Notable late migrant geese possibly overwintering were two Greater White-fronted Geese in Dakota, one in Lac Qui Parle, and one Ross's Goose that lingered from September to mid-February in McLeod. Reports of spring migrant geese during the period were almost nonexistent. Trumpeter Swan reports were again numerous in the central and east-central regions, whereas no large concentrations of Tundra Swans were reported.

Dabbling ducks lingering north included Wood Duck in Cass and Otter Tail, Gadwall in Cass and Morrison, American Black Duck and Northern Pintail in St. Louis, and Green-winged Teal in Cass. Both Redhead and Greater Scaup apparently overwintered at the Bass Ponds in Hennepin. A male and female Harlequin Duck overwintered in St. Louis (Canal Park, Duluth) until the female was apparently killed and eaten by a Peregrine Falcon in early February. Long-tailed Ducks away from Lake Superior were found in Cass and Dakota. In Dakota near Prescott, WI, a male Barrow's Goldeneye was enjoyed by many in late January.

Ruffed and Sharp-tailed Grouse showed moderate increases. Reports of Wild Turkey were received from a record number of counties, reflecting their continuing expansion statewide. Lingering well into January were a Pied-billed Grebe in Cass and American White Pelicans in Lac Qui Parle and Wabasha. A Great Blue Heron overwintered in Sherburne.

Unsurprisingly, Bald Eagles were tallied in a record 65 counties, reflecting their burgeoning population statewide. What is almost certainly the same individual Gyrfalcon (based on a unique habit of extending its wings for several seconds before flight), an adult gray morph, overwintered for the 3rd consecutive year in Dakota between Hastings and Vermillion. A first county record Prairie Falcon was well-documented in Steele.

Oddly, Thayer's Gulls were relatively plentiful in the metro area, yet no first cycle birds were reported. Totally unexpected so soon after the state's first Slaty-backed Gull in July 2006, were the state's second and third (!) records from Dakota and Washington. Fortunately, both of these individuals remained long enough to be seen by many birders. Wabasha's first Black-legged Kittiwake exceeded the previous record-late date by 16 days.

Eurasian Collared-Dove continued to increase as reflected by high counts of 43 in Renville and 22 in Brown. Rochester (Olmsted) recorded the second highest CBC total of Mourning Doves for the state (Rochester also holds the record). Short-eared Owls had their best showing in many years with a remarkable 65 individuals in 17 counties. Impressive high counts came from Wilkin (24) in the north and Anoka (16) in the south.

Encouraging for this declining species was a Red-headed Woodpecker on the Fargo-Moorhead CBC as well as reports from Fillmore, Olmsted, Ramsey, and Rice throughout the period. Providing rare mid-winter records were well-documented Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers in Dakota and Houston counties. American Three-toed Woodpecker and Black-backed Woodpecker continued the irruption first noted in the fall season, with many reports coming especially from the Hedbom Forest Road in Aitkin County.

This was also an irruption year for Gray Jay in northern Minnesota, including the western border from Kittson south to Clay. A Common Raven was found somewhat south of normal in Washington.

A female Mountain Bluebird provided a first winter record for Dakota and a Gray Catbird potentially overwintered at Silver Bay in Lake. January Northern Mockingbirds were found in Lac Qui Parle and Hennepin. The fourth state record of Curve-billed Thrasher was established at an Itasca feeder mid-August to December. A third winter record Pine Warbler was found on the Duluth CBC in St. Louis.

A Green-tailed Towhee at a feeder in Cottonwood was the state's fifth and probably the most celebrated. Incredibly, it had been banded at Thunder Cape Bird Observatory, Ontario, Canada, in June 2006! Single Spotted Towhees showed up in Scott and Mower. Only the state's second winter record, a Clay-colored Sparrow was photographed at a feeder in Olmsted.

An otherwise lackluster winter finch year was given a boost by no fewer than three “interior form” Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches that overwintered together November thru mid-February in Carlton. Thanks to the gracious hospitality of the Fond du Lac Band and staff at the Resource Management Division office west of Cloquet, the birds were seen and photographed by many. Finally, the state's sixth Eurasian Tree Sparrow was a sporadic visitor to a feeder in Otter Tail.

Weather Summary: The year 2006 finished as the 3^rd warmest year since 1891 in the Twin Cities. This came on the heels of 2005, the 4^th warmest year on record. December was one of the warmest in the modern record for the Twin Cities. The average monthly temperature for the Twin Cities International Airport was 29.1 degrees, making it the 6^th warmest December on record, and the warmest in 47 years.
December also went into the record books as one of the least snowy on record in many locations in southeast Minnesota. Rochester received just eight tenths of an inch of snow — fifth place for the least amount of snow in a December. The dry weather perpetuated the drought conditions that had been in place in the northern half of Minnesota for the previous seven months.

On 21 December, a new record was set for the latest daily first one-half inch of snow in the Twin Cities. The old record was 20 December 1998. A large, lumbering storm system moved through the Upper Midwest on New Year's Eve, bringing with it large amounts of precipitation in the form of rain, freezing rain, and snow. Many single-day all-time precipitation records were set that day. In some areas, the rain changed to snow early enough in the day to lead to signficant snowfall accumulation. A swath of at least six inches of snow extended from the Fairmont area, north through the western Twin Cities suburbs, through Cambridge and Mora, and into the Iron Range and Minnesota's Arrowhead region.

Overall, the snow drought continued across much of Minnesota, especially in the Mississippi Headwaters area, as evidenced by a 100-acre cattail fire on 17 January 2007, near Steamboat Bay of Leech Lake. On 18 February, Leech Lake Dam reported 5 inches of snow on the ground; the median for that date is about 16 inches. At St. Cloud, the low January snowfall tied with 1903 and 1959 for the 8^th lowest in the 104 years of St. Cloud records. It took until the last week of February for snow to cover the ground in St. Cloud, but the month ended with 13.6 inches, 7.1 inches above normal.
On 6 February, an Alberta Clipper sailed southeast and dropped significant snow (for this snow season) across central and southern Minnesota. Some areas had nearly bare ground before the snow, especially in the Willmar and Alexandria area. The most snow, 4–6 inches, fell in a line from Breckenridge, Wilkin County to Faribault, Rice County.

At midnight on 3 February, the temperature dropped to zero at the Twin Cities International Airport and stayed at or below zero for a stretch of 63 hours through the 5^th. This was the longest stretch below zero since January 2004, when the mercury stayed at or below zero for 82 consecutive hours.
Please note that all CBC data is presented elsewhere in this journal and was incorporated only sparingly in this paper.

Undocumented reports: Black-legged Kittiwake 1/8 Lac Qui Parle / Swift; Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 12/27 Lac Qui Parle; Yellow-headed Blackbird 12/31 (2), 1/17 Lac Qui Parle.

Acknowledgments: Thanks to all of you who submitted seasonal reports and documentation, especially to those using the on-line seasonal report at <http://moumn.org/moureports/season.html>. Special thanks to Dave Cahlander and Paul Budde for their continuing efforts to streamline and improve this process. Roger Schroeder continues to do an amazing job of compiling and summarizing the voluminous CBC data. Thanks also to Anthony Hertzel, Jeanie Joppru, and Jim Lind for their tireless compilations of weekly RBAs.