Follow Migration - Part 1 - Kilen Woods

On Thursday May 10th I finished a day of work and quickly set out on the road heading to the south-west corner of the state with my prime target being the nearly mythical Blue Mounds State Park. I first needed to hit a closer park and then find my hotel in Luverne so I'd be ready for Blue Mounds in the morning. I ended with Kilen Woods being my target though probably should have picked the closer and much less rainy Sakatah. I watched the weather closely and hoped for the best. As I rolled into the park it was a weak rain that I was determined not to keep me from exploring another park.

This 200 acre location is pretty small by most measures, but I found some nice elevation on the route I picked which brought me down towards the  Des Moines river. The river bottom area was lush and certainly had potential for a nice migrant mix, though it was very wet in some area and I was forced to go around or side-step some spaces. In a small stream/ravine I kicked up a Mourning Warbler, which will melt away any worries about rain pretty quickly. The small park does pack in some really nice habitat via ravines and river bottom type areas along with some nice prairie space.

I pulled in a couple other migrant warblers (Magnolia and Wilson's) while also hitting upon several Harris's Sparrows hanging out in the bushes near the campground road. While in the rolling prairie locations I picked up Bobolink making their robotic noises and even as I dodged rain drops over the majority of the small hike I was impressed by what was available in the space.

Some of the rolling landscape just up from the river bottom areas of the park.

As I made my way back into the parking lot that is absolutely infested with Chipping Sparrows I saw a large set of window move position in the woods, picking up sight of a Barred Owl beginning the hunt for the night.

The Great: Fun trails spaces are really helped as some quality birds and those trails do have some decent elevation change so they do provide a nice variety for such a small park space.

The Meh: With just 5 miles of trails and 200 acres I can see getting bored with this park pretty quickly. It was quiet as I did not come across another person the entire time I was at the park, though that was likely a function of the weather. From a hikers standpoint this is not the park you are looking for if you need something robust and long. From a birders standpoint this kind of oasis is key in a county space that is loaded with farms and tilled fields.

The Verdict: Birder visits combo'd with other locations in a given day would be the best use of this park. I can see hitting this park again in the future as the setup location for other park efforts. I'm sure this park is a massive county hot spot that do a lot of work for your personal lists, but I'm not likely to get a follow-up visit this year even if I target Blue Mounds a second time.