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LindenTree3
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Female Pileated Woodpecker at my feeder yesterday. The males have a red streak right behind the bill and on their head. Pic taken through my dirty window near Detroit Lakes, MN.
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SaganagaJoe
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Saw a pileated woodpecker, hairy woodpecker (I think), and a pair of swans today when out biking in Maple Grove.
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crumpman
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I had a yellow variant house finch visit my feeder today. I checked with an avid birder and he concurred. Other birders feel free to weigh in.
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Zulu
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There was really good viewing of the Sandhill Crane migration last week at Fort Kearney State Park Campground in Nebraska. This year the Cranes fed close by in the corn stubble then flew at dusk a half a mile to the sandbars on the Platte River. There were thousands. They called all night then flew back to the field in the morning. There is an old railroad trestle over the river that you can stand on and watch them. The sound is awe inspiring as they fly over.
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lindylair
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Spent the weekend in the Mille Lacs lake area, sunny days but cool temps and absolutely brutal winds kept the bird activity down. Managed a few sightings and a few decent shots.
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Zulu
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I was in Marble Canyon of the Colorado River on Navajo Bridge last week when I noticed a large Vulture fly over. It landed on the cliff near three others two of which were sub adults. (center photo) Using binoculars I noticed they had big white numbers painted on their wings and they were too big for Turkey Vultures. A moment later a couple of guys showed up with spotting scopes wondering if I had seen the California Condors. I told them I thought they were extinct! It was a thrill to see them.
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mooseplums
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LOONS are in southern MN....I saw them last night as I was walking around a local lake...
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LindenTree3
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Northern Three Toed Woodpeckers feasting in an area of Beatled killed Pine in AK.
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crumpman
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My wife and I did our first bike ride of 2016 this past Wednesday. We live just north of Cincinnati and have a wonderful bike trail along the Little Miami River near us. At our halfway stop, we watched 2 Belted Kingfishers play around the water, as we were leaving 4 more flew in.
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inspector13
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All the usual suspects flew in on the warm breezes this weekend in the Twin Cities east-metro. I’ve been hearing robins, cardinals, red wing black birds, and migrating Canada Geese.
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jwartman59
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the woodcocks are out doing their bizarre woodcock thing. it's too strange to describe, i took my wife out tonight and her reaction was, wow. i watch them at Lebanon Hills in eagan, take the walk to buck lake. this park is great for all around birding. woodcocks do their thing at dawn and dusk, a flashlite is nice as the trail system in here was designed by the same guy who did st. paul.
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crumpman
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My wife and I went out to listen to and watch the woodcock a too.
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crumpman
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My wife and I went out to listen to and watch the woodcock a too.
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SaganagaJoe
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Ducks are starting to settle down and nest, saw the ring-necked ducks (I think, or else they were Lesser Scaups), mallards, buffleheads, pair of Canada geese, Hooded Mergansers. Wood ducks are probably nesting too as I haven't seen them. Red-winged Blackbirds are singing. Chickadees are calling to each other. Spring is wonderful. Now to wait for the warblers and thrushes to return.
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mooseplums
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My feeders are really busy right now I had to fill them twice yesterday. ....mostly Goldfinches, but there is a wide variety of birds I saw another flock of swans on a pond this morning...
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Zulu
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Yesterday while slowly driving around Crex Meadows Wildlife Refuge in Grantsburg WI I was able to see many birds close up from the car. About 35 pairs of Trumpeter Swans. Many Sandhill Cranes. Lots of Scaup. Pair of Northern Shovelers. Pair of Pheasants. Eagles.
The work done at Crex Meadows over the years and the visitor center make it a really great place to visit especially at this time of year.
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SaganagaJoe
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Took another trail ride on the Medicine Lake Regional Trail in Maple Grove in the crisp morning with snowflakes bouncing off my face, ha! Very productive in terms of birding, saw plenty of Red-winged Blackbirds and at least one other variety I'm trying to identify, chickadees, robins. Watched a cardinal for a while (remember, I'm from Seattle!) and saw my first White-breasted Nuthatch and Downy Woodpecker.
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SaganagaJoe
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I'm in Minnesota for school and took time to go for a bike ride on the Medicine Lake Regional Trail in Maple Grove. We don't have cardinals in Washington so I was bound and determined to see one. I heard them and caught glimpses of one before seeing a male and female cross the trail in front of me - success!
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SaganagaJoe
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Heard my first Swainson's Thrush of the season tonight.
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SaganagaJoe
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100 posts, wow! I'm so glad we have this community here to share our love of birding. The best place to post questions is still Listening Point because more traffic is there. I'll start a Part 2 so it's easier to read through the list of comments:
Here in the South Sound region of Washington state, spring is sneaking out of the buds and with it the birds are beginning to twitterpate as the owl in Bambi put it. I've been watching Dark-eyed Juncos chasing each other and listening the two-tone mating call of Chickadees. The kinglets are still feeding in the undergrowth but will soon move to the high tree tops where they will nest. The Red-winged Blackbirds are beginning to whistle across the marsh and the male marsh wrens are establishing their territories with their squeaky chatter. In the forest, the towhees are on the move and no doubt preparing for the mating season. We have a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers in the area and see and hear them regularly.
What's in your neck of the woods?
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Ausable
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I'm in the western suburbs of Chicago. Sandhill cranes have been migrating north this week. I've heard and seen Northern Flickers in the neighborhood lately.
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gkimball
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A screen shot from the MN DNR Eagle Webcam taken today. The female (on the left) has 3 chicks underneath. The male had just added another animal to the pile of food they have on the nest. This pair has been very successful for the past 3-4 years. They must live in a good place for food!
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mooseplums
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Saw a tom turkey in full strut in SE MN... Common Grackles have returned Lots of Bufflehead ducks and other divers on open water here Canada geese are claiming their nesting sites
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SaganagaJoe
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Yeah MP, I've been watching a group of Buffleheads for several weeks now. Kind of a fun bird to observe. Wood ducks are also back but very, very secretive and shy. I hear them and have seen them a few times. I'd love to eventually find where they are nesting.
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inspector13
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Turkey vultures are back patrolling the shoulders of I35 in the vicinity of Cloquet MN.
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SaganagaJoe
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The pair of wood ducks has re-emerged and with babies in tow. The Swainson's thrushes also continue to fill the Pacific Northwest forest with amazing song.
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SaganagaJoe
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Adventures with the thrushes continued this evening in the marsh, had my closest encounter with a Swainson's thrush yet, actually got to watch it sing from about twenty feet away. Amazing and beautiful. Never have I been out on such a thrush-filled night. They all were singing in chains. You could hear them, starting with the farthest one and singing all the way to the nearest. It was incredible.
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crumpman
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My wife and I got back from birding Northern Ohio, near Toledo. We spent two days birding as a part of the "The Biggest Week in American Birding". Over our two days we saw 94 confirmed different species of birds. We saw 28 Bald Eagles, 25, all in the same place, on the first day alone. We saw lots of warblers, and the big numbers have not arrived yet! This was our second year to go and our first year with excellent binoculars. On day one we went to Pipe Creek State Wildlife Area (25 eagle place), and Sheldon Marsh State Nature Preserve. For some of our birding at Pipe Creek, we were using rides at Ceder Point Amusement Park as reference. On day two we went to Magee Marsh State Wildlife Area and Metzger Marsh State Wildlife Area.
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SaganagaJoe
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Major birding milestone today hiking in the Cascades, heard my first local hermit thrush. No view from the top of Mt. Si but the trees and thrushes made it all worthwhile. A Swainson's thrush greeted me as I went in and varied thrushes were also present. Gray jays at the top of the mountains
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gkimball
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Another screen shot from the MNDNR Eagle Webcam. I was watching and suddenly it zoomed in as the male was moving around in the nest and got this image.
Yikes!
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SaganagaJoe
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I saw a Hooded Merganser this morning in the marsh. Very interesting to research and find that it has habits very similar to the wood ducks and lives in similar territory. The only curious thing about it is that the mergansers are mostly fish eating, and I don't think we have any fish in the marsh. It must be living on tadpoles and other insects if it is indeed living there.
Here's a link to the private forum where I have posed a longer report of this nature walk: An Eye for Detail
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mooseplums
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Yesterday on my daily lake drive: Common Merganser Ring necked ducks hooded merganser Bald eagle (several) horned lark lots of upside down mallards in open ponds lots of Canada Geese
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gkimball
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Now have the full summer contingent including an Eastern Phoebe that perches on a couple of favored branches in the back yard and forages in mid-air and on the ground. Last year they nested in the neighbor's garage, but I haven't seen where they are nesting this year. Love their call, faint but beautiful!
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mooseplums
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Common Redpoll A flock of Swans easily a hundred birds
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SaganagaJoe
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I was working in the garage and heard a finch-like call very, very close by. I went to the garage door and watched two birds scramble out of the arborvitae, one with a pinkish hint. They came back twice before hightailing it for the woods. Based on the call I'm sure I saw a House Finch.
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airmorse
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Saw rose breasted gross beaks and white crowned sparrows at the feeders this morning.
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SaganagaJoe
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Heard my first Common Yellowthroat in the marsh today.
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crumpman
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Yellow-rumped warbler yesterday.
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Big Tent
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Have seen people looking in a tree by Lake Hiawatha in so Minneapolis. Today I saw the Great Horned Owl. Google Lake Hiawatha owl to see some pictures and links to a story about a damaged nest, chicks on the ground, and the Raptor Center restoring the nest and returning the chicks.
Here is a picture of the Owl. (I did not take this)
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jwartman59
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quite the migration in the cities this year. first warblers (for me) today. this image is from nexrad. the densities of flocks is shown in this image. sometimes living in minnesota isn't so bad.
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crumpman
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Pine Warbler on our suet feeder today.
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SaganagaJoe
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Today we had our first really warm day. My brother and I headed into the woods on a perfect early spring evening, about 60 out, and waded through some loud noise to see the usual ducks. As I was headed out, my brother noticed an owl and pointed him out to me. As I watched, he darted into a pool of standing water and grabbed his prey, presumably a mouse or rat, and then flew up to a tree branch and ate him with relish before moving to a new place. After watching it for some time and consulting the Internet when I got home, I've concluded that I've saw my the barred owl again. He was quite a bit browner then the barred owl I've seen before in about the same place- spring plumage? maybe a different owl? Pretty cool.
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Big Tent
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I saw two Snowy Owls and about 40 Snow Buntings yesterday at the airport in Minneapolis. No pictures. They were the first Snowy Owls that I've seen.
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gkimball
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First Junco spotted below feeders today. Back from the Boreal.
Welcome back...enjoy the winter here in Minnesota! Must be tough little things to need to only come as far "south" as Minnesota to make it through the winter.
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Wayouttroy
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Saw a Pileated woodpecker foraging on the pines. I got get really close to get a good look. Any body seen any Red Headed Woodpeckers?
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LindenTree3
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Been seeing lots of Steller's Jay's lately. The locals tell me that they stay East of the Kenai Mts (Ak) in the summer and venture West of that range in the winter. I live on the west side. My pics were poor. Here is the Jay link.
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gkimball
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Spotted at least 2 White Throated Sparrows under our feeders yesterday October 10. Always beautiful to see birds returning south from the Boreal forest in Fall.
Noted them last spring April 19 in the same place. They were gone by May 7.
Same birds? A nice thought.
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Big Tent
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Saw an Eastern Kingbird at Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis on Tuesday. First one I had ever noticed, may have seen before but was unaware.
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jwartman59
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black rail seen and heard yesterday here in the cities. any rail experts out there?
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LindenTree3
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Saw a few Blackbacked and Northern Three Toed Woodpeckers lately in Alaska.
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RLancer
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I was in St. Croix State Park about two weeks ago and saw a Scarlet Tanager and a Raven. Those were two that stood out to me. I saw a good amount of Indigo Buntings as well. I always enjoy seeing those. I also had three Eastern Bluebird chicks fledge from the bird house we put up. It's been a great couple of weeks.
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