Bird Migration and Misc Birding Thread
- Thread starter Kinch
- Start date
I saw mine in Lubbock, Texas. My son located some in SD. Cool birds! Here's my Lubbock burrower.
Speaking of mythical birds. One year when I lived down in Florida I heard the most beautiful bird song. It never repeated and only seemed to get even more gorgeous. So I grabbed my phone and asked what it was and it said it was a nightingale. But those aren't even native to the United States. Makes me wonder if it actually was one?
I bet that was a Northern Mockingbird. They cycle through a variety of great songs, including copies of other songbirds' songs.
IDK. I've heard mockingbirds before. It did look like a nightingale too.
After listening to it's song on YouTube it could have been but it sounded more like the nightingale audio I've heard.
I have a handicap to travel so even the burrowing will be a tough chase for me. Was able to get out for 3 miles in Theo Wirth yesterday but was not able to leave the house today. Hope to be able to get out tomorrow but everything is day-to-day.
Chronic intestinal woes grounded me for a few days but got out this afternoon and spied my favorite local screech owl in a different cavity from last Sunday. Still cold out, froze again! Still have never seen this dude with it's eyes open.
I know they are generally in southern Iowa, but we have a pretty sizeable population of Barn Owls in NW Iowa as well. My dad sends me pictures of them from back home quite often.
We have an isolated barn 50 yards from our house in the back yard, Behind that is a 20 acre pasture boarded by 1/2 mile of timber. This is in the middle of 2 sections of crops or CRP so we get a lot of wildlife and birds. Deer come to our cattle salt and mineral feeders along with drinking out of the heated automatic waterer. The barn always has a brood of barn owls raised in it every year. It's always comical to watch the newby young owls struggle learning how to fly for a couple days until they figure it out.
A number of the Great Horned Owls are on nests and have laid eggs already here in the Twin Cities, even with the below zero temps the last two weeks. Below is the male guarding the nest in a Twin Cities park back on January 18th. The female is nesting in an old squirrels nest maybe only 100' away.
BTW, this is the same owl from a fall color photo back in October, post #925 in this thread.
BTW, this is the same owl from a fall color photo back in October, post #925 in this thread.
9:30 pm and I have great horned owl hooting duet going across the street. Last week it was a solo but tonight he/she has company. 
9:30 pm and I have great horned owl hooting duet going across the street. Last week it was a solo but tonight he/she has company.
I live in the Twin Cities area and I had this rare visitor in my yard on Tuesday. It was only there for a bit over an hour. Varied Thrush wander in the winter. The breeding grounds are far west.
I don't have a pic, but witnessed some 'circle of life' action the other day.
We have red tail hawks around here, as well as a kestral, and now a Coopers hawk. And an owl too, though I've only heard and never seen it (gf has, once or twice).
Well saturday a hawk (too fast for me to tell which) swooped on a couple squirrels under our bird feeder. He missed, barely- it was a hell of a thing with flapping wings, squirrels freaking tf out and running. It was really cool, and this is like 30ft from my kitchen window in the courtyard between the house and the detached garages.
Squirrels retreated to the nearby maple tree, and the hawk made anothe pass at them in the tree, about 10-15 minutes later. Again, he missed, but a flurry of action and he was gone.
Squirrels were back under the feeder within 2 hours. Brave little SOBs!
We have red tail hawks around here, as well as a kestral, and now a Coopers hawk. And an owl too, though I've only heard and never seen it (gf has, once or twice).
Well saturday a hawk (too fast for me to tell which) swooped on a couple squirrels under our bird feeder. He missed, barely- it was a hell of a thing with flapping wings, squirrels freaking tf out and running. It was really cool, and this is like 30ft from my kitchen window in the courtyard between the house and the detached garages.
Squirrels retreated to the nearby maple tree, and the hawk made anothe pass at them in the tree, about 10-15 minutes later. Again, he missed, but a flurry of action and he was gone.
Squirrels were back under the feeder within 2 hours. Brave little SOBs!
It's still winter and a long time until spring is over. (Spring is the generally the deadliest time for wildlife. Between already being stressed and undernourished from winter, little to no new food sources and still cool and often wet weather, surviving to summer is still a challenge.) They have no choice but to keep eating. They can't afford to take a day off.
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
Happy Valentine’s Day
Wife and I enjoyed watching at least one flying over the River in downtown CR today during lunch.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
