House Finch

By , March 23, 2013 6:00 pm
House Finch 3/22/13

House Finch 3/22/13

We keep waiting and hoping to see sings of Spring. In particular we are hoping to see the Spring birds come in. A few days ago we saw a few Red Crossbills, but nothing else. So, it was with particular pleasure that we had a male House Finch at our feeder yesterday afternoon. We had last seen one November 19th last year. Usually they come in March. In 2008 we saw them as early as March 2nd. Last year which had an extremely early Spring, they came in on March 13th.

Today on our drive we saw Wild Turkeys and Horned Larks. We still wonder why we never saw them before. They can blend in with the vegetation but they are so active it is almost impossible to miss them. The Turkeys we seem to find in the same place on the back roads on our way to Little Falls. (Love the manure smell, another less pleasant reminder of Spring and the coming planting season.)

Horned Lark 3/23/13

Horned Lark 3/23/13

Wild Turkeys 3/23/13

Wild Turkeys 3/23/13

More signs of Spring

By , March 10, 2013 1:52 pm
Female Cardinal 3/9/13

Female Cardinal 3/9/13

Yesterday we had more snow. In fact we had 3 inches of heavy wet snow that has now become patches of ice in our driveway. Still there are continued signs of Spring. The male Northern Cardinal has started singing. In the past few days we have seen the female along with him. Cardinals here are very skittish so I have to take pictures behind 3 layers of glass. Hence the photos are a bit soft.

4 Red Crossbills at the suet feeder

4 Red Crossbills at the suet feeder 3/10/2013

Horned Lark 3/6/13

Horned Lark 3/6/13

Today Shawnne woke me up to say she thought she saw a Pine Grosbeak in our yard. She was close, it was a Red Crossbill. Neither of us had ever seen one before so it was a treat for us. There were at least four of them and they were among the many Common Redpolls. I have posted one photo of the four at the suet feeder. Again it is a bit soft but it show them clearly.

The Crossbills are just passing through but the Horned Larks we saw last week are going to be resident here. So I have one more photo taken on Wednesday 3/6/13. Doesn’t he have an angry face?

Spring perhaps? Well, not quite, but it is coming.

By , March 1, 2013 11:21 pm

horned lark

Horned Lark 3/2/2013

We can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

So few birds these days – when will spring come?

By , February 18, 2013 1:44 pm
Redpolls on Valentine's Day

Redpolls on Valentine’s Day

I am a compulsive record keeper. When I had a large record collection, it was recorded on the pc.

Bird Summary January 2013

comments Comments Off on Bird Summary January 2013
By , February 4, 2013 12:02 am
Pheasant 1/3/2013

Pheasant 1/3/2013

Data doesn’t lie. Sometimes it is reveals things our fallible memories miss. We

Favorite Photos of 2012

By , January 28, 2013 12:25 am
Pine Grosbeak 12/2/2012

Pine Grosbeak 12/2/2012

January is a dismal month for birdwatching in Minnesota and 2013 has been no exception to that rule. What is worse is coming after a warm year with a very warm winter, this Winter has been much colder than last and many birds we get regularly haven’t bothered to show up.

Favorite Photos of 2012

By , January 26, 2013 6:54 pm
Clay-colored Sparrow 5/1/12

Clay-colored Sparrow 5/1/12

There are some sparrows that are very common and show up predictably every year at our feeders. There are others that are hardly rare, but which take a bit more effort to see. We had a fantastic day birding on 5/1/12 and one of our visitors was the Clay-colored Sparrow. We only got one good picture that day and I guess that is good enough. The Clay-colored showed up a few more times, but never close enough for a photo.

The next bird is the Fox Sparrow. It is more common that the other birds on the page, but it doesn’t seem to like having his photo taken.

After that we see the Lark Sparrow. I have only seen it once in all my bird watching years and that was April 25th at Lake Maria State Park.

On the next row we have the Savannah Sparrow. This one we saw near our home on a road passing by a pasture. Knowing what we know now we have a good chance of seeing it a few more time next year. It is a very attractive bird, and I hadn’t realized how attractive once I was able to look at the photos I took.

That last bird is the Swamp Sparrow. It is a common bird in much of the country but hard to spot in the reeds it likes to live in. We only saw it 4 times last year (and only 4 times since coming to Minnesota). Again now that we know where to look, we should see it a bit more often this year.

Fox Sparrow 3/28/12

Fox Sparrow 3/28/12

Lark Sparrow 4/25/12

Lark Sparrow 4/25/12

Savannah Sparrow 6/30/12

Savannah Sparrow 6/30/12

Swamp Sparrow 9/19/12

Swamp Sparrow 9/19/12

Favorite Photos of 2012

By , January 22, 2013 7:39 pm

Cedar Waxwings in the leaves 5/19/12

Cedar Waxwings in the leaves 5/19/12

“Oh, it’s a long, long while
From May to December
But the days grow short,
When you reach September.”

Those words are from September Song and looking at the observations of the Cedar Waxwing I was reminded of that song. Those birds are usually with us from May to September. They are easy to miss but they are not easily bothered by people so if uou hear them and try to find them you will see them. My wife who can hear better than I always hears them before she sees them. That is not something I have ever done even if they are on top of me. The first picture was taken in May when the flock was hanging around a tree in our driveway. We rarely have to leave home to see them.

At this point in the Winter we are quite ready for Spring and the return of the Waxwings.

Cedar Waxwing 5/14/2012

Cedar Waxwing 5/14/2012

Cedar Waxwing 5/19/2012

Cedar Waxwing 5/19/2012

Cedar Waxwing 5/25/2012

Cedar Waxwing 5/25/2012

Cedar Waxwing 7/28/2012

Cedar Waxwing 7/28/2012

Favorite Photos of 2012

By , January 21, 2013 9:01 pm
Flickers 5/2/2012 taken at Crow Wing State Park

Flickers 5/2/2012 at Crow Wing State Park

One of the more attractive Woodpeckers is the Northern Flicker.

Favorite Photos of 2012

By , January 15, 2013 7:16 pm
Dickcissel 6/30/2012

Dickcissel 6/30/2012

The Dickcissel is a common bird found in grasslands in the Central US. It can also be found along the East Coast. When I lived in NJ there were numerous sightings each year. If you aren’t looking for it and not in a position to hear it, as were aren’t when we are driving along the road, this bird can be easily mistaken for the House Sparrow. Once you step outside the car and listen you cannot mistake it for anything else. It is an attractively colored bird. It is not shy so if you can get close you should be able to get farely good photographs.

We cannot wait for Spring to get another chance to see and photograph this remarkable bird.

Dickcissel 7/11/12

Dickcissel 7/11/12

Dickcissel 7/13/12

Dickcissel 7/13/12

Dickcissel 8/1/12

Dickcissel 8/1/12

Dickcissel 8/10/12

Dickcissel 8/10/12

Panorama Theme by Themocracy