"The Grade" as it is known to local residents, is a short stretch of County Rd 2 (700th Street) that intersects the north end of Big Spirit Lake and is also essentially the state line between Minnesota and Iowa.
While "The Grade" is probably best known as a great place to fish during the summer months, it is one of my favorite birding spots to check starting in early spring, throughout the summer, and into late fall.
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| "The Grade" - North Shore of Big Spirit Lake |
Starting in early to mid March, the ice around the channel leading out to the main lake starts to open up and attracts early geese and ducks (Common Mergansers and Scaup are frequently seen). Within a few weeks, Ring-billed Gulls start showing up to feed on small fish that died over the winter and as the ice recedes even more, a wider variety of ducks show up.
By April, the ice is usually gone from the small bay and American Pelicans, Cormorants, and large numbers of American Coot and Northern Shovelers start to arrive. By early summer, Forster's Terns can be found feeding in the shallow water and it is not unusual to see Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets along the shoreline hunting for food.
During the summer, it is usually crowded with people fishing from shore or the pier, but is still worth checking out. I've been lucky to catch views of Osprey diving for fish within 50 yards of the road. You may also get lucky and find a Spotted or Solitary Sandpiper hanging out on the rocks.
"The Grade" has also had it's share of rare birds show up. For a few years, a Black-headed Gull was an annual fall visitor, a Magnificent Frigatebird spent an afternoon in September of 2009 exploring Spirit Lake and attracted birders from Iowa and Minnesota (hoping to catch it crossing the border into MN), and in 2006, a Brown Pelican spent some time hanging out in the area.
While "The Grade" might not be one of the best places to pad your numbers for the day, it is probably the best spot to stop and catch a view of some lake birds.
Plus, it is only a couple hundred yards away from one of the best birding spots in the area and the next Hot Spot that I'll cover: Mini-Wakan State Park.
