Mark this as possibly another consequence of the Interstate 35 megaproject: Bird-watchers have lost one of their favorite places, at least temporarily.
Erie Pier, at the end of 40th Avenue West just off the interstate, is being used as a staging area by the project's contractors and is off-limits.
Although the project has been going all summer, the prohibition came up last week in an e-mail discussion among birders via the Minnesota Ornithology Union's website.
"That is a staging area for the contractors," confirmed John Bray, spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
He added that the property is owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and that contractors not associated with the megaproject also have equipment in the area. And it's clearly posted as a no-trespassing area, Bray said.
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The Army Corps of Engineers did not return calls requesting a comment.
But Kim Eckert of Duluth, author of "A Birder's Guide to Minnesota," said those signs are there for the first time in his memory.
"It's a good birding area, and birders have been going there about 30 years, pretty much without interruption," he said.
Eckert understands the reason: "They're concerned, understandably, about liability."
But he's also hopeful something could be worked out so that groups of birders, with advance notice, could get permission to enter.
"It's such an important area," he said. "At some point we're going to check into it and check to see what exactly the situation is."
Sparky Stensaas, a birder from Wrenshall, said he was escorted out of the area in May. He admitted he had seen the signs, but he weighed that against the fact that he'd been watching birds at Erie Pier for 25 years, and there had always been an unwritten understanding with bird-watchers.
"They were a little brusque about it," Stensaas said on Friday. "But it's their right and their prerogative."
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The kinds of birds seen at the pier can vary depending on water levels, Eckert said. Mud flats can attract shorebirds and herons. Grassy areas can bring migrating snow buntings and longspurs. Years ago, a fork-tailed flycatcher -- normally seen in South America -- was spotted at Erie Pier. It was the first time that bird had been seen in Minnesota. A white-winged dove, also rare in Minnesota, was seen there last fall.
Stensaas listed a McCown's longspur as another Erie Pier find. "There's a long list of rarities that have been seen there," he said. "It's a rarity magnet."
Eckert is philosophical about the situation.
"It'll be a loss if we're not allowed to go in there anymore," he said. "But that does occasionally happen. Places do change."
