Following the record-high counts at Duluth in May 2000 and May 2001, Red-throated Loons were scarce on Lake Superior for the second consecutive spring, but first county records were established in Benton and Lyon counties. Normally a very rare migrant in northeastern Minnesota, Eared Grebe was found at Two Harbors, Lake County for the second consecutive spring and one was at the Moose Lake lagoons in Carlton County. Clark's Grebe was first found at Thielke Lake in 1991 (The Loon 63:194–196); there are now eight records at this most reliable location. A Clark's Grebe at Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge was the sixth for the refuge, while one at Lake Byllesby was the first for Dakota County. White-faced Ibis continued to increase in the state, but rare Regular herons and egrets were especially scarce.

For the third consecutive spring, Karl Bardon conducted the Hastings-Prescott Bird Count. The site and methodology were described in The Loon 73:231–235. Total hours (183+) of coverage from 14 March through 26 April was comparable to Spring 2001 and increased by about 73% over last spring. Total waterbirds (100,850) was the highest among the three years; adding raptors (4,384) and passerines (15,402) brought the Spring 2003 total to 120,636 birds. Exceptional numbers of Greater White-fronted Geese (4,759), Mallards (23,424), and Northern Pintails (2,222) were tallied. Bald Eagles (2,564) and Ring-billed Gulls (28,181) were also up significantly from the previous two years. Karl pooled data from all three years and calculated an average of 686 birds/hour at this site; by using only the counts obtained before sunrise and within the first two hours of each day, the average yield increased to 1,215 birds/hour. Frank Nicoletti and Dave Carman conducted the West Skyline Hawk Count in Duluth for the seventh consecutive spring and tallied 25,851 raptors (25,474 last spring) during 432 hours of coverage over a period of 78 days. Highlights included 2,870 Bald Eagles, 4 Swainson's Hawks, 71 Golden Eagles, and a Parasitic Jaeger!

An amazing total of 51+ Yellow Rails was carefully counted along county road 39 at Neal Wildlife Management Area, Norman County; many more birds were probably present as only a small portion of suitable habitat was surveyed. One or two Common Moorhens in four locations raised the recent spring average. Drought and drawdowns produced excellent shorebird habitat at Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge and at several locations in the West-central region. In contrast, a drawdown at Mud Lake, Traverse County, proved disappointing due to localized heavy rainfall. American Golden-Plovers remained scarce for the fourth consecutive spring. The first of several record-high shorebird counts at Agassiz this year was 233 Semipalmated Plovers on 22 May, nearly all of these at Farmes Pool. Piping Plover migration was relatively encouraging for the second consecutive spring, even though the total was only six birds!

A pair of Black-necked Stilts in Wright County established Minnesota's fifth record but apparently disappeared soon after their discovery. This species has nested several times in North Dakota (including at Grand Forks), twice in northeastern South Dakota, and also in Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. It seems likely that one of Minnesota's next records might lead to breeding. Numbers of American Avocets and Willets were down from last spring. Most of us are thrilled to see even a small flock of Whimbrels moving along the North Shore of Lake Superior — imagine yourself finding a flock of 154 at one location and a flock of 72 a few minutes later!

Other shorebird highlights included record-high counts for Baird's Sandpiper and Dunlin, a Ruff in Anoka County, and a statewide total of 103+ Red-necked Phalaropes, a species that is usually scarce during spring migration. A total of 690 Wilson's Phalaropes in 27 counties was far fewer than last spring's 1785+ in 48 counties, but less alarming compared to Spring 2001's 950+ in 29 counties. This species deserves close monitoring in
Minnesota. These shorebird totals and interpretive comments were made possible by the increasing number of observers submitting counts and specific locations — thank you, and please continue to do so!

Neither of the two Little Gulls found in Minnesota this spring were adults; the immature at Duluth was discovered just one day after the Hawk Ridge Birdathon. Observers looked at gulls just as often as usual this season, but found no Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Referring to the Eurasian Collared-Dove in the foreword to the Spring 2002 seasonal report, it was stated, “proof of this species' expansion in Minnesota continues to be plagued by undocumented reports.” This unfortunate situation has not improved, as the number of undocumented reports this spring almost equalled the total number of accepted records to date.

Short–eared Owls showed well, but Boreal Owls were scarce again in the Northeast. An “almost predictable” Scissor-tailed Flycatcher visited the North Shore of Lake Superior in late May. Loggerhead Shrike numbers were down from last spring and below the 1992–96 average for the seventh consecutive year. A White-eyed Vireo in Goodhue County promptly disappeared and could not be refound. In contrast, and unlike most of its lightning quick appearances in the state, a cooperative Rock Wren was seen and appreciated by many observers during its five day stay at Acacia Cemetery, Dakota County. In similar vein, a male Mountain Bluebird was easily refound in Kandiyohi County. An influx of up to 21 Northern Mockingbirds included no fewer than 8 birds along the North Shore of Lake Superior.

Warbler migration was relatively poor, especially in comparison to Spring 2002. Peak variety in any location was typically 18–20 species, except that Tom Boevers found 24 warbler species in Rice County 14–15 May. Cerulean Warblers were in 11 counties as far northwest as Otter Tail, encouraging news for this species of Special Concern. Worm-eating Warbler was apparently absent from the state for the second consecutive spring. Two other species of Special Concern in Minnesota, Louisiana Waterthrush and Hooded Warbler, were reported from eight and four counties, respectively.

Most of this year's Summer Tanagers were documented, but only about a third of the Western Tanagers and Spotted Towhees had details. Documentation is always requested for these and other rare Regular species, as indicated by boldface type on the Seasonal Report form. The two undocumented Spotted Towhees were far from their usual spring migration corridor in southwestern Minnesota and both were found later than the usual late April – early May migration window; the possibility of hybridization with Eastern Towhee must always be considered, but especially at unusual locations and dates. Smith's Longspur is rarely detected as a spring migrant in Minnesota; two reports this season included an early appearance in Martin County.

A male Lazuli Bunting in Rock County and a male Painted Bunting videotaped in Pine County both fit established patterns of vagrancy; news of the Painted Bunting was first disclosed on public radio! Less newsworthy was the continuing spread of the Great-tailed Grackle to new locations in southern Minnesota.

Escapes and exotics: Chukar 4/28 U.S. highway 169 south of Mille Lacs Lake.

Undocumented Reports: Pacific Loon 5/16 St. Louis (Duluth); Glossy Ibis 5/28 Becker (Hamden Slough N.W.R.); White-faced Ibis 4/21 Anoka (Lino Lakes), 5/3 Traverse (Mud L.); Mississippi Kite 5/10 Hennepin (Hyland Park Reserve); Gyrfalcon 3/30 Clay; Eurasian Collared-Dove 4/2+ Houston (2 at Caledonia), 4/11 Grant (Hoffman), 4/12 Lyon (Minneota), 4/15 Kandiyohi (Willmar), 4/22 Chippewa (2 at Milan), early May Hennepin (Minneapolis), 5/16 Rice (Cannon City), 5/20 Traverse (Wheaton), plus undocumented reports at locations where records were accepted in 2002: 3/17+ Renville (Renville), 4/6–13 Lyon (Russell); White-winged Dove 4/24–25 Moose L. near Ely, 5/8 Lake (Fernberg Trail, 5–8 miles east of Ely); Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 4/25 & 4/26 Hennepin (different locations); Hooded Warbler 5/26 Nicollet; Summer Tanager 5/24 Scott (same as June?); Western Tanager 5/5 Washington (Montemedi), 5/12–15 Olmsted, 5/23–24 Kanabec (Ann L.), 5/24 Rock (Blue Mounds S.P.); Spotted Towhee 5/18 Murphy-Hanrehan Park Reserve (county?), 5/22 Dakota (Lebanon Hills Regional Park); Black-headed Grosbeak 4/29–30 Nicollet (male at St. Peter); Great-tailed Grackle 4/13+ Jackson (max. 2 at Grover's L.).

Weather Summary: The spring season opened with wintry weather. A snowstorm dropped two to seven inches of snow on 7–8 March over central and southern Minnesota. After prolonged cold during the first half of March, southerly flow brought warmth to the state in mid-March. Temperatures into the 60s were common on the 15^th and 16^th, and even surpassed 70º in some southern locations. Record-high temperatures included 63º at Mankato, 67º at Rochester, and 57º at International Falls on the 15th, and 60º at Duluth on the 16^th. Another system brought some much-needed moisture on 27–28 March; many areas in the Southeast and South-central received around an inch of precipitation, but the amount declined sharply farther northwest. The precipitation fell mainly as snow in the Northeast and North-central, including 8 inches in Grand Marais, 10.1 inches in Duluth, and up to a foot of snow in the vicinity of Warroad and Baudette.
Southern Minnesota returned to winter mode on 7 April, as a snowstorm hit the far southern tier of counties. Some places received about a foot of heavy wet snow; the largest totals included 13 inches in the Albert Lea area, and 12 inches at Blue Earth and Fairmont. The snow was short-lived — a warm spell the next week led to record-high temperatures across the southern two-thirds of the state by the 14^th, including 93º at Benson and Montevideo, 89º at Minneapolis/St. Paul airport and St. Cloud, and 85º at Little Falls. Widespread rainfall 15–17 April brought some relief, as portions of central and southern Minnesota received between one and two inches of rain. For the month of April, precipitation exceeded the historical average in central Minnesota and the far Southwest; however, many areas in northern Minnesota failed to receive substantial precipitation and continued the trend from November 2002 through March 2003, one of the driest five-month periods in state history.
Ice-out dates on larger lakes were two to six days earlier than average in the southern two-thirds of Minnesota, but near average in the northern one-third. Representative ice-out dates included 31 March at Lake Pepin, 3 April at Lake Shetek, 12 April at Lake Minnetonka, 22 April at Mille Lacs, 5 May at Rainy Lake, and 6 May at Lake of the Woods.

May 2003 temperatures in Minnesota were near normal to somewhat cooler than normal. Extremes ranged from 11º at Embarrass on 2 May to 86º at Morris on 29 May. Precipitation totals for the month were generally near normal across most of the state, but in portions of the North-central and Northeast, May precipitation still fell short of normal by one half to one inch. In the Twin Cities metropolitan area, precipitation in May exceeded the norm by more than two inches.

Acknowledgments: Grateful thanks to Frank Nicoletti and Dave Carman for data from the West Skyline Hawk Count in Duluth, and to Karl Bardon for data from the Hastings-Prescott Bird Count. Dave Sovereign sent summaries of the North American Migration Count which allowed data from that statewide survey to be fully incorporated into the spring report for the first time. Dave Benson, Anthony Hertzel, and Jeanie Joppru summarized hotline reports in Duluth, the Twin Cities, and Northwest Minnesota, respectively. Robert Janssen and Paul Budde compiled record early and late, and median dates. Karl Bardon and Anthony Hertzel reviewed this report and offered helpful comments. Special thanks to the observers who make this report possible, especially those who responded to our requests for additional information and documentation.