I grew up one county away from the Miss River so we would catch a glimpse of one once in awhile but it was rare. That was in the late 1950's and 1960's.
Bird Migration and Misc Birding Thread
- Thread starter Kinch
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I grew up one county away from the Miss River so we would catch a glimpse of one once in awhile but it was rare. That was in the late 1950's and 1960's.
My perception of Eagles went down a notch when I started seeing them with the buzzards eating road kill.
After a long vicious winter an early spring cold snowy spell settled in once more, I observed a Red-tailed Hawk feeding on a road killed cat. My admiration of the adaptable hawk went up for sheer survival skills.
When I was a kid if someone saw an eagle it was a huge deal, you'd see a ton of cars parked looking at it. It was almost make the news worthy. Now where I live in winter you have 30-40 on the river everyday in winter. I still have the natural reaction of "wow kids look an eagle". They see them so much their reaction is like "yeah sure dad and there's a crow over there"
Ben Franklin didn't want the eagle to be the national bird because it was a scavenger. His vote was the turkey.
Ben Franklin never watched the Youtube videos of the Mongolians on horseback hunting wolves with Golden Eagles in Kazajstan.
Do a search for "Hunting wolves with golden eagles", turn up the accompanying music, and watch some of a dying art/tradition. Truly fascinating.
Saw my first Warbler yesterday. Heard several Yellow Rumps but were hard to spot maybe due to the overcast skies. Did finally see one though. No good photos though
Wood Ducks and a Chipping Sparow this morning. They are coming through.
There are a couple of barred owls in Urbandale in the tall evergreens between the library and Walker Johnston Park. I have heard them a couple of different weekends there this spring and saw one on Easter Saturday. Can often be seen/heard from the paved trail along the creek.
Typically have 5-6 Goldfinch's every year, seen house finch's so far this year, but finally saw the first goldfinch today.
Added a Safflower Cylinder feeder this year and the house finch's have been going nuts on it.
Added a Safflower Cylinder feeder this year and the house finch's have been going nuts on it.
Golden Eagles dive in and pull mountain grazing mammals to there death.
Though unlikely, when I sat in a hawk banding blind I dreaded the thought of a Golden Eagle getting into the nets. Amazingly powerful raptor, and one I appreciate from afar.
It's not like snow geese don't fly over the Twin Cities on their way north but it's usually big flocks passing overhead and not a little group of four stopping to hang out a popular local lake. It's uncommon to get this close to these geese here. The three "blue morph" and the one "white morph" were the latest local celebrity birds.
First two Chipping Sparrows counter-singing near house here in Central WI.
I think the hawk banding blind story deserves a little more filling out. That was a humble brag slid in very low key.
For a few years I worked with the Iowa DNR at a hawk banding station in a cow pasture on a bluff along the Mississippi (NE IA). At times there was a crew, but often I banded alone. It would get busy stringing the live pigeon lure, mist nets, and as a last resort a bow net to trap the hawks during Fall flights.
Red-tails mostly, but Goshawks, Sharp-shinned, Coopers, and a few others, were docile once in hand. Several times eagles would venture close, and thankfully didn't take the bait. Other banders warned me to be wary of them. Their toes and talons are surprisingly large, and snap shut automatically and need heavy hand wear to handle safely. One bander had on gloves but a Golden reached out and clutched his high forearm and had trouble getting those monster fish hooks out.
I have a Biology degree but didn't finish a Masters in Ornithology once I was offered, and needed, a lucrative job with a growing family. If you have time and like to see a lot of raptors, and have fun, the Hawk Watch at Hitchcock Nature Center from September to November always can use a hand:
Hitchcock Nature Center HawkWatch - Pottawattamie County
Join birds of prey enthusiasts as they scan the skies for migrating raptors at Hitchcock Nature Center in Honey Creek, Iowa.
www.pottconservation.com
Hitchcock Nature Center - Pottawattamie Conservation - Iowa
www.pottconservation.com
Many a fall I took the trip down from WI, manned the hawk watch for 2-3 days, then went on to Ames for a game.
Depending when, there are huge flights of geese, cranes, gulls, and more, you can see from the tower ~ 750 feet above the Missouri floodplain. Crazy stuff shows up there too, once a Frigatebird circled over. Council Bluffs has great BBQ!
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Managed to get one to sit still long enough to get a good picture today.
Boxers is really good the 3-4 times we have been there. Now back to birding........
Talk about synchronicities, dumb luck, or coincidence, while working on my deck in the sunny 75 degree day, I briefly glanced overhead slightly northward. There, probably just under 1000 feet up soared what I thought was a Turkey Vulture as it was dark and did not flap at all.
It evidentially was not a Vulture as the wings lacked the whitish/gray underwing. Getting my binoculars I realized it was an immature Golden Eagle with white tail base and solid black body except for small splotch of white in the pit of its wings. New yardbird! Last new yard bird was a Golden-crowned Kinglet two years ago. I don't know what the cumulative count for my yard is anymore, however. I have seen Golden Eagles around ten times in the county over 35 years.
Brown Thrasher, White-throated Sparrow, Ring-billed Gull and Northern Flicker also showed up today.
It evidentially was not a Vulture as the wings lacked the whitish/gray underwing. Getting my binoculars I realized it was an immature Golden Eagle with white tail base and solid black body except for small splotch of white in the pit of its wings. New yardbird! Last new yard bird was a Golden-crowned Kinglet two years ago. I don't know what the cumulative count for my yard is anymore, however. I have seen Golden Eagles around ten times in the county over 35 years.
Brown Thrasher, White-throated Sparrow, Ring-billed Gull and Northern Flicker also showed up today.
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