Birds
Checklist of the Birds of the Rainy River District
There have been 299 species of birds confirmed by eBird for the Rainy River District as of March 1, 2020, not including the Passenger Pigeon, which is extinct and the Chukar, which has been reliably reported from the district but does not yet appear on eBird. In October 2020 a White-winged Dove was seen on three successive days at a feeder north of Devlin. Photographs were taken and have been confirmed. This was the first sighting for the Rainy River District. There have also been unconfirmed reports of 9 other species, which would bring the total to 310 species.
Species are listed according to the latest rulings of the North American Classification and Nomenclature Committee of the American Ornithological Society (AOS). Updates to the online checklist are made annually. The complete checklist, along with current and prior proposals to changes to the list for North and Central America can be found here.
Status
P: Permanent resident
M: Spring and /or fall migrant, not known to breed here.
S: Summer resident, either known or believed to breed here.
W: Winter resident
O: Occasional; reported 11 to 25 times.
X: Rare; reported 10 or fewer times.
The numbers next to the species indicate the number of observations recorded in eBird as of March 1, 2020. They are presented merely to give an indication of how likely you would be able to see a particular bird on any given outing, given the appropriate time of year. There are short comings to this method. Often birders might not bother to report common species; uncommon species, on the other hand, might be reported every time they are seen. For example, one might think Red-bellied Woodpeckers are relatively common, as there have been 409 observations. In fact, that species is relatively rare. Most of those observations have been repeated sightings of four or five pairs. As of March 1, 2020, there have been 119, 418 observations of all species; thus any species with less than 100 observations would be unlikely to be seen, and any sighting of that bird would be noteworthy.
Swans, Geese and Ducks
Snow Goose 55 M
Ross’s Goose 1 X
Greater White-fronted Goose 2 X
Cackling Goose 28 M
Canada Goose 1555 S
Trumpeter Swan 330 S
Tundra Swan 6 X
Wood Duck 508 S
Blue-winged Teal 364 S
Cinnamon Teal 3 X
Northern Shoveler 210 S
Gadwall 59 M
American Wigeon 249 S
Mallard 1378 S
American Black Duck 145 S
Northern Pintail 65 M
Green-winged Teal 372 S
Canvasback 7 X
Redhead 96 M
Ring-necked Duck 460 S
Greater Scaup 40 M
Lesser Scaup 136 M
Harlequin Duck 1 X
White-winged Scoter 3 X
Long-tailed Duck 3 X
Bufflehead 178 S
Common Goldeneye 839 P
Hooded Merganser 430 S
Common Merganser 422 S
Red-breasted Merganser 61 M
Ruddy Duck 75 S
Grouse and Allies
Ring-necked Pheasant 1 X
Chukar 1 X
Ruffed Grouse 833 P
Spruce Grouse 36 P
Sharp-tailed Grouse 672 P
Wild Turkey 1 X
Grebes
Pied-billed Grebe 206 S
Horned Grebe 73 M
Red-necked Grebe 85 S
Eared Grebe 148 M
Western Grebe 18 O
Pigeons and Doves
Rock Pigeon 475 P
Eurasian Collared-Dove 7 X
Inca Dove 12 X
White-winged Dove 1 X
Mourning Dove 470 S
Cuckoos
Yellow-billed Cuckoo 6 X
Black-billed Cuckoo 150 S
Nightjars
Common Nighthawk 125 S
Eastern Whip-poor-will 63 S
Swifts
Chimney Swift 140 S
Hummingbirds
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 825 S
Rails and Allies
Virginia Rail 17 X
Sora 147 S
American Coot 160 S
Yellow Rail 56 O
Cranes
Sandhill Crane 957 S
Shorebirds
Black-necked Stilt 1 X
American Avocet 2 X
Black-bellied Plover 18 O
American Golden-Plover 23 O
Semipalmated Plover 40 M
Piping Plover 43 X
Killdeer 675 S
Upland Sandpiper 56 O
Whimbrel 5 X
Hudsonian Godwit 8 X
Marbled Godwit 133 M
Ruddy Turnstone 16 O
Red Knot 3 X
Stilt Sandpiper 22 O
Sanderling 15 O
Dunlin 17 O
Baird’s Sandpiper 6 X
Least Sandpiper 98 M
White-rumped Sandpiper 26 O
Buff-breasted Sandpiper 6 X
Pectoral Sandpiper 38 M
Semipalmated Sandpiper 64 M
Western Sandpiper 2 X
Short-billed Dowitcher 26 M
Long-billed Dowitcher 2 X
American Woodcock 195 S
Wilson’s Snipe 648 S
Wilson’s Phalarope 123 M
Red-necked Phalarope 13 O
Spotted Sandpiper 359 S
Solitary Sandpiper 68 M
Greater Yellowlegs 119 M
Willet 3 X
Lesser Yellowlegs 131 M
Gulls and Terns
Bonaparte’s Gull 111 M
Little Gull 1 X
Franklin’s Gull 176 M
Ring-billed Gull 1129 S
Herring Gull 700 S
Lesser Black-backed Gull 1 X
Glaucous Gull 1 X
Great Black-backed Gull 1 X
Least Tern 1 X
Caspian Tern 55 O
Black Tern 86 O
Common Tern 23 S
Forster’s Tern 17 O
Loons
Common Loon 771 S
Cormorants
Double-crested Cormorant 333 S
Pelicans
American White Pelican 729 S
Herons and Allies
American Bittern 186 S
Least Bittern 4 X
Great Blue Heron 422 S
Great Egret 32 O
Snowy Egret 1 X
Little Blue Heron 3 X
Cattle Egret 4 X
Green Heron 9 X
Black-crowned Night-Heron 1 X
Vultures, Hawks, and Allies
Turkey Vulture 968 S
Osprey 123 S
Golden Eagle 1 X
Northern Harrier 420 S
Sharp-shinned Hawk 163 S
Cooper’s Hawk 32 S
Northern Goshawk 43 P
Bald Eagle 1113 P
Red-shouldered Hawk 4 X
Broad-winged Hawk 421 S
Swainson’s Hawk 5 X
Red-tailed Hawk 285 S
Rough-legged Hawk 155 M
Kingfishers
Belted Kingfisher 468 S
Woodpeckers
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 867 S
Lewis’s Woodpecker 6 X
Red-headed Woodpecker 134 S
Red-bellied Woodpecker 409 S
American Three-toed Woodpecker 16 P
Black-backed Woodpecker 128 P
Downy Woodpecker 1752 P
Hairy Wood pecker 2247 P
Pileated Woodpecker 979 P
Northern Flicker 1532 S
Falcons
American Kestrel 716 S
Merlin 308 S
Peregrine Falcon 19 S
Tyrant Flycatchers
Olive-sided Flycatcher 101 S
Eastern Wood-Pewee 359 S
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher 264 S
Alder Flycatcher 427 S
Willow Flycatcher 4 X
Least Flycatcher 1103 S
Eastern Phoebe 985 S
Say’s Phoebe 2 X
Great Crested Flycatcher 289 S
Western Kingbird 73 S
Eastern Kingbird 775 S
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 3 X
Vireos
Yellow-throated Vireo 94 S
Blue-headed Vireo 338 S
Philadelphia Vireo 122 S
Warbling Vireo 277 S
Red-eyed Vireo 2132 S
Jays, Magpies, Crows, and Ravens
Canada Jay 737 P
Blue Jay 3832 P
Black-billed Magpie 1444 P
American Crow 3771 P
Common Raven 3117 P
Chickadees
Black-capped Chickadee 4122 P
Boreal Chickadee 132 P
Larks
Horned Lark 62 M
Martins and Swalllows
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 60 S
Purple Martin 155 S
Tree Swallow 947 S
Bank Swallow 86 S
Barn Swallow 711 S
Cliff Swallow 232 S
Kinglets
Golden-crowned Kinglet 458 S
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 564 S
Nuthatches
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1699 P
White-breasted Nuthatch 862 P
Treecreepers
Brown Creeper 266 S
Gnatcatchers
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 5 X
Wrens
House Wren 632 S
Winter Wren 594 S
Sedge Wren 439 S
Marsh Wren 48 O
Carolina Wren 39 O
Starlings
European Starling 1452 P
Catbirds and Thrashers
Gray Catbird 302 S
Brown Thrasher 250 S
Sage Thrasher 4 X
Northern Mockingbird 9 X
Thrushes
Eastern Bluebird 377 S
Mountain Bluebird 163 O
Varied Thrush 59 M
Veery 1059 S
Gray-cheeked Thrush 10 X
Swainson’s Thrush 393 S
Hermit Thrush 703 S
Wood Thrush 61 S
American Robin 2679 S
Waxwings
Bohemian Waxwing 279 W
Cedar Waxwing 1110 S
Old Worl Sparrows
House Sparrow 279 P
Eurasian Tree-Sparrow 1 X
Pipits
American Pipit 59 M
Sprague’s Pipit 18 O
Finches and Allies
Brambling 12 O
Evening Grosbeak 636 P
Pine Grosbeak 916 W
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch 126 M
House Finch 34 O
Purple Finch 1652 P
Common Redpoll 1110 W
Hoary Redpoll 474 W
Red Crossbill 91 P
White-winged Crossbill 58 P
Pine Siskin 1233 P
American Goldfinch 2322 P
Longspurs and Snow Buntings
Lapland Longspur 45 M
Smith’s Longspur 1 X
Snow Bunting 182 M
New World Sparrows
Grasshopper Sparrow 2 X
Chipping Sparrow 1178 S
Clay-colored Sparrow 1114 S
Lark Sparrow 6 X
Lark Bunting 1 X
American Tree Sparrow 261 M
Fox Sparrow 258 M
Dark-eyed Junco 1102 S
White-crowned Sparrow 339 M
Harris’s Sparrow 197 M
White-throated Sparrow 2658 S
Vesper Sparrow 58 S
LeConte’s Sparrow 403 S
Nelson’s Sparrow 14 O
Savannah Sparrow 1259 S
Baird’s Sparrow 11 X
Song Sparrow 2670 S
Lincoln’s Sparrow 298 S
Swamp Sparrow 723 S
Spotted Towhee 22 O
Eastern Towhee 9 X
Blackbirds
Yellow-headed Blackbird 160 S
Bobolink 572 S
Western Meadowlark 251 S
Eastern Meadowlark 27 O
Orchard Oriole 46 O
Baltimore Oriole 466 S
Red-winged Blackbird 2128 S
Brown-headed Cowbird 897 S
Rusty Blackbird 80 M
Brewer’s Blackbird 555 S
Common Grackle 1685 S
Great-tailed Grackle 19 O
Wood-Warblers
Ovenbird 1432 S
Northern Waterthrush 151 S
Golden-winged Warbler 125 S
Black-and-white Warbler 986 S
Prothonotary Warbler 7 X
Tennessee Warbler 209 S
Orange-crowned Warbler 55 M
Nashville Warbler 1642 S
Conneticut Warbler 163 S
Mourning Warbler 534 S
Common Yellowthroat 1505 S
American Redstart 697 S
Cape May Warbler 103 S
Northern Parula 315 S
Magnolia Warbler 637 S
Bay-breasted Warbler 98 M
Yellow Warbler 960 S
Chestnut-sided Warbler 1027 S
Blackpoll Warbler 49 M
Black-throated Blue Warbler 42 O
Palm Warbler 221 S
Pine Warbler 77 O
Yellow-rumped Warbler 1130 S
Prairie Warbler 1 X
Black-throated Green Warbler 218 S
Canada Warbler 176 S
Wilson’s Warbler 84 S
Cardinals, Grosbeaks, and Allies
Summer Tanager 10 X
Scarlet Tanager 105 S
Western Tanager 10 X
Northern Cardinal 62 S
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 645 S
Indigo Bunting 92 S
Dickcissel 52 O
Unconfirmed
Parasitic Jaeger
Long-tailed Jaeger
Sabine’s Gull
California Gull
Iceland Gull
Band-tailed Pigeon
Eastern Screech-Owl
Rufous Hummingbird