Category Archives: Year 9

Yard Bird Deluge!

Year 9

Migration is both in full force, and stalled out. Many bird species are stopping on their northern journey when they discover the land north of Duluth is locked in ice and snow. While getting back to breeding grounds first is important, being able to find food is also imperative. Over the past few days, I have watched birds raid my feeders forcing me to refill three times each day … using 10+ in bird seen every day.

This morning the rush seems to be a bit calmer. The hordes of redpolls and juncos are now just small flocks. Yesterday afternoon during a 30 minute period, I saw all of these birds in my yard … a few are obviously not feeder birds.

  • American Goldfinches
  • American Robins
  • Blue Jays
  • Brown Creepers
  • Common Grackles
  • Common Redpolls
  • Mourning Doves
  • Northern Cardinals
  • Pine Siskins
  • Purple Finches
  • Red-Breasted Nuthatch
  • Slate-Colored Juncos
  • Sparrows
    • American Tree Sparrows
    • Fox Sparrows
    • White-Crowned Sparrows
    • White-Throated Sparrows
  • White-Breasted Nuthatch
  • Woodpeckers (each species use the same 3 trees for drumming!)
    • Downy Woodpecker
    • Hairy Woodpecker
    • Northern Flicker
    • Pileated Woodpeckers
    • Red-Bellied Woodpecker
    • Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker

Here are three very short videos, which show just how crazy active my feeders have been. From sunrise to sunset normally there were always hundreds of birds in my yard. I have six feeders. (video links for email subscribers: Video 1 – Video 2 – Video 3). It never ceases to amaze me how many redpolls can attach themselves to a thistle seed feeder (vid #2)

Photographs (a photobombing squirrel was even captured in the final image!)

Great Horned Owl Pic of the Day: I visited my owls three times yesterday. Last year Les and Amy were essentially yard birds; this year they are making me hike a bit to see their family.

Golf Course Birding (plus owl of the day pic)

Year 9,

Golf Course ponds are great places to bird … assuming the courses are not yet open. In my case, Lester Park Golf Course located in the northeast edge of Duluth is permanently closed. Given not a single area lake has yet experienced ice out, and this course has one of the few ponds that has lost its ice, that small body of water is a bird magnate for migrating ducks.

By approaching the birds obliquely and thus taking a zig zag route to get close (not directly), I was able to get amazingly close to the waterfowl. I think the ducks knew there were very few other landing spots, and the 40 mph winds coming in off Lake Superior made them willing to put up with my presence. In fact, a friend in church on Sunday told me Saganaga Lake up at the end of the Gunflint Trail still has 40 inch thick ice!

Hooded Merganser

Buffleheads and Ring-Necked Ducks

Ring-Necked Ducks

Of course, I spend time every day watching Les, Amy and their Great Horned Owlets.

Meet Les and Amy’s Owlets

Year 9

For the fourth year in a row, Les and Amy, have blessed the forest near my home with new hoots! This morning I met their owlet twins. There could still be a third youngster underneath Mom but I am betting the cold spring we are having this year may limit the family size by one. (As a reminder, Les or Poppa Owl is named after the Lester River … and Amy or Momma Owl is named after Amity Creek … no names for the owlets yet!).

Nest found on March 11th. Owlets first appeared on April 26th; however their presence has been obvious for some time under Mom.

Mom GHO and Owlets

Kids being Rambunctious! (video link for email subscribers)