Jill
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Viewing 10 posts - 1 through 10 (of 10 total)
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I've seen owls on evening walks and while cross-country skiing. I suspect many were the great horned owl common to our region.
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We visited two local wooded trails (well known to us but now seen in a new light) with descriptions from our area Audubon birding map. The first site has a pond that attracts mallards, Wood Ducks, and (rarely) Green Herons. We didn't spot any ducks here although we had recently seen them at a National Wildlife Refuge Center (photo of mallard enclosed). One bonus of this hilly trail walk was noting we'd have a great high perch along this trail for viewing hawk migration in the fall. The second site visited was a trail alongside a creek that hosts large conifers and a shrubby understory used as habitat for migrant and wintering birds. We keep our Birding map in the car now---along with our binoculars! -
Activity 1: We watched the Ring-billed Gulls in action alongside our area's large lake. The Merlin app really helps to differentiate on the spot but the All About Birds website review certainly makes one a local expert. The flying, wading, behaviors we've noted for years take on new meaning with this birding course. We live in a breeding area for these gulls so they are everywhere. Unfortunately they draw tourists who feed them anything and everything which always brings on a flock. / Activity 2: We seem to watch the squirrels try every antic they know to acquire seeds from our "squirrel proof" bird feeder but watching birds for 15 minutes will be our challenge going forward. We'll have to add more feeders to attract an array of birds that stay awhile. / Activity 3: Recognizing bird songs will also take more practice ---made more fun with the games at the Cornell Ornithology website. The dawn chorus is a little early for us!
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These activities tasked us to more fully explore the e-Bird site. (Activity 1) The Sandhill crane was just sited by my daughter traveling north from 200 miles away. We tracked the migration pattern and noted why we have to travel from our home to see them. (Activity 2) Black-capped chickadees, woodpeckers, & dark-eyed juncos are in abundance year round in our neighborhood. Whereas mallards, trumpeter swans, and Canadian Geese are seasonal residents. The latter seem to take ownership of most urban parks in Minnesota Spring, Summer, & Fall. We visited a National Wildlife Refuge Center this past week to spot the migrating mallards, hawks, turkey vultures, American White Pelicans, Cliff/ Barn, or Tree Swallows (they flit around too fast to note differences!), blue jays, and ruffed grouse. (Activity 3) The Macaulay Library opened our eyes to the seasonal differences in one particular bird whereas we'd previously noted only male/female differences.
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This section's activities prompted us to use our local Audubon Society's bird map to explore locales new to us. Cornell's E-bird site led us to lesser noted sites so as to seek out out less foot trafficked places. Using our optimized binoculars, and the well loved Merlin App, we identified buffleheads and a turkey vulture along the shore. The red-winged blackbirds were everywhere with their distinctive sounds. When we returned home the Black-capped chickadees were defending their territory (as usual) with the American Goldfinch. As Brown thrasher's have taken up residence in Arborvitaes adjacent to the bird feeder the Chickadees have been forced to relocate to yews in the backyard. Thanks to the course we're using bird behavior as an added discriminator for bird identification!
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P.S: We figured out how to post our own picture of those American White Pelicans noted below. Persistence and patience are certainly traits to have with this hobby!
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These activities prompted us to check out a spring migration birding site along a nearby northern Minnesota river (a new birding site for us). Thanks to playing around with all the features at Merlin we identified American White Pelicans congregating on a river bank, wading in the water, and flying in small flocks. Discerning the Ringbilled gull from other gulls was a little trickier --but checking out the multiple views in Merlin's app helped a lot. Photo credit goes to the Audubon Society as inserting our own images isn't working too well. Guess we'll have to ask the kids for a tutorial here! Also, playing around with a newer iPhone allowed us to video at 6X and take photos at 10X size. We'll have to bring our spotter for monitoring activities close up but using binoculars went better today thanks to the tutorial in this course.
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The birds we're most familiar with in our region resonate with this course. Re Raptors: The Golden Eagle is a new favorite and a local birding expert guided us on identification during their spring migration last month. A visit to the National Eagle Center last year let us know that many are misidentified as juvenile bald eagles. Other favorites are the Common Loon (Waterfowl and the Minnesota state bird) and the Pileated Woodpecker (less elusive at Sax Zim Bog and our forested regions vs our backyard). The Wall of Birds is astounding and brought forth the array of birds from Africa----expanding our world view beyond the safari.
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This is a photo from the Hawk Ridge website (Red shouldered hawk) that very briefly visited our tree outside our kitchen window last fall. He probably was after the local/visiting rabbits from nearby woods. Viewing spring and fall migration for the hawks is a fun pastime for our region so these birds have been a longtime favorite. As a black bear recently destroyed our bird feeder we may be on hiatus for bird feeders until next winter!
We visited two local wooded trails (well known to us but now seen in a new light) with descriptions from our area Audubon birding map. The first site has a pond that attracts mallards, Wood Ducks, and (rarely) Green Herons. We didn't spot any ducks here although we had recently seen them at a National Wildlife Refuge Center (photo of mallard enclosed). One bonus of this hilly trail walk was noting we'd have a great high perch along this trail for viewing hawk migration in the fall. The second site visited was a trail alongside a creek that hosts large conifers and a shrubby understory used as habitat for migrant and wintering birds. We keep our Birding map in the car now---along with our binoculars! 
Activity 1: We watched the Ring-billed Gulls in action alongside our area's large lake. The Merlin app really helps to differentiate on the spot but the All About Birds website review certainly makes one a local expert. The flying, wading, behaviors we've noted for years take on new meaning with this birding course. We live in a breeding area for these gulls so they are everywhere. Unfortunately they draw tourists who feed them anything and everything which always brings on a flock. / Activity 2: We seem to watch the squirrels try every antic they know to acquire seeds from our "squirrel proof" bird feeder but watching birds for 15 minutes will be our challenge going forward. We'll have to add more feeders to attract an array of birds that stay awhile. / Activity 3: Recognizing bird songs will also take more practice ---made more fun with the games at the Cornell Ornithology website. The dawn chorus is a little early for us! 
These activities tasked us to more fully explore the e-Bird site. (Activity 1) The Sandhill crane was just sited by my daughter traveling north from 200 miles away. We tracked the migration pattern and noted why we have to travel from our home to see them. (Activity 2) Black-capped chickadees, woodpeckers, & dark-eyed juncos are in abundance year round in our neighborhood. Whereas mallards, trumpeter swans, and Canadian Geese are seasonal residents. The latter seem to take ownership of most urban parks in Minnesota Spring, Summer, & Fall. We visited a National Wildlife Refuge Center this past week to spot the migrating mallards, hawks, turkey vultures, American White Pelicans, Cliff/ Barn, or Tree Swallows (they flit around too fast to note differences!), blue jays, and ruffed grouse. (Activity 3) The Macaulay Library opened our eyes to the seasonal differences in one particular bird whereas we'd previously noted only male/female differences. 
This section's activities prompted us to use our local Audubon Society's bird map to explore locales new to us. Cornell's E-bird site led us to lesser noted sites so as to seek out out less foot trafficked places. Using our optimized binoculars, and the well loved Merlin App, we identified buffleheads and a turkey vulture along the shore. The red-winged blackbirds were everywhere with their distinctive sounds. When we returned home the Black-capped chickadees were defending their territory (as usual) with the American Goldfinch. As Brown thrasher's have taken up residence in Arborvitaes adjacent to the bird feeder the Chickadees have been forced to relocate to yews in the backyard. Thanks to the course we're using bird behavior as an added discriminator for bird identification! 
The birds we're most familiar with in our region resonate with this course. Re Raptors: The Golden Eagle is a new favorite and a local birding expert guided us on identification during their spring migration last month. A visit to the National Eagle Center last year let us know that many are misidentified as juvenile bald eagles. Other favorites are the Common Loon (Waterfowl and the Minnesota state bird) and the Pileated Woodpecker (less elusive at Sax Zim Bog and our forested regions vs our backyard). The Wall of Birds is astounding and brought forth the array of birds from Africa----expanding our world view beyond the safari. 
This is a photo from the Hawk Ridge website (Red shouldered hawk) that very briefly visited our tree outside our kitchen window last fall. He probably was after the local/visiting rabbits from nearby woods. Viewing spring and fall migration for the hawks is a fun pastime for our region so these birds have been a longtime favorite. As a black bear recently destroyed our bird feeder we may be on hiatus for bird feeders until next winter! Viewing 10 posts - 1 through 10 (of 10 total)