A regular reader of these seasonal reports need not be particularly astute to notice that the taxonomic order followed in this report is significantly different from those of recent years. Our practice is to follow the order of the most recent ABA Checklist. So, with this report we have adopted the dramatic reordering found in their 2016 checklist.

Apart from a Greater White-fronted Goose that spent much of the summer in Scott County, migrant waterfowl arrived in the state close to expected dates. Reports of Harlequin Ducks were confined to Lake Superior. All three scoters were found in each of the North Shore counties — Cook, Lake, and St. Louis. Surfs and White-wingeds were also found away from Lake Superior, but only in counties of the southeastern quarter of the state, while the only Black that strayed from Gitche Gumee was seen on Lake Winnibigoshish. For the second consecutive autumn, no Barrow's Goldeneyes were found.

Eurasian Collared-Doves continue to expand their range in the state. They were seen in more counties (55) than in any prior fall season. A Common Ground-Dove — in the Sax-Zim Bog, of all places — was the fifth for the state. Four of these have been in the Northeast region, and all have been in mid-October.

Bardon and his team of counters for the Hawk Ridge/Lester River Census were very busy this season. In addition to counting raptors, they tallied almost 518,000 non-raptors — 150,000 more than in any prior year's census. One reason for this remarkable high count was what they saw on 1 September when over 90,000 birds flew past the observers. As you read the species accounts of this report, you'll see that there were notable high counts for many species on that day, including Common Nighthawk, Cedar Waxwing, various vireos and warblers, Scarlet Tanager, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak.

The first Purple Gallinule since 1970 was a juvenile discovered in Duluth after it apparently struck a window. Though stunned, it recovered nicely and was later released in Florida. Shorebird highlights included a Ruff in Renville County, the first fall report of this species in over ten years, a total of over 200 Buff-breasted Sandpipers, and a late-November Red Phalarope — the latest on record.

Several Parasitic Jaegers were seen at Superior Entry and Park Point in Duluth during the middle two weeks of September. Four Sabine's Gull sojourned past Duluth in early October. In early September a beautiful juvenile Little Gull — a plumage rarely seen in Minnesota — was discovered at the Warroad sewage ponds in the northwest corner of the state. A first-cycle California Gull made sporadic appearances at Superior Entry beginning in late September and persisting through the end of the season. Iceland Gulls arrived north and south earlier than recent median arrival dates, while a first-cycle Glaucous Gull in Duluth was record early. A Great Black-backed Gull was also an early arrival when it appeared at Superior Entry in late September, but it didn't linger and no others were seen until late November.

Several Red-throated and Pacific loons were found in St. Louis County, with a few reports of up to two Pacifics just east in Lake County. Very remarkable was the record high tally of five Pacifics from Park Point in mid-November.

Three Snowy Egrets were seen in the West-central region in late August. A Little Blue Heron was found in Mille Lacs County. Six of the seven Cattle Egrets found were detected in the northern half of the state, while the lone Yellow-crowned Night-Heron for the season was in Hennepin County. A flock of eleven White-faced Ibis was seen in early August at the Big Stone N.W.R., but all subsequent Plegadis were left at the genus level, including two November reports that provided the second and third latest dates on record for any ibis in the state.

The Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory raptor count tallied almost 77,000 birds, an average number for the twenty-five year period with full-time coverage. Enjoying good seasons were Broad-winged, Red-tailed, and Sharp-shinned hawks, both eagles, Peregrine Falcons, and Merlins. A juvenile Mississippi Kite spotted over Hawk Ridge marked the sixth consecutive year this species has been sighted in the state; during five of those years, one has been seen during fall at the Ridge.

Snowy Owls arrived early, with the most widespread incursion since 2011, but there were few reports of Northern Hawk and Great Gray owls, and no reports of Boreals. A Northern Saw-whet Owl found in Washington County in late August may well have been a bird that spent the summer there.

The Hawk Ridge/Lester River Census team was busy through much of the season, as evidenced by record seasonal high counts for many species, including Common Nighthawk, Blue Jay, Cedar Waxwing, most of the swallows, fifteen species of warblers, six species of sparrows, and Common Redpoll. But perhaps the most amazing new record was the seasonal total of almost a thousand Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers — more than ten times the prior seasonal record tally.

A Gyrfalcon made a providential stop on a telephone pole where it was photographed for a first record for Kandiyohi County; alas, it disappeared shortly afterwards and was not refound. A Prairie Falcon in Traverse made it a clean sweep for the falcons this season.

The first Vermilion Flycatcher was found in the state in 1977. Two more, both immature females, were seen in the 1990s. This season that total of three birds doubled as three more were found, a juvenile or female at the Lutsen Resort, and two males at a ranch in Becker County where at least one bird was present for 25 days, affording many an opportunity to add this colorful bird to their state lists.

Only about one in ten Minnesota White-eyed Vireos are found in the fall, as the bird is seen much more commonly in the spring and summer. So it is particularly noteworthy that three different individuals were discovered this season, one at Grand Marais and two at different locations in Hennepin County.

A Clark's Nutcracker was faithful to a neighborhood in Winona County where it took up residence for a month beginning in early September. Tufted Titmice were reported more widely than in any season since at least the 1960s. Why did their range retreat back then? Why is it expanding now?

The North Shore continues to be the best region to find Mountain Bluebirds in the fall. Of the 19 autumn reports during the last ten years, 14 have been near the shores of Lake Superior, including the only report for the current season. A total of seven Townsend's Solitaires was typical for this season, while the seven Varied Thrushes was an above-average number.

A Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch was photographed at Iona's Beach S.N.A. in Lake County, the fifth record of this species in the last decade. Pine Grosbeaks and both crossbills made their best fall showing since 2012. During a five-day period in November the Hawk Ridge / Lester River Census tallied an amazing 43,705 Common Redpolls — two-thirds of their record season tally of 67,452.

Tarrying much later than its normal late-September departure, a Northern Parula was record-late in Anoka County, where it lingered into the winter season. A Yellow-breasted Chat in Fargo, North Dakota, was seen making several sallies across the Red River into Moorhead, Minnesota.

Field Sparrows also appear to be expanding northward; notable records for this season came from Beltrami and Koochiching. Nelson's Sparrows provided first records for Sibley and Scott counties. Looking different this year was the Golden-crowned Sparrow that returned to a residence in Duluth, no longer in its juvenal plumage. Three Summer Tanagers were the most fall reports since 2011; equally impressive was the Hawk Ridge/Lester River Census tally of 21 Scarlet Tanagers on 1 September — three times the next highest fall daily total statewide.

Weather: While average monthly temperatures were near historical averages across the state in August, for the rest of the season they were well above-average – six degrees (F) above normal in September, two to four degrees higher in October, and five to seven degrees higher than the norms in November. Monthly precipitation totals were highly variable from August through October, but notably above-average in November when there were four significant precipitation events. Heavy rains fell on 11 November in the southern half of the state and on 16–19 November across much of the state. This latter storm also brought wind gusts of up to 40 MPH. It was followed almost immediately by another storm with heavy snows on 19–20 November along the southern edge of the state and a final snowstorm that began 30 November brought snow statewide, but especially to the southwest where maximum totals were 12 inches.

Insufficiently Documented Records of Regular Species: Tundra Swan 8/13 Todd (early date); Sabine's Gull 11/20 Lyon (record late by three weeks); Eastern Wood-Pewee 10/22 Fillmore (very late migrant); Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 8/30 Koochiching, Lake of the Woods (out of range); Western Meadowlark 11/26 Winona (late date, why not an Eastern?).

Acknowledgments: We thank Jeanie Joppru and Jim Lind for compiling and providing transcripts of Minnesota's two weekly birding reports. Special thanks to Dave Cahlander for building and maintaining the seasonal reports submission and production web pages through which most of this data is collected and organized. In addition to the data collected through this MOU website, we are grateful for the data provided for the creation of this report by eBird (http://www.ebird.org, accessed December 2015). Bruce Fall has been extremely helpful by providing additional information from eBird data. Medians of recent arrivals and departures are based on published and unpublished seasonal report data over the 25-year period 1990 through 2014. Our appreciation goes out to all our contributors, especially those who respond to our requests for details and who submit observations online.