Category Archives: Yard Birds

Early Birds

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It was a beautiful morning when I went out to do my dog chores today.  I was constantly looking up to check for anything new in the trees.  Migration has been pretty slow in our part of the state compared to the metro area, so I keep expecting to see something new at any moment.  After my chores I came in the house and looked out at the front feeder.  I saw an LBB come in that looked a little different.  I pulled up the binoculars to amplify the low light in the early morning and was pleasantly surprised to find the Pine Siskin – a life bird and winter visitor that eluded us these past several months!  I spent a lot of time scanning through dozens of redpolls and goldfinches for this bird all winter but was never able to observe one.  It should not have been a difficult bird to get, but it was for us.  Imagine my surprise to find it now in May when it should be long gone to the north by now.IMG_3165

After confirming my sighting with a photograph, I hustled into Evan’s room where he was still sleeping at 6:10.  Evan has always been a bear to wake up.  It usually takes both of us several trips into his room to try to wake him.  Some days we’ve literally dragged him out of bed.  I knew it would be different today.  I put my hand on his shoulder and whispered, “Evan, we’ve got the Pine Siskin.”  His eyes bulged open, and he flew out of bed.  He got to see it and add it to his life list too.IMG_3172

It was a fun way to start the day.  We start to get twitchy when we go for more than a day without getting a new life bird.  That’s the fun of getting into this sport and being in the midst of spring migration – you never know what you’ll see next, and you usually don’t have to wait long to get a new bird.  As much fun as it is to find life birds (I realize that is mostly all I write about), I also appreciate not seeing everything as we experience migration for the first time.  Those unseen birds give us something to look forward to for the next season.  The hunt and the hope of a new bird is almost as much fun as seeing a new one.

Besides seeing new birds, it is always fun to see familiar birds and appreciate their beauty and behaviors.  Tonight I had to travel with Steve for a meeting in Marshall.  Of course we had to stop by a marsh right off the highway on the way home to do a little birding.  I finally got a picture of the Yellow-headed Blackbird and the Red-winged Blackbird.  They splashed the dull marsh with fabulous color.

IMG_3180 IMG_3191Blue-winged Teal are also fun to see in the evening light.

IMG_3193Steve also pointed out a life bird for me – the Wilson’s Phalarope.  This bird was extremely close but would not sit still for me.  I told Evan tonight that I’m going to have to find another one with him so I can get a better picture.

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Perfect Timing, Mr. White-crowned Sparrow

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If you read our last post,One Good Tern Deserves Another, then you will know that Evan incorrectly identified the White-throated Sparrow as the White-crowned Sparrow. Well, this afternoon when I was home alone I happened to be looking out the window when the White-crowned Sparrow dropped by the birch tree out front!  I had to do a double-take to make sure I wasn’t seeing yesterday’s White-throated Sparrow. This was a life bird for me and a new yard bird.  Evan was on his way home, and I was hoping the bird would still be around when he got there.  Here are a couple of pictures I took while I waited for Evan.

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IMG_3083Do you see how easily it can be misidentified as the White-throated Sparrow?  Below is a picture of the White-throated Sparrow from yesterday so you can see how closely they resemble each other. The White-throated has the yellow patch by the eye, a conspicuous white throat, and a dark bill.  The White-crowned lacks the yellow patch and white throat and has a pink bill.

IMG_3075The sparrow disappeared while I watched.  Evan still wasn’t home.  I was a little worried. I looked a little later and was relieved to now see two of them feeding on the ground by our tree.  I saw the van coming down our street, so I went outside to point the new sparrows out to Evan.  By this time they had flushed into the tree.  When the van door opened and I could explain what was going on, the two birds flew away into our bushes before he saw them.  I told Evan to go wait on the living room couch and just watch out the window.  He did, and he was pretty sad.  He didn’t think he’d get to see them.  I bet we didn’t even wait 5 minutes before they came back.  Whew!  Later on we had three of these birds scratching the ground looking for seed.

Life birds are more fun when shared, and they are even better when they are also new yard birds.  This was our seventh species of sparrow to come to the yard since we’ve started watching birds.  There are a few more species of sparrows that have returned to Minnesota this spring that we have yet to see.  We are hoping the Harris’s Sparrow will decide to visit any day.  I no longer think sparrows are boring.  They’re actually pretty cool.

One Good Tern Deserves Another

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Yesterday Evan declined my offer to take him to a marsh in western Minnesota to look for the White-faced Ibis, American Avocet, and Western Grebe.  He was too busy having fun playing outside with the neighbor girl.  Weekend play time is precious for a kid, especially since we are finally enjoying some nice weather.  A one-and-a-half hour trip each way to a marsh would certainly chew into that time.

Later on while Marin napped and Melissa made supper, the rest of us (Evan, Grandma, Grandpa, and me) took a short drive to do a little birding close to home.  We ended up going to the pond at my school.  Almost immediately upon arrival we saw a small gull-like bird dashing about.  Just as I was about to ask what it was, Evan shouted out, “A tern!”  The little bugger was right.  His studying paid off again.  We watched about three of these flying non-stop in the windy conditions.  I knew there were several different terns, so I took many pictures to get as many clues as possible for identification.  I think it would have been easier to photograph a flying golf ball.  We got to hear the tern as well.  With our collection of blurry photos and the sounds we heard, we determined we had the Forster’s Tern!  This was a life bird for at least Evan and me.

IMG_3067The combination of the bird’s speed and shooting into the sun made it tough to get a decent picture.  This one would have been great if the sun were on the other side.  I found the long, forked tail to be a really cool feature on this bird.

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There were other birds on the pond, but we were focused on getting a positive identification on this life bird.  I did manage to take a picture of a lone Trumpeter Swan that stopped by while we were there.

IMG_3053Today Evan’s grandparents did their own migration north to their home.  As we were working around the yard and house tonight and adjusting to two less people in the house, Evan came running to me and said, “Dad, we’ve got the White-crowned Sparrow!” I grabbed the camera and ran out to the deck.  Evan proudly pointed out the bird. I wouldn’t have had to run because it had no fear of us as it scratched in the leaf litter looking for some food.  Evan was a little off on his identification this time as we actually had the White-throated Sparrow.  It is very similar in appearance to the White-crowned Sparrow, so Evan wasn’t too far off.  He knew it was a life bird for us either way and a new yard bird!  Way to go, Evan!   This sparrow is a family favorite even though we’ve never seen one before tonight.  Its song is a northern Minnesota classic and reminds us of home.  It goes something like this: Oh, sweet kimberly-kimberly-kimberly.

IMG_3075Here you can see why the White-throated Sparrow is so-named.

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Usually I’m the one finding and identifying new birds for us.  The last two days Evan has been finding the good ones and pointing them out to me.  Evan has been a birder in his own right for some time now.  It’s been fun to watch him use his eagle eyes and demonstrate his knowledge of birds.   He’s a real asset to the Team.

 

Good Looking Rumps

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As I monitor sightings and migration reports on MOU-Net, I know what birds we should be expecting.  Not only that, but identification becomes a whole lot easier since you know which birds you can eliminate as possibilities.  One species that we’ve been on the lookout for is the Yellow-rumped Warbler – a beautiful blue, gray, black, and white bird with some bright yellow patches, the most prominent of which is located on its posterior, hence the name.  This warbler, sometimes called a “butter butt”  is one of the first migrants, and as insect-eating birds, they don’t have much to eat in this winter weather.  They will come to suet feeders in these conditions, though.  Our suet has been gone for weeks, but learning this, we bought a new suet cake yesterday and some dried mealworms so we could accommodate any visiting Yellow-rumped Warblers.

I spent half my day in search of a different bird; I was turkey hunting and trying to get a big tom.  I saw seven turkeys, including one very large tom, but he had some lady-friends and wasn’t coming to my call.  Oh well, I can’t expect to bag a turkey on my first time ever trying.  On my way home a Common Loon caught my attention in the Crow River near Paynesville.  Now a loon is a sign of not just spring, but summer!  I turned around in a boat launch parking lot to go back and view it.  Many small birds scattered out of the way of my car, mostly Dark-eyed Juncos, but one different from the rest fluttered in front of the car and paused briefly – the Yellow-rumped Warbler!  I love warblers.  They helped ignite my fire for this hobby, so I was excited to see this new one.  I tried to get a picture, but he did not hold still.

I got to see plenty of bird action today on my hunting outing.  Here is a sure sign of spring I saw despite the weather – the Eastern Bluebird.

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When I got home I did tell Evan about my life bird.  He was a little upset, but not too bad. I was able to talk him back into an agreeable mood.  I thought about just keeping it to myself, but then he would have thought it would have been a life bird for me too whenever we would be lucky to see one together.  I don’t want to be dishonest to him, and I also want him to realize that there will be times that we are each going to see different birds.  After all, Grandpa Rick got the Burrowing Owl last week in Arizona – lucky duck.

Speaking of luck, I was sitting on the couch cuddling with Marin tonight and watching the birds fight for the feeder during this new April blizzard.  And just like that a Yellow-rumped Warbler landed in the tree in front of the living room window!  I hurriedly moved Marin off my lap and hollered for Evan to get to the window to see the bird we’ve been waiting for. Little did I know that the entire Team ended up looking for it and that Melissa snapped this picture.

Yellow rumped Warbler Team sightingThe warbler was here and gone before I could get a picture.  I’m sure there will be more chances.  You really should do a Google image search of this pretty bird as it is quite likely to end up in your yard.

We were excited.  Now we can’t wait for another expected yard visitor – the Ruby-crowned Kinglet.  Several days ago I believe we found it.  I am making the call that this is the Ruby-crowned, but I want a better picture to prove it!

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Bad Scarecrows

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This morning I saw that the redpolls were abundant and ferocious.  I still couldn’t believe I fed one by hand the day before, and I was itching to repeat the experience.  I thought it would be fun to make a video of my second attempt at feeding redpolls by hand. Melissa was still asleep, so I set the camera on top of the grill to record myself.  You have to see this to believe it.  The video tells the story much better than words could ever do.  Be patient with the first 45 seconds or so.  It gets really good, trust me.

This afternoon I asked Evan if he wanted to try feeding the birds by hand.  Of course he was interested.  Silly me for asking. I gave him a tutorial in the house about how to do it and stressed the importance of not flinching or reacting.  I loaded him up with seed, put him in position, and got out of the way to watch.  He was perfectly still even as no birds came for the longest time.  I was proud of how well he did.  Then, finally, a redpoll came in close. Once one tries out the new “feeder,” the others quickly come in.

IMG_2734 They were right by his head!  I saw his body wiggle as if he were giggling at this sensational experience.

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Then he had a bird eating seed off his hood!  It stayed for a long time.

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Finally, one landed on his hand!  I could only imagine what Evan was thinking at that moment while he watched a wild bird in his own hand.

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After awhile, I figured he had to be cold and tired of standing still, so I broke the silence and asked if he wanted to be done.  The birds scattered at the sound of my voice.  He responded with a disgusted, “No!”  Since he wanted to keep at it, I decided to join him. We could not pull the redpolls back in.  After a few minutes we decided too try the front yard. The feeder is 6 feet off the ground, and so I was the only one able to reach my hand up there.  Evan just held his in the sky.  Eventually one redpoll landed on my hand.  Time to experiment.  I wanted to transfer the bird to Evan’s hand.  After slowly bringing my hand down to his and tilting it ever so carefully, I was able to get the bird to hop on to Evan’s hand.  Then I reached up to try to get another bird while Evan’s bird gorged itself on seeds on his hand.  It stayed for a long time.  I never did get another one to land on my hand, but it didn’t matter.  I was happy for Evan that he got to experience this magic.

Later in the day I made a trip to town to pick up more bird food as the redpolls have been emptying my thistle feeders in just a day in this awful weather.  While at the store I ran into Steve in the bird-feeding section.  Go figure.  He said he was going to try hand-feeding the redpolls.  I gave him some pointers and then we parted company.  It couldn’t have been much more than an hour later that I got a text from him saying he had success.

So, if you have redpolls and want to try this, here are my tips:

-Wear a hood to conceal your human form.  Wear gloves to keep your hands warm.

-Look down and don’t stare at a bird if it comes close.  Watch it out of your peripheral vision.  This is the critical time.  Stay as motionless as possible.  Once a bird comes in to feed, it breaks the ice for the others.

-Hold your hand full of food at the base of the feeder.  This gives a rest for your hand and brings the new food source close to the old.  If a bird lands on the feeder above your hand, slowly move your hand up to the bird.  When you touch the bird, it should just step or hop onto your hand.

-Once the bird is comfortable, you can begin moving your hand (and the bird) around and look at the bird all you want.

-To gain the maximum effect, put bird food on your head, shoulders, arms, or wherever it will stay.

-Have fun!

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Birds in the Hoar Frost

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This morning we woke up to beautiful hoar frost covering every tree and shrub.  It is absolutely amazing.  With a morning like this, I am a little more patient for the end of winter.  Everybody but me was asleep in the house, so I slipped outside to take some pictures.

The two photos below are of the Common Redpoll.  I love having these little guys visit for the winter, but they need to go back to their Arctic home.  First, their presence is a reminder that it is still winter.  Second, they eat like pigs and are costing me a fortune.

With the hoar frost today, the name Hoary Redpoll finally made sense to me.  The Hoary Redpoll is a “frosty” white version of the bird you see above.  Hopefully I can see and photograph a good example someday.

The American Goldfinch is always fun to see, even with its duller greenish plumage right now.  We can’t wait to see their bright yellow color because it’s so pretty and it means spring!

As I was snapping pics in the front yard, I looked at the living room window and saw that someone inside was awake.  Do you see his red-cheeked face looking at the open bird book?  It’s a regular sight, but this is the first time I’d seen it from this side.

Before I had gone outside, I spied this chunky little bird amongst the hoar frost-covered limbs of our birch tree.  It is the semi-regular visitor, the House Finch.  We haven’t seen one for over a month.  This one did not stick around long for me to photograph.

Later in the day I had to go into my school to do some work.  I’ve learned to take my camera along as I frequently see interesting bird activity during my commute.  The other day it was a Red-tailed Hawk that had just killed a hen pheasant on the shoulder of the highway.  Other times I see interesting raptors that I can’t identify or large groups of pheasants.  All I can do is tell Evan about it.  Now I can start to record my sights to share my observations with him.

Right away I found another Red-tailed Hawk. I know they were over-done on the last two posts, but I want to show you what my relatively inexpensive high-zoom camera (Canon SX 50) can do.  It continues to impress me.  Who needs binoculars anymore?   Look at the two photos below.  The dark speck at the top of the center tree is the hawk.

And I saw lots of pheasants on the trip home.  I found a group of about 5 roosters and 5 hens.  I tried to get a cool picture of all those males to show Evan, but they quickly and easily hid on the other side of a snowdrift at the sight of my vehicle on the shoulder.  Pheasants are so hard to photograph because they get nervous and RUN. I guess with all these Red-tailed Hawks around, I would be nervous too.  I found this lone rooster a little later on in my drive.  Again, this one was about 100 yards away.   No lifers today, but it was fun to see a lot of the good looking regulars on a beautiful winter day.

 

The GBBC – Care to Join Us?

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This weekend we will be participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count – a global bird watching project organized by the National Audobon Society and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.  It is similar to the annual Christmas Bird Count sponsored by the National Audobon Society since 1900, but for this count you do not have to leave the house.  It is easy to do with kids.  Here is what you need to know:

What: Count the number of each species you see in your yard and submit your results to the Great Backyard Bird Count.

How: Get a printable data sheet here to record bird species and numbers.  When the count starts you then create an account at this same website to submit your results.

Who: Anyone! Novice, expert, young, old, busy, not-so-busy.

When: Friday, February 15th through Monday, February 18th.  You can pick one or all of those days for your observation.  You can even choose the time of day and length of time – even if it’s just 15 minutes.  It is very flexible!

Where: Your own yard!

Why: Scientists and bird enthusiasts need help in tracking the movements of birds.  It is just too broad for any one person or organization to track. Here are some specific questions that can be answered by the collection of this data:

  • How is the weather affecting bird movements?
  • Are there any “irruptive” species, meaning species that shows up in large numbers some years and not others?
  • How do migration patterns compare with the previous years?
  • Are diseases like West Nile impacting populations in certain regions?
  • What kind of species diversity is there in cities compared with rural areas?

Are you interested and want more information? Go directly to the Great Backyard Bird Count website.

Not a birder? I bet you know someone who watches birds, like a parent, grandparent or neighbor who would love to have you over.  Call them up, bring over a box of donuts, and drink some coffee while you count birds for the sake of science.  Birds are a great excuse to go visit loved ones.  So go for it – I promise you’ll have fun.

Evan and I would love to know if you’re joining us – let us know in the comment section.

Look Who the Blizzard Blew In!

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Whew!  Evan’s Eurasian Collared Dove is still alive! (More Than Just A Name) It’s been absent from the yard for nearly two weeks after being a regular since summer, and we were getting worried that it had died.  After all, we had a pair of them for several months, which turned into one bird in the last two months.  This morning we are in the midst of a blizzard.  In fact, we are spending the day  holed up in the house as all church services in Willmar were canceled.  It’s a good day for drinking coffee and monitoring the birds. Can you tell that it’s cold and windy outside?

To give you a sense of this bird’s size, here is a shot where I am not zoomed in.  Do you see it in the middle of the picture and how its size compares to the Common Redpolls on the feeder?

Here’s a shot of the feeding frenzy that happens here daily – blizzard or not.

And add a splash of color in this whiteout, and you have a good bird-watching day! (From reading the blog, can you identify all three species in this shot?)

Answers: Male Northern Cardinal, Male Dark-Eyed Junco (Slate-Colored), and two House Sparrows

 

Some Fun Bird Pics for your Wednesday Morning

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This is just a quick photo post to highlight more of the diversity that we’ve had this year in our first winter of feeding the birds.  When I went on my “Big Day” of birding from inside the living room on Saturday, I captured photos of nearly all of the regular species that visit us.  However, there were a couple of absences that day.  One of those was the Northern Cardinal which was photographed extensively Sunday.  If you haven’t seen this amazing bird, go to the Home page and scroll down a couple of posts.

The Blue Jay finally showed up today.  He used to be here regularly, and earlier in the winter there used to be several.  Lately the one jay has been elusive.  Even today I saw him for just a flash.

The Blue Jay is very commonplace, but its beauty is undeniable – even if they can be jerks at the feeder.

I am very excited to show you these next photos.  The first is the male Oregon Junco. The second is the female. On Saturday I showed a slightly blurry, close-cropped photo of the female.  As I said before, this has been one of my prize birds all winter.  We are at the very eastern edge of its winter range, and I haven’t seen it around my feeder much.  I was super excited to make this discovery about a month ago by first seeing the female.  In the last week or so, the male has started coming!

And, I know I showed several images of the Hoary Redpoll in Saturday’s post, but I am captivated by this bird because it is such a rarity and travels so far to us.  In the last week, we seem to have several mixed in the Common Redpoll flocks at our house.  Plus, I used to doubt whether I’d actually seen one when I first blogged about it a couple weeks ago.  The photos prove it a certainty and have erased all doubt.

The only other regular yard bird that’s missing is one that I’m dying to show you – Evan’s Eurasian Collared Dove.  It is magnificently large and its back story is very special to me in regards to Evan becoming a birder.  I’m worried, though.  We used to have a pair that regularly came by.  For the last few weeks, just one has shown up, and now it has been a week since we’ve seen that one.  I’ll watch the feeders.  You watch the blog.  Hopefully we see him.