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Jim Williams has been watching birds and writing about their antics since before "Gilligan's Island" went into reruns. Join him for his unique insights, his everyday adventures and an open conversation about the birds in your back yard and beyond.
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Posts about Bird migration
Pelicans on the Gulf
Posted by: Jim Williams Updated: December 15, 2012 - 5:05 PM
Two of the Minnesota pelicans radio tagged this fall so their movements can be tracked are at wintering territory on the Gulf of Mexico.
Four American White Pelicans are sending signals to a research team. The study is intended to provide information on where on the Gulf the birds spend the winter, their migration paths, and their movements in Minnesota.
Impetus for the study was evidence of oil and oil dispersant chemical found last summer in eggs and bodies of pelicans nesting here. About one-third of the world population of this bird nests in Minnesota.
One of the tagged pelicans arrived east of the mouth of the Mississippi River in mid-October. Its radio signal is spasmodic, the most recent reception in late November.
A second bird arrived on the Gulf in mid-November. It was located south of Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Two birds are taking more leisurely trips. One of them flew 175 miles on Thanksgiving to a location on the Arkansas River. The second pelican moved through central Mississippi in late November, the last signal showing it near Greenwood, Mississippi.
The project is a partnership between Audubon Minnesota, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Non-game Program, and North Dakota State University.
To see the map and follow the pelicans go to http://mn.aOneudubon.org/
Birds look better in snow
Posted by: Jim Williams Updated: December 10, 2012 - 9:27 PMCardinals came to our feeders in force as soon as the snow stopped. We had 10 here Sunday at dusk. Monday, the count was eight. Cardinals feed in the dim light of dawn and the fading twilight at the end of the afternoon. Most other bird species retire earlier and rise later. Sunset Monday was at 4:32 p.m. The first cardinal flew into the yard at 4:32 p.m. I'm curious to know if that was a coincidence or if the birds' sense of light level is that keen. I'll try to time them for the next few afternoons.
The smaller lakes near our home were nearly 100 percent ice-coveredMonday. A few small open spots of water remained. I was checking for ducks and coots -- and eagles. If waterfowl can be found on small patches of open water, you might find eagles, too. The hunting is good when the ducks are in restricted space. Coots become particularly vulnerable because they must run across the water to get to lift-off speed. I saw a pair of immature Bald Eagles at Mooney Lake in western Plymouth. There was no prey there, though. With cold, windless nights certain bays on Lake Minnetonka might be good places to look for eagles. The requisite coots are on Smith's Bay, west of Wayzata, but most of that lake is open, at least from the bay out as far as I could see, excluding some narrow bands of ice along the shore. No eagles there today, but a grandson and I watched an eagle make lazy passes at those coots on Saturday. The road there, County 15, is bad at the best of times, narrow, twisty, and busy. Walking on the shoulder -- well, right now there is no shoulder. Parking away from 15 is possible, leaving one with no more than a quarter-mile walk. Four Whooping Swans were on the bay today. They don't worry about eagles.
In the crab apple orchard I check for waxwings and grosbeaks -- nope -- I found more robins on Monday. Forty or 50 of them were picking apples. One photo below shows the effort the birds sometimes make to pull the apples from the tree. The other photos show a robin in the picking process. At the height of the pull the nictitating membranes found in bird eyes have pulled over the pupil. This is a third eyelid, moving across the eye at right angles to the regular eyelids, between them and the eye surface. This membrane moistens and cleans the eye, and provides protection.
Pelicans arriving at Gulf
Posted by: Jim Williams Updated: November 26, 2012 - 2:48 PMTwo of the Minnesota pelicans radio tagged this fall so their movements can be tracked have arrived at their wintering territories on the Gulf of Mexico.
Four American White Pelicans are sending signals to a research team. The study is intended to provide information on where on the Gulf the birds spend the winter, their migration paths, and their movements in Minnesota when they return in the spring.
Impetus for the study was evidence of oil and oil dispersant chemical found last summer in eggs and bodies of pelicans nesting here. About one-third of the world population of this bird nests in Minnesota.
One of the tagged pelicans arrived east of the mouth of the Mississippi River in mid-October. Its radio signal is spasmodic, but one reading did arrived on Nov. 21.
A second bird arrived on the Gulf Nov. 14. It is located south of Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Two birds are taking more leisurely trips. One of them flew 175 miles on Thanksgiving to a location on the Arkansas River. The second pelican moved through central Mississippi this weekend, the last signal showing it near Greenwood, Mississippi.
The project is a partnership between Audubon Minnesota, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Non-game Program, and North Dakota State University.
To see the map and follow the pelicans go to http://mn.aOneudubon.org/
Below, American White Pelicans
Watch the wind
Posted by: Jim Williams Updated: November 8, 2012 - 9:38 PMStrong winds sometimes blow interesting birds into places they don't belong (which is why they're interesting, right?).
There's an on-line map showing wind direction and speed for the U.S. in real time. Just checking it, we could hope for birds from the south riding a strong northerly wind coming up from Texas if it wasn't for a strong wind sweeping down on Minnesota from Canada. Maybe that wind will bring more winter specialties to us. There are many reports of grosbeaks, redpolls, siskins, and owls showing up in Minnesota, particularly to the north of the Twin Cities. It's going to be a good winter for watching birds. Checking the map, the best place right now to watch for birds being blown south from Canada would be the western Dakotas and eastern Montana. Always windy there, but moreso right now.
See for yourself -- http://hint.fm/wind/.
Winter birds
Posted by: Jim Williams Updated: November 6, 2012 - 5:41 PMPine Siskins are being seen in the metro area. Redpolls are in northern Minnesota, and should come south. Evening Grosbeaks have been reported from several state locations, including one report from Shoreview. This species can be found, with some effort, north of Duluth (Meadowland area is good), and in Aitkin County. A Twin Cities report, however, is unusual. Those birds, by the way, were seen by observers in Shoreview looking for a Clark's Nutcracker that was seen there for several days last week. That is a western species, way out of range this far east. Red-breasted Nuthatches were reported last week from several locations in North Dakota. One observer said he had six at his feeder. If they're in ND they should be here, if not now, soon. This could be a good year for backyard birdwatching. Here is a photo of an Evening Grosbeak, taken near Meadowland a couple of years ago: parrot of the woods. The seeds in the feeder are safflower.
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recent posts
- Our Christmas star
- Adding insult to injury
- Eagle attacks child -- not!
- A redpoll winter
- On becoming a better birder
- Bird Watcher's Bible -- a complete treasure
- Pelicans on the Gulf
- Early birds
- Birds look better in snow
- Water!
- Nesting habits, neat and messy
- Greenland's melting ice
- Finally, Bohemian Waxwings
- Pelicans arriving at Gulf
- Grosbeaks and redpolls
- Tufted Titmouse and winter finches
- Watch the wind
- Winter birds
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