Itasca County and Chippewa National Forest Birding

14. Winnibigoshish Fish and Wildlife Management area –Chippewa National Forest

Also known as the “Winnie Ponds”, this area includes hiking trails and an observation deck that rises above the old hatchery ponds. These ponds are kept at various levels, from open water to shallow cattail marsh. Surrounded by woods and planted conifers and right across the road from Lake Winnibigoshish, I would guess that nearly anything is possible here. This is one of my favorite spots to try for American Bittern, Black Tern, and Yellow-headed Blackbird. The observation deck often has whitewash and pellets on it, indicating that it is used as a perch by owls and/or raptors. The Winnie Ponds are right across CR 9 from Big Winnie, just south of the dam that separates Itasca and Cass counties.