That adult Long-tailed Jaeger, which now appears to have departed the area just outside of Agassiz NWR sometime on Sept 2, may have relocated to Lake of the Woods. About 10:30 am yesterday, Sept 3, an adult Long-tailed was seen briefly as it flew over Springsteel Island just N of Warroad.
The bird was first noticed by Diana Rankin, one of those in my Minn Birding Weekends group, who wondered what it was and called it to my attention. It flew in from the south, passed overhead, and was quickly lost from sight behind trees as it continued north, possibly turning and heading west. I alerted the rest of the group, but no one was able to spot it again, primarily because we were looking for warblers at the time in a wooded area with limited visibility of the lake or overhead. Although I am certain of the identification, this unfortunately was not an entirely definitive sighting. Only a few of us were able to see it very briefly, and I was only able to determine that it was a small and thin-looking adult jaeger with distinctively very long and pointed central rectrices. Given the angle of the jaeger as it rapidly disappeared behind the trees and the overcast light conditions, no other field marks were visible. - Kim Eckert