The Northern Waterthrush migrates through most of Minnesota to the Arrowhead regions and Canada where it breeds. With a tail that constantly wags, this bird’s diet is primarily insects. Its nest is hidden near the ground and a water source. Ralph LaPlant Photo

I had set up my camera gear using my house as a blind. The usual species of birds were flitting around. Robins, blue jays, cowbirds, an occasional redstart and other warblers appeared and then, suddenly a bird I had not seen before.
    
Focusing in on it with a long telephoto lens, I decided I was going to take a series of photographs but just after two clicks of the shutter release, this bird was gone. When the slides came back, I was at a loss to positive identification as there are similar appearing species in bird books, so I used expert ornithologist friends to ID this bird. It was a northern waterthrush.
    
These birds migrate and live in Minnesota during the summer, concentrating its range in the Arrowhead and a little to the west. My research reveals that it also summers in its breeding range of the very northern and eastern United States and adjoining provinces of Canada.
    
Being a ground-dwelling bird, the Northern Waterthrush is about five inches long, has a thin pointed bill, brown upper body parts, light colored under parts that are streaked with black and a tail that is constantly wagging.
    
Breeding in woodland areas, this bird builds a nest out of leaves, moss, bark and twigs. Nests are lined with materials that are fine. Being cup-shaped, these nests are built low, hidden and near the ground and a water source.
    
After about a 13-day incubation, four to five eggs that are off-white with various markings such as purplish-gray and/or brown that can be streaked or spotted will hatch with both parents feeding the young. In about ten days the nestlings will leave the nest.
    
Feeding on insects, crustaceans, mollusks and a rarely, small fish, the northern waterthrush appears to be constantly looking for food as it walks on the ground near the water’s edge.
    
Migrating south during August and September, this bird heads for its winter home that can be located in southern Florida and Texas, Mexico, or Central and South America. It was once estimate that 25,000 northern waterthrushes migrated through coastal South Carolina in one day.