Donna

I’ve noticed birds cleaning their beaks on the branches.  Also the American Goldfinch seem to like the black oil sunflower seeds and will stay on the feeder to eat them.  When they venture over to the mixed seed feeder they fly off if a sparrow comes.  The sparrows stay at the feeder for quite a while.  I have learned that a certain call I have wondered about is from a Bluejay, and I often hear Chickadees.

Activity 1:  I can’t get over how many years an albatross can continue flying over the ocean.  That they have salt glands over their eyes so they can drink sea water is incredible.  I never imagined that anything like this was even possible.  Definitely a cool bird!! Activbity 2: I love orioles and mourning doves, but discovered there are more variations of them.  I also enjoyed discovering the different types of swallows. Activity 3:  My favorite is the Baltimore Oriole.  I watch for them here in Wisconsin in the first week of May and it seems to signal the end of winter.  Some of the males have such intense orange and I love trying to figure out how many pairs are visiting my feeders.  It’s always fun to try and figure out where they are building their nests and I never discover them until winter  when all the leaves are off the trees.

I was at a bird sanctuary near St Louis and got to see a demonstration with a barn owl.  It was a gorgeous bird and I was able to get some really nice photos.  The sanctuary had a wonderful variety of birds, but the barn owl was my favorite. At home I often hear the great horned owls, but haven’t gotten to see one.