Not so bad

Well, it didn't get as cold as they predicted yesterday. This morning started out at about -2F. The winds have stopped howling and the sun keeps peeking out.

Being a born-and-bred Minnesotan, I was hoping for it to get cold - really cold. Like -20F cold. During the day.

Maybe tomorrow...

The bottom drops out...

The morning started out unseasonably warm. By noon, it was in the upper 30s. Clouds covered the sky, but it had that "spring is around the corner" feeling. At least it did until 1:30 p.m when the winds switched around to the northwest and began gusting at 45 m.p.h. They blew away the clouds for a short time, but more filled in the sky as the temperatures plummeted from 41F to 17F by 5 p.m. (Windchills are around -3F.) Ah, Minnesota! Stay tuned for what else she blows our way.

Project FeederWatch

Sunday was a blur of activity as birds zoomed between the feeders and bushes in the backyard. This was fabulous for two reasons. One - it's always entertaining and educational watching the interactions and behaviors of the various types of birds. Two- it was a FeederWatch day.

What's FeederWatch? It's a citizen science program directed by Cornell's Lab of Ornithology that gathers data about populations of birds during the winter. People across North America spend two consecutive days each week recording the types and numbers of birds at their feeders. You can watch for 30 minutes to all day. Project FeederWatch runs from November to April. It's a great activity for the whole family.

I've participated for over ten years now and doing this has not only improved my observation skills , but also made me feel great about helping scientists understand what is happening to bird populations. Often, what I see happening at my feeders reflects the bigger trends being seen across the Upper Midwest.

So, that's why I was so excited about what was happening Sunday. I had large numbers of birds - 13 different species. And one of those was a new bird in the yard. Mixed among the goldfinches and pine siskins were common redpolls. They're about the same size as the finches and pine siskins, but have a red cap and white, unstreaked breast. They tend to move in flocks and on Sunday, that was what was happening. A group of ten would appear, then fly off throughout the morning and afternoon.

I'm lucky to have the action I usually do at my feeders - but to spot a new bird, especially in winter - what an experience.

Check out FeederWatch - it's easy and fun!
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/

January Rain

It's raining. It's January and it's raining. Not mist, not drizzle - but a hard, driving need-the-wipers-on-top-speed kind of rain. It's going to make the morning commute interesting since the water is already pooling on the sides of the road. Fortunately, the temperature is going to stay above freezing.

The Waning Moon

The morning sky was changing from inky black to deep blue. And just above the eastern horizon, the waning moon stood out - a thin crescent of intense white light. Moving around us, completing its monthly journey, we see less and less of the moon until it becomes "new" on the 11th. While a full moon commands our attention through its dominance of evening skies, the new moon is also impressive, but in a subtle, alluring way.

Rabbits by Moonlight

No, this isn't some weird Food Network recipe. It's what I've been seeing in my backyard the past week.

The rabbits are cautious and are only around once it's dark. Even without turning on lights, I can spot the rabbit - it's a dark lump in the backyard where there shouldn't be one. And the dark spot moves occassionally.

The snow in the backyard is trampled with tracks from rabbits and squirrels. The rabbits have the night shift - the squirrels work during the day. Another difference is that the squirrels visit as a group - there were ten there one day last week. But the rabbits always show up only one at a time.

Different times to feed - different strategies for looking for food.

Mystery Birds

Sometimes it's hard to identify the birds that show up at my feeders. They flit back and forth from feeder to bushes so quickly that much of the time it is hard to notice details. But you can figure out the identity of your mystery bird by using field guides. And not just one - I look at several since no one book has everything I need.

When you spot an unknown bird, look carefully at the size of the bird, the colors and patterns on the body and where they are located. Look at the feet  - the color and size. But don't grab your field guide just yet. Your book will be there a long time, but the bird will fly off soon so spend time looking at the bird rather than flipping through pages in the book. If you've got a camera handy, snap a couple of shots - they may help.

Once the bird is gone, grab your field guides and start looking. Read the information in the guides - look at the drawings/photographs, read the descriptions, especially information describing behaviors. Look at the range maps, too.

Lately, there have been some birds coming to my window feeders. They're about the size of goldfinches - just a little smaller - and have some yellow splotches. But their chests are very striped. and the beak is small and pointy. They mix with the flocks of goldfinches. They eat similar foods - mainly thistle seed.  Their call is a thin, reedy tee-tee.

Use  a couple of field guides and try to identify the bird shown above. 

Some of my favorite field guides include:

                                            

I prefer regional guides to national ones since they focus on birds that are most likely to be found here in Minnesota. (If you want a guide for the larger area, choose one for the Eastern United States rather than the Western U.S. The dividing line is the Mississippi River and since it splits MN in half, you might think either guide would work fine, but the ones for the eastern birds will work better.)

So, who do you think the mystery bird is?

(They are pine siskins, periodic winter visitors to our area. )