Tag Archives: MN North: Amity

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.

Owlet Countdown Starts Today!

Year 8
Today starts my official owlet countdown. I found this year’s nest Feb. 21st and watched the Great Horned Owls mate after sunset. The female was on the nest by the next morning, which would be about one month ago. Cornell’s eBird site says eggs hatch after 30-37 days.
Given today is my own birthday, why not start the official watch today?! It can be a week or more before owlets appear from underneath the mom. Thus, the next few days which include freezing rain and snow are unlikely to yield any owlet sightings.
These images were taken this morning. You may need to maximize the mom’s photo to see her … well hidden. This is actually the first day I have seen anything but her tail feathers. Might there be some hatched owlets underneath her staying warm??!
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Momma Owl

Poppa Owl

Black-Backed Woodpecker!

Year 8,

There are certain Boreal birds one will never attract to a feeder, and the Black-Backed Woodpecker is one of those species. Winter is the best time of year to find a Black-Backed because it is easier to hike through the frozen forest, and there are no mosquitoes. I had been skunked in all my prior attempts to see this kind of woodpecker this year, but today I was successful. Hiking through the forest with frequent stops to listed pointed me in the proper direction. Black-Backed Woodpeckers tend to have a syncopated sound. These birds flake bark off old and diseased Tamarack Pines … with frequent stops to investigate and eat.

Upon arriving home, I found two birds which insisted on getting their picture taken. The Pileated Woodpecker was drilling on one of my yards hollow limbs. As I have already seen the happy couple together, at this point he is warning off other Pileateds and defining his territory. The female Cardinal seemed to be upset with having her photograph taken!