Bird Migration
- Thread starter Kinch
- Start date
The Merlin app's sound ID is mind-blowingly accurate. The step-by-step visual ID is handy, too, but you usually have to recognize some specific detail as it just throws a bunch of possibilities at you and you have to decided which it was.
I've mostly seen the usual suspects this year in Minneapolis. Brown creeper, "butterbutt" warblers, kinglets, Phoebe's
I also heard several "whistler of the north" white throated sparrows this morning walking my dog. That was a lot of fun
Our son lives in Columbia, MO. We visited a month ago and loved seeing different birds there than here (central Iowa). He told me about the Merlin app and I love it.
My hummingbird feeder gets hung in our little pocket garden just outside the kitchen window right by the deck. So it is about 8' from the house and 5' from the deck. They don't seem bothered at all. Sometimes when we are eating supper out on the deck they will still fly up and eat with us less than 10 feet away. We also have a thistle seed feeder in that little garden.
I have had to take down our big feeder during the spring because the grackles take over. I have been fighting a battle with the grackles because the take over the whole backyard if I don't take out their nests before they can lay eggs. Nasty, dirty birds that I have seen kill nesting doves and robins.
@Kinch, if you hurry up and get over here to play a round of golf. I’ll show you the Centerville Preserve Birdie. Rare in these parts but I have seen a couple this early spring.
Got home tonight and our first hummingbird at the feeder! Hope he comes back and brings others.
Yes!!! Need to see those rare birds. The Paristas are even rarer.
We get a lot of mourning doves and they are a bit big for our feeders. We throw a bit under the feeders and the other birds are sloppy enough, they don’t seem to be hurting much. I’m not sure if they are driving the squirrels away or the crazy dog is, but not nearly as many squirrel attacks and not many grackles yet.
We have the regular early season starling and blackbird invasion. Ugh.
I had problem with bald faced hornets at my feeder last year. Actually watched them chase hummingbirds off the feeder. If you didn't know it bald faced hornets are famous for their nests. People call them paper wasp nests but they are actually bald faced hornet nests. I was told some people use grey plastic bags to make fake nest and hang it by their feeders because the hornets will avoid other hornets nest. Not sure if it works but I may try it if they come back this year.
I'll be a son of....... I saw your post this morning, so I grabbed my glass and waited 10 minutes and you are correct! I built two bluebird houses 7 years ago and have always had just house wrens in one or both houses each spring, nothing else.
This year I have a pair of Black Capped Chickadees, so good job outta you! I had been hearing the wrens all spring singing and haven't spent much time outside in the backyard and just assumed it was them again...LOL.
How did you figure that out...by the leaves as the base instead of twigs or the color of the eggs? Thanks for your sharing your thoughts. This is great!
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We have had a couple of cardinals in our backyard the last few days. They had a nest last year in one of our lilac bushes. They normally don't come back to the same nest each year. Will have to be careful and see if I can find a new one.
My wife is one that says that seeing a cardinal in your yard is a sign from a loved one that has passed on.
My wife is one that says that seeing a cardinal in your yard is a sign from a loved one that has passed on.
I'm not good at identifying nests, but I do know that chickadees nest multiple times per breeding season. They'll snag desirable spots early, nest, fledge, and leave to find another nesting spot later in the season. Which can leave the box open for bluebirds later in the season. Bluebirds are smart, too. They will remember your box and might grab it early next year before the chickadees can take it
I don't believe they return to the same nest. So if left it there, you may not have to deal with them this year. Next hunters go after those when the leaves fall. Some can be worth $100s.
Finally spotted a hummingbird at our feeder. This’ll be my third season providing for the little critters. So happy they visit our back yard.
