A friend of ours wanted us to look at a prairie remnant in a ditch next to land he was farming.  While doing this I heard a bird I knew I hadn't heard in a long time.  It turned out to be an Upland Sandpiper.  This is a bird that was once very common on the prairies of SE Minnesota, but is now in significant decline due to the lack of good grassland habitat.  The Upland Sandpiper is slightly larger than a Killdeer.  It was a treat to see and hear this bird again.  The ditch was a high quality prairie remnant with prairie flowers such as the Compass Plant and Prairie Blazing Star.  I suspect this is why the Upland Sandpiper was there.