That is an amazing photograph.I was taking a picture of the eagle at the bottom when this guy came flying in vocalizing. Right place. Right time
Happy Valentine’s Day
Bird Migration and Misc Birding Thread
- Thread starter Kinch
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It’s official! Spring has sprung. Saw my first Robins today.
I'm resetting to walk more each week which is great since I'll also start to welcome the spring birds.
No cranes in southern WI yet (latest arrival in a long time) but I'd guess I start hearing them next week.
I *think* I heard a red-winged black bird tonight.
Heard two owls and they're always cool no matter the season.
No cranes in southern WI yet (latest arrival in a long time) but I'd guess I start hearing them next week.
I *think* I heard a red-winged black bird tonight.
Heard two owls and they're always cool no matter the season.
I saw some last week but haven't since the more recent cold blast. They probably had a 'WTF is this!?' moment like many of us.
Lifer for me last week, Black-headed Trogon. North of Playa del Carmen while walkabout near my pool/beach resort. Definitely not an eco-resort but still a bit of jungle around the adjacent golf course that is okay for birding.
And a Northern Jacana in one of the golf course ponds near Playa del Carmen. Southern peeps bear the Texas/Mexico border might get to see these guys but that's as far north as they go.
Was in Madera Canyon last April but no one was seeing the trogon pair there that week.
The Trogon pics were from last February…with the dry winters I’ve been told only a handful of males overwinter. There has been one recorded this year in the Chiricahuas…and one in the Santa Rita’s.
I'd never been there before so had to be told how dry it was. Got into a chat with the Santa Rita lodge owner about how dry it is and his worry about a fire in the canyon. Did like staying at the lodge, fit's my low key and laidback vacation style! Did hear the elf owls call from my room at night.
Back home from Mexico and went over to check on the screech owls in a local park. And found the gray morph in a cavity I'd only seen it's probable mate in (a red morph) before. These two owls seem to defy my perception that they mostly sit in cavity entrances when it's cold and sunny (to sun and warm up). These two seem to pop around between 5-7 different cavities and seem to "out" as much as they are hunkered down deep and out of sight. This cavity faces ENE so not a real sunning spot.
At first at thought you meant B1G (Big Ten)...which made sense.
I’m assuming these have been fed…everyday we have up to 25 Gould’s Turkeys that come to feed on the scattered seed from our bird feeders. Appears that all are females and younger birds. The only Toms I’ve seen have been up in the mountains when I’ve been hiking.
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Saw a large flock of white pelicans, 50 or so, flying north yesterday, near Gutenberg. Thought it's a little early.
Looked back at some photos/video I took on April 5, 2024, while fishing on the Cedar River and probably 100 pelicans flew by me, following the river north. So March 1 seems early, and further north!
Looked back at some photos/video I took on April 5, 2024, while fishing on the Cedar River and probably 100 pelicans flew by me, following the river north. So March 1 seems early, and further north!
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Repeating but their population really must have exploded over the last decade or so. I don't recall ever seeing any and then one year it felt like there were a lot in the Madison lakes, the Dubuque area when crossing over and then even in small river areas in eastern Iowa.
They really appear likes ghosts in the sky when they're high up and just kind of floating.
The Social Flycatchers and the Golden-fronted Woodpeckers were frequent visitors to the big fruit pods growing high in some of the resorts Royal Palms. I think the flycatchers were looking for insects but the woodpeckers were eating the fruit and also carrying some away to stash in trunk crevasses of other palms.
Migration day at my place, there must be 200 starlings, or black birds in my lawn this morning. Not sure what the difference is.
As an old birder, I can tell you—there is a difference!
Red‑winged Blackbirds, Common Grackles, Rusty Blackbirds, and Brewer’s Blackbirds are Iowa regulars, all part of the large New World order of Passeriformes in the Icterid family. That group also includes wonderful species like the Yellow‑headed Blackbird, Baltimore Oriole, meadowlarks, and the ever‑troublesome brood‑parasitic cowbirds.The European Starling, on the other hand, is an abundant nuisance and one of only two introduced North American members of the Sturnidae (starling family). The other is the Common Myna, which is spreading in southeast Florida and is already dominant in Hawaii.
I fondly remember waking up as a kid to the distinct songs and calls of many of the “blackbirds”—and grumbling at the sound of the starling.
