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Father Hennepin Bluffs Park in Minneapolis, what to expect? (1 Viewer)

wimvdam

Well-known member
Hi there,

Next week I'll be in down-town Minneapolis and I hope that I will have a few hours to go birding in the city. I am planning on walking around Father Hennepin Bluffs Park and/or Boom Island Park. Can anybody tell me what to expect in those parks? I live on the west coast and never birded in the Minnesota area so even common species might be interesting to me.

Thanks,

- Wim
 
I haven't been to those places. My primary targets in/near Hennepin County are Crosby Farm regional park in St. Paul at the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers, and the Minnesota Valley NWR units along the Minnesota River. Minnesota River Valley NWR has a visitor center near the airport where you can get maps and information and check for guided tours. The NWR areas closer to the airport such as Bass Ponds and Old Cedar Avenue are OK and easy to access, though not as good as Crosby Farm. I particularly liked their Rapids Lake unit far far to the South which has a mix of grasslands, oak savanna and wetlands.

If you can't leave the downtown area you may end up at among the lakes in the residential areas South of downtown, such as the Roberts bird sanctuary which I didn't find particularly super in the past. The Mississippi River in the downtown area was greatly transformed and industrialized, so I don't recall any decent areas along the river until you get South of the University. The areas North and West of downtown Mpls are a mystery to me.

Look at places like the Minnesota Valley NWR web site, www.moumn.org, www.greatriverbirding.org and the mnbird mailing list for Minnesota info. You could sign up for the mnbird list to ask locals for info.
 
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