Bird Migration and Misc Birding Thread

[Kinch]

Someone in Iowa had a photo of a juvenile orchard Oriole in Iowa who forgot to migrate and was at their feeder. Hope he makes it during the winter.

 

[FallOf81]

Woody at our seed jacuzzi.

 

[Kinch]

Woody at our seed jacuzzi.

Awesome photos!

 

[Kinch]

From the other day, a red morph Eastern Screech Owl napping in the sun in an old Pileated Woodpecker cavity. Was cold and crispy out but sunny and not windy, just the forecast for getting lucky and spying one of these little nuggets.

View attachment 162463

Love this!

 

[FallOf81]

Awesome photos!

Thank you!

 

[intrepid27]

Any tips/tricks to attracting more than just a **** ton of house finches to your feeder? Finally got a blue jay for the first time yesterday so that was exciting.

If you want more blue Jay's feed in 5he shell peanuts. They love them.

 

[BoxsterCy]

It's the year of the screech owl for me. After getting spoiled in 2022 when I first really looked for them I hadn't seen many until this year. I looked at the cavity below dozens of times over the last few years and finally spotted a gray morph napping away there yesterday.

 

[FallOf81]

Eagle in our cove.

 

[Kinch]

I found out that meal worms were about half the price in the chicken feed section of farm stores than they are in the bird section.

 

[BoxsterCy]

Had a good birding and photography week. In addition to the gray screech a couple posts above I got to see a red morph screech in the same cavity yesterday. Also got a birder friend to see the owl, was a lifer for him. He's not seen a saw-whet owl either and I am on a mission to find him one. I got him and his father-in-law long-eared owls a couple of years ago. They are way better birders than I am so when I can get them a lifer I feel pretty good about it.

Will be very hard to find a saw-whet for my friend. I was able to get a couple of people their first saw-whet a couple of winters ago when I knew of a couple of spots but they aren't in those areas now and known spots are kept pretty secret. My own life bird list is pretty modest. I went 49 years between saw-whet sightings, 1974 (on the ISU campus) to 2023 in a local park near me! I'll need a better "return rate" than that at my age if I am ever to see one again!

 

[FallOf81]

Ice fishing before the big warmup arrives.

 

[NENick]

Bet it wishes it had flown south!

 

[BoxsterCy]

Different screech owl, a red morph, in the same cavity as the gray morph from a couple of posts ago. Pretty sure they are a mated pair. They seem to trade off some between three favorite cavities where you can see them sometimes. And, sleeping, as usual. I've never seen the ones here with their eyes open.

 

[BoxsterCy]

My personal Christmas Eve and Christmas raptor count was pretty good. Four Long-eared Owls, two Great Horned Owls, one Snowy Owl and one Sharp-shinned Hawk. If I'd been thinking all raptors and not just owls I could have added red-tail and eagle but was rushed both days to get to holiday suppers.

The Sharpie had caught a robin and was on the ground in the middle of a park path but people were approaching and it tried to fly off and the robin got loose and flew off too. Lucky robin!

 

[mkadl]

Huddling masses today. Sitting behind the trunk 10 feet from the feeder. 40 mph wind 16°. They should have eaten yesterday. S solitary crow eating ice fishing leftovers. Warmer on the ground than at the feeder.

 

[Big Daddy Kang]

I saw a bird today at my dad's birdfeeder, in northeastern iowa, that had like a bright orange mohawk. couldn't get a pic and google wasn't helpful. any ideas what it might have been?

 

[Kinch]

I saw a bird today at my dad's birdfeeder, in northeastern iowa, that had like a bright orange mohawk. couldn't get a pic and google wasn't helpful. any ideas what it might have been?

Wonder if it was an immature male cardinal.

 

[ianoconnor]

Had about 10 goldfinches at once on the nyjer seed feeder yesterday

 

[Big Daddy Kang]

Wonder if it was an immature male cardinal.View attachment 164594

Maybe but it was grayer/browner and had a pointier beak. I initially thought it was a woodpecker before the chickens scared it off. Stupid chickens!

 

[BoxsterCy]

As soon as I warm up a bit post-shoveling I am going to go owl walkabout somewhere. Sun is out (rare!) and I am hearing the siren calls of owls and hawks from a couple of parks within easy driving distance.

Did hike 3.5 miles in the woods the day before the storm and didn't even see a robin or hear a chickadee! Would have made an embarrassing eBird report: "6 - Geese - flyovers"