Undoubtedly due to the mildness of the winter, the season was marked by many late migrants and overwintering species.

Greater White-fronted, Snow and Cackling Geese overwintered in the state, while one Ross's was found in mid-Janaury in Otter Tail. At least five Tundra Swans in Wabasha also overwintered. An American Wigeon in Duluth produced the first north midwinter record for this species, while a Blue-winged Teal at Fergus Falls was exceedingly late. (Several others reported on CBCs were, unfortunately, undocumented.) All the Regular Aythya ducks also overwintered. The only Harlequin Duck of the season was in Duluth for a single day. All three scoters were seen along the lower Mississippi during December; another Surf was seen at Lake Waconia in December, while a White-winged was in Wright in January and for much of February a pair was in Lake Superior off of Duluth. Approximately ten Long-tailed Ducks were found (only one on Lake Superior!), but only two after December. Adult male Barrow's Goldeneyes were documented in Benton and St. Louis counties, and along the lower Mississippi River. Two different Common Goldeneye x Hooded Merganser hybrids, both an adult and an immature male, were located in Duluth.

Common Loons were found in 8 counties during December, in contrast to their complete absence during the prior winter. Another Common was a late February vistor to Duluth.

Perhaps due to the lack of snow, Northern Harriers were found in 35 counties this winter — triple the average over the previous five years. Golden Eagles were evenly balanced between 7 north and 6 south counties. Sandhill Cranes apparently lingered much later than usual, but many of these reports went undocumented.

A first-cycle Black-legged Kittiwake was seen in Duluth in mid-December. Providing only the second January record of this species was a Franklin's Gull that was repeatedly found in and around the Twin Cities. Apparently for the first time, a few Ring-billed Gulls overwintered in Duluth. Eleven different Iceland Gulls were chronicled in Duluth, including a record high day count of 6 and a probable adult glaucoides. Lesser Black-backeds were seen in Wright and Hennepin, while the state's fifth record Glaucous-winged was nicely documented in Duluth. At least 38 Glaucous Gulls spent time in Duluth, of which a record high count of 34 were found in a single day. Eight Great Black-backed Gulls were seen in Duluth, while additional birds were found in Goodhue and Wabasha.

Minnesota participated in the winter's Snowy Owl invasion that went deep into the middle of the country, but the total of about 100 birds was fewer than the total during the previous major invasion in 2005–2006. In contrast to the plentiful Snowys, Northern Hawk Owls could only be found in the Northeast, and Great Grays only in the Northeast and North-central regions. The only Boreal Owl of the season was found on the Grand Marais CBC.

The Cedar Creek Natural History Area continues to be the stronghold for Red-headed Woodpeckers in the state. A remarkable total of 56 was counted on the CBC located there. One Yellow-bellied Sapsucker overwintered in Olmsted. Both an American Three-toed and a Black-backed Woodpecker were, surprisingly, found in mid-February in Crow Wing.

Black-billed Magpies wandered farther south than usual, to Crow Wing, Pine and even to the Sherburne N.W.R. Moving in the other direction, Tufted Titmice were found as far north as Ramsey and Washington. Carolina Wrens were in Chisago at Wild River S.P., and in Hennepin. A Winter Wren spent the winter in Rice, while two were in Hennepin and another in Houston in January. An extremely late Ruby-crowned Kinglet was regular at the Bass Ponds in Hennepin through early January. In mid-February a Mountain Bluebird was discovered in Cook. Well past the midpoint of the season, Hermit Thrushes were seen as far north as St. Louis and Cook. Eleven Varied Thrushes was a typical winter total.

Though no Northern Mockingbirds were seen during the season, a mid-December Gray Catbird and four Brown Thrashers, including one that overwintered in Hennepin, represented mimic thrushes well. Bohemian Waxwings were limited to the northern third of the state. As many as 21 Yellow-rumped Warblers were detected during the season, including a group of five in Carver at the end of January.

A Spotted Towhee was in Austin until the end of January, while an Eastern was in Faribault in mid-January and another overwintered in Polk. There were numerous reports of Chipping Sparrows, which is quite unusual for the winter season, but only one in Lake was documented. Other late sparrows included a Field in Dakota, a Vesper in Lac qui Parle, a Savannah videotaped in Lac qui Parle, and the state's second winter record of Grasshopper Sparrow, which was seen in St. Louis. Winter counts of Harris's and White-crowned Sparrows were higher than normal, and both species had overwintering individuals. In Lac qui Parle, an "Oregon" subspecies of Dark-eyed Junco was photographed.

Not to be outdone by the sparrows, a Summer Tanager that lingered in Washington into the season was only a fourth winter record, and a Western Tanager photographed in Hennepin was record late — by four months! Two lingering Rose-breasted Grosbeaks were discovered, one on the St. Paul (North) CBC, the other in Rice in early January. Red Crossbills were found in 4 south counties and White-wingeds in 16; a cemetery in New Ulm hosted both species in January and February. There was a nice movement of Common Redpolls into the state, as they were found in 70% of the counties. Hoary Redpolls were widespread north, but only seen south in Anoka.

Weather summary: The statewide average temperatures for the season were well above-average, and the season was one of the warmest on record (fourth warmest on record at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport). Average temperatures topped the historical average by 6 to 12 degrees F in December, 9 to 11 degrees in January, and 5 to 8 degrees in February. This marks five consecutive months of abnormally warm temperatures for the state.

The season was also quite dry. December and January produced precipitation shortfalls across much of the state, though a few areas were closer to normal. The most notable precipitation of the season came in late February. One storm brought 4–8 inches of snow to the northern half of the state on 26 February, and another dropped 1–1.5 inches of rain over the southern half of the state and snow in the north from 28 February – 1 March.

Undocumented or insufficiently documented reports: Blue-winged Teal 1/1 Afton CBC, 1/2 Wabasha CBC (late dates); BARROW'S GOLDENEYE 2/6 Cook (immature male, Paradise Beach); American White Pelican 12/18 Grand Forks-East Grand Forks CBC (late date); Turkey Vulture 12/17 Goodhue (late date); Osprey 12/17 Olmsted (near Byron; late date), 2/21 Blue Earth (Mankato; unusually early); Sandhill Crane 12/17 Grand Marais CBC, 12/18 Little Falls CBC, 12/23 Morrison (all very late dates north); Prairie Falcon 2/7 Otter Tail (no details); Chipping Sparrow 12/17 Bloomington CBC (4), Fairmont CBC, Grand Marais CBC, Owatonna CBC (late date); Western Meadowlark 1/21 Houston (difficult ID); Brewer's Blackbird 12/2 Todd, 12/9 Red Lake, 12/17 Jackson, Northwest McLeod (Hutchinson) CBC, 12/19 Tamarac N.W.R. (3), 12/30 Olmsted (late dates), 2/27 Steele (early date); Pine Grosbeak 12/30 Goodhue (3) (out of range; more details needed).

Acknowledgements: Thanks to all who submitted seasonal reports and documentation, especially to those using the on-line seasonal report at the MOU website. Special thanks to Dave Cahlander for his continuing efforts to streamline and improve this process. Carl Greiner, serving as Minnesota CBC coordinator, compiled and summarized vast amounts of data from 68 counts. Finally, thanks to Anthony Hertzel, Jeanie Joppru, and Jim Lind for their tireless compilations of weekly birding summaries available via the RBAs and on-line.