Bird Migration and Misc Birding Thread
- Thread starter Kinch
- Start date
Going to the south land this weekend and early next week. Delaware County Saturday afternoon and Quad cities for a couple of days starting Sunday. Any good birding spots peeps can recommend. Emphasis would be maybe getting some photo ops. Way off my Twin Cities turf.
Watched a hummingbird and a honeybee have a short staredown at the hummingbird feeder last evening. Then watched the same honeybee zip away when a bumblebee decided to stop there.
Here is a link about bees and Hummers. Though I tend to agree with its messaging, I get the impression Hummers are far more concerned with avoiding bees from my observations than the link indicates.
Are Hummingbirds Afraid Of Bees? (Read This Now) - HayFarmGuy
Are Hummingbirds Afraid Of Bees
hayfarmguy.com
I am a writer/editor by profession and really don't like articles in which the authors say the same thing repeatedly -- like this articleHere is a link about bees and Hummers. Though I tend to agree with its messaging, I get the impression Hummers are far more concerned with avoiding bees from my observations than the link indicates.
Are Hummingbirds Afraid Of Bees? (Read This Now) - HayFarmGuy
Are Hummingbirds Afraid Of Bees
So I skimmed it quickly. BTW, I typically see articles written in this manner on sites where the "author" is rewriting someone else's work or restating info from a fact sheet or other publication, to sell as some type of content for paying sites.But I digress.
Yes, most of the summer I watched hummingbirds leave quickly when a bee or yellow jacket approached. I also saw more honeybees at our birdbath this summer than I've ever seen. These past few weeks are different -- I've seen two hummingbirds on the same feeder (a third one approaching means they all leave) and way more bees, yellow jackets, etc. just in the past couple of days. I'm thinking the birds decide they'll take the chance now as they build up energy for the long migration just ahead.
Been years since I chased birds in Scott County. Backbone S.P. in Delaware is likely familiar to you and I birded there often for woodland birds and more is good. In winter I did counts of Rough-legged Hawks coming to roost there in the big White Pines.
Scott County: https://birdinghotspots.org/region/US-IA-163
Delaware County: https://birdinghotspots.org/region/US-IA-055
eBird for Davenport area: https://ebird.org/hotspots?env.minX....44952&env.maxX=-90.316277&env.maxY=41.774379
Recent Scott County updates: https://ebird.org/region/US-IA-163
Delaware County: https://ebird.org/region/US-IA-055/hotspots?yr=all
Still had hummingbirds near Harper's Ferry last Thursday, so I refilled 2 feeders. By Saturday, gone. I'll dump, clean, and refill, to help any stragglers from further north, but I'm guessing I'm done seeing them.
I'd keep them up for as long as you can. Late Ruby-throated and an amazing number of vagrant species are possible!
Last call for warblers here in Minnesota. Did spy this Nashville Warbler at Wood Lake Nature Center this evening. That and a couple of elusive kinglets flittering about was about the limit of it. Didn't spy the osprey I came to try and photograph. Decent fall warbler shot so worth the walkabout.
Caught a good look at this Sandhill Crane a couple of weeks ago. They seem to be a lot of them outside the Twin Cities metro but still not many to spy within the freeway beltline. Three come back each evening to a little marsh about 20 minutes from me to bed down each evening. Usually too dark to get a decent look but got one good solo image.
Took your advice and put some fresh out last week. Had individuals stop Tuesday and Thursday. I assume migrators from further north.
They've been way more active and vocal in the conservancy near me over the past week.
Had a fairly rare bird in my backyard today...Spotted Towhee. They're mostly a western bird so he's outside of his usual area being here in Minnesota.
Had a fun day driving to a couple of locales to spot some Minnesota rarities. Well, not all fun, I'll explain later in this post.
The north beach at White Bear Lake was Tern Town with three solo terns: one Artic Tern (rare to see here), one Caspian Tern and one Common Tern among a group of 40-50 Ring-billed Gulls. Nice group of people showing up to see the Artic Tern. Didn't get much of a photo, didn't want to get too close and disturb and flush a bird a bunch of peeps had come to see. Was fun chatting with some of the much more experienced birders.
Roadied down to Old Cedar Bridge in Mn River Refuge to try and spy the Red Phalarope seen there. Did spy it through a scope another guy let me look through but too far out for photos or my 8x binoculars. Again, nice people at the end of the boardwalk, save one. Another guy, who had also been at White Bear, and I were talking about the Artic Tern and this other older guy freaked out loudly lecturing us not to share locations of "rare" birds. What a pompous ass. The subject tern is migrating through and been hanging out several days running at a park beach. When I was there three jet skis came almost as close to the tern as the birders there. It's RARE to SEE in Minnesota but they are not a rare tern or a threatened species. And even if they were threatened species, they are migrating through, not nesting and no one was getting very close. Bird spent some time preening and napping a little, didn't seem very "disturbed".
The north beach at White Bear Lake was Tern Town with three solo terns: one Artic Tern (rare to see here), one Caspian Tern and one Common Tern among a group of 40-50 Ring-billed Gulls. Nice group of people showing up to see the Artic Tern. Didn't get much of a photo, didn't want to get too close and disturb and flush a bird a bunch of peeps had come to see. Was fun chatting with some of the much more experienced birders.
Roadied down to Old Cedar Bridge in Mn River Refuge to try and spy the Red Phalarope seen there. Did spy it through a scope another guy let me look through but too far out for photos or my 8x binoculars. Again, nice people at the end of the boardwalk, save one. Another guy, who had also been at White Bear, and I were talking about the Artic Tern and this other older guy freaked out loudly lecturing us not to share locations of "rare" birds. What a pompous ass. The subject tern is migrating through and been hanging out several days running at a park beach. When I was there three jet skis came almost as close to the tern as the birders there. It's RARE to SEE in Minnesota but they are not a rare tern or a threatened species. And even if they were threatened species, they are migrating through, not nesting and no one was getting very close. Bird spent some time preening and napping a little, didn't seem very "disturbed".
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What time were you there? I was there last night. Black athletic pants and blue fleece zip up that was not zipped up.
I was at White Bear 2:00 - 3:00 and Old Cedar Bridge 5:00 to around 6:00. Thinking of going back to Cedar this afternoon. I should go to the gym but lots of wading birds out there.
I was the old guy without gray hair in jeans and a red long sleeve shirt lugging a Nikon 200-500 and a pair of binoculars. Oh, and a tan ISU cap, unless I left it in the car.
