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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 sightings
Birds look better in snow
Posted by: Jim Williams Updated: December 10, 2012 - 9:27 PM
Cardinals 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.
Finally, Bohemian Waxwings
Posted by: Jim Williams Updated: November 29, 2012 - 11:02 AMA friend began a grosbeak/waxwing trek a few days ago, beginning in Chisago County and working his way west to Wadena and Todd counties. He keeps lists by county, and this being an exceptional year for sightings of Pine Grosbeaks and Bohemian Waxwings, off he went from his Rochester home. Lots of miles, yes, but he had a good time.
I’ve been waiting for the waxwings to appear close to the metro area. Friend Bob found them in Kanabec County, which is pretty close. I figured it was worth a chance and some driving. I headed north on Highway 169, skipping Elk River and Princeton as search sites, beginning a block-by-block canvas for ornamental crab apple trees in Milaca. Both the grosbeaks and the waxwings are most easily found in those trees, feeding on apples.
I found Pine Grosbeaks in Milaca, Garrison, and Aitkin. I found a pair of Bohemian Waxwings in Garrison. The waxwings were birds of the day for me. They were sharing an apple tree with grosbeaks, the tree in the front yard of a house. That’s where you find ornamental crabs. Pointing cameras at people’s houses, uninvited, poses the obvious risk. But if you get out of the car to ask permission, the birds could be put to flight. Ask permission or apologize? The old question. I took half a dozen quick shots from the street, then pulled into the driveway to explain myself. The lady of the house said, sure, take photos. No problem. When I left her front steps the waxwings flew away.
The apple orchard near our home where I look two or three times a week for those birds was full of robins this morning, dozens of them. It’s the first time I’ve found any birds there for a couple of weeks. I’ll keep checking. Carlson Parkway, as it passes the west side of the Carlson Towers near the intersection of I-394 and I-494 in Minnetonka, is lined with ornamental crab apple trees, a quarter mile of bird potential. I’ll keep an eye on those, too. My waxwing pictures were not as good as I want. I need to find more of those birds.
Here is the pair of Garrison waxwings. Bohemians differ from Cedar Waxwings in subtle ways, the white patches on the wings the most obvious mark. If you look closely at the bird on the right you can see one of those white wing marks.
Grosbeaks and redpolls
Posted by: Jim Williams Updated: November 19, 2012 - 2:12 PMWe went north this past weekend to visit friends and family. The route was cleverly created to offer birding opportunities that never materialized. Going to a specific site tomorrow to see yesterday's specific bird is a long-odds venture.
Entering Moose Lake, our first destination, we found two ornamental crap apple trees five feet from the roadway, holding about a dozen Pine Grosbeaks. That was our first true observation and photo opportunity; that was better. Sunday morning, with a five-hour gap before we left for destination number two, I drove to Duluth. A friend had written about Bohemian Waxwings in his yard. That was my target bird. Read again the sentence above about finding yesterday's bird tomorrow. I did see more grosbeaks there, however, and found yet more on a short visit to Two Harbors.
There is a trail along the Two Harbors lakeshore that begins at the lighthouse. It's a good birding spot. I tried briefly it for whatever offered. In the past I've seen both Black-backed and Three-toed woodpeckers there. This time, I found a cooperative flock of Common Redpolls, with a possible Hoary Redpoll or two. (I'm having photos of those birds examined by someone better at this fussy ID decision than I am.) The possible Hoary Redpoll is shown in the second photo below. Hoary means frosty or white. Compare it with the redpolls in the first photo. Some of these birds are simply light Common Redpolls, however. Thus, the question to my Duluth friend.
As you can see in the photo below the cap on the redpolls, from which they get their name, is red at one angle and black at another. The light refracts differently depending on angle, as it does with hummingbirds. I hadn't noticed that before.
There are waxwings around. There was a report from Shoreview last week, a report from Detroit Lakes this morning. Don't even think about looking for those birds today.
The third photo is of a Pine Grosbeak. I like the way these birds twist themselves into position to pick berries. They have smooth, sleek lines, and colors that flow one into the other.
Tufted Titmouse and winter finches
Posted by: Jim Williams Updated: November 16, 2012 - 11:33 AMIn Bob Janssen's 1987 book "Birds of Minnesota" Tufted Titmouse is shown on a range map as a bird limited in Minnesota range to our far southeastern corner. Individuals occasionally were seen in other parts of the state, but the regular sightings of the species in the metro area lessened beginning in the mid 1970s for reasons unknown. The species has significantly expanded its Minnesota range since then, also for reasons unknown, although milder winter weather is most likely a factor. A friend in Watertown told me yesterday of a day-long visit to his feeder by a titmouse. That was a first for him.. Another friend reported a visit by a titmouse to her feeders near Siren, Wisconsin. That's thought to be a first record for Burnett County. The bird is regular in Hastings, in St. Paul Park, and across the river in the Hudson, Wisconsin, area. More metro sightings have been reported this year. This is a cool bird, chickadee in size and behavior, a chickadee with a headdress. The photo below was taken three weeks ago near Hudson. It's a bird to watch for at your feeders.
The invasion south into Minnesota by winter finches continues. Evening and Pine Grosbeaks are being reported almost daily from one state location or another, places where they have rarely been seen in winters past. Bohemian Waxwings are another northern species being seen south and west of its usual winter haunts along the North Shore. The waxwings are being found in Mountain Ash and crab apple trees; they eat the fruit of both. I'm checking a nearby crab apple orchard three or four times a week these days. I've seen trees there with dozens of Cedar Waxwings feeding. I'm waiting for its look-alike cousin, the Bohemian. I'd post a photo if I had one. That blank on my photo list is main reason for my search. We'll be in Aitkin County in a few days. Behemians have been reported in several places there.
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/.
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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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