Category Archives: Background

Tracking the Bird Migration in your Home Town

Background, Year 8

Over the past few years, folks in the know have been able to gather data about the Spring or Fall bird migrations as they were in progress (birding forecasts & real time updates). However it took a Phd in web knowledge to find this data and review same. Now Cornell, Colorado State and UMass Amherst have collaborated to create a great new web site with easily viewable data. Better yet, with just a few clicks you may discover what the expected migration conditions will be like in your home town (or region). The service is called BirdCast.

I have taken nine screenshots via my own mobile phone and annotated the screenshots with red arrows, lines and rectangles to provide a basic introduction to BirdCast’s capabilities. Finally, although the BirdCast service does not provide an automated feed for their migration news updates, I figured out the RSS code required. Thus, if you use a RSS news reader to automatically obtain content updates … use this code stream / url. (copy url … paste into your RSS subscribe content area). Alternatively, you could download and use my free Minnesota Birding News (BirdCast is one of the over 40 web sites to which one may receive automatic updates).

BirdCast Capabilities

(Screenshots taken on my mobile phone. If you connect with a personal computer, the menus will be identical but appear via the menubar found at the top of every web page)

Birdcast Homepage and Main Menu

Birdcast Main Menu … Dropdown activated

BirdCast News (use my tools to get auto updates)

BirdCast Migration Tools

Scroll down to view / select desired tools

Using the BirdCast “Local” Tool (Duluth selected)

And finally an image from yesterday afternoon. The weather outside did not encourage birding (39F, freezing rain and a strong wind). However, when we arrived at my daughter’s house I heard chickadees scolding something. This Raccoon was the culprit. It was unusual to see “Rory” out in the middle of the afternoon.

Counting Birds

Background, Year 8

I’ll admit it, I am not a list person. While I will occasionally submit a birding list to eBird, this is not a normal activity for me, nor have I ever kept an annual list of sightings. However a few folks every year decide to have a Big Year. The goal is to see as many bird species possible in the United States and Canada. Steve Martin even starred in a movie based upon the book with the same name, The Big Year. Here is a clip from the movie (link for email subscribers)

While I don’t keep lists, today through Sunday (February 12 to 14) is the Great Backyard Birdcount sponsored by Audubon and eBird. Learn even more via the count’s web site. Over the next few days, thousands and thousands of birding lists from around the world … 15 minutes of sightings each … will be submitted. This data is then analyzed by the Cornell School of Ornithology and a better understanding is gained about how climate and habitat loss are affecting the bird population. Consider spending 15 minutes this weekend to help support this ongoing research. If you ask why, consider the “canary in a coal mine” scenario. These birds were kept down in coal mines. If the birds started to have trouble breathing the miners took notice (read article from the Smithsonian).

Here is my list from this morning … my own backyard. Thus, some lists are important! See the latest sightings from around the world.

Our cold snap continues. Every night the temperature drops to between -15F and -23F. During the day we don’t reach 0F. Right now it appears our cold snap will last for about 13 days. I am making occasional birding forays, but this weather encourages one to stay inside … too darn cold. Here is one of the cardinals that always visits my own feeders every morning. Photo taken about 10:00 am this morning.

Minnesota Birding News Updated

Background, Year 8

The forecast for the next week is for the temperature to drop to between -15F and -20F every night, and never get above zero during the day. Fierce winds will make the windchills even colder. In short, I don’t expect to do much birding. It is dangerous to be outside for more than short periods of time.

The weather gave me the perfect opportunity to update my Minnesota Birding News Service. This free service installs on any Android and/or iOS device, as well as a PC or MacIntosh computer. Whenever any of 39 birding services post an update, you will be automatically informed and be able to read the new content via an app (not via email).

Here is how the service might look on your mobile device. These are screenshots I took and annotated when originally creating the Minnesota News Service. The service utilizes a technology called RSS and an app named Feedly. This term and app are explained in detail with video tutorials via the Minnesota News Service Web Page.

The 39 “feeds” are distributed across these classifications:

  • Minnesota Bird Areas
  • Minnesota Bird Blogs
  • Minnesota Bird Orgs
  • USA Bird Blogs
  • USA Bird Orgs
  • International Birding

Feedly Post Install Screenshot #1

Feedly Post Install Screenshot #2

Feedly Post Install Screenshot #3