the impact of that one specific bird will last, for many, a lifetime.