The Birds!

“As I was driving up to our house I little while ago, I looked up to see a bald eagle swooping over pretty low, followed by a chasing osprey slightly higher which proceeded to divebomb the eagle. Now why was it I like living in the Northwoods? Hmmm...

I normally will argue the case of keeping wild animals completely wild, but I will also confess that I'm developing a major fondness for our birdfeeders. I just added two more. Sitting here at the computer next to the picture window looking out to the backyard, I've been watching the comings and goings of red-breasted nuthatches, chickadees, chipping sparrows, house finches, downy woodpeckers, goldfinches, and mourning doves. The family of rose-breasted grosbeaks haven't made an appearance yet today. We have five big pines and a big (but dying) maple in the backyard, so they have plenty of cover to make their approaches. When I'm hiking in the woods, birds flitting and chirping are one of my favorite features, so it's nice to have them around the house, too.”

“Pekka, one of my favorite things (in winter) is to watch our feeders. We have had finches,juncos,cardinals,blue jays,starlings,chickadees,nuthatches,yellow shafted flickers,downy woodpeckers,ladderback woodpeckers,and a marsh hawk BTW I am 2.5 miles from detroit. We also have 14 quail but those are in a pen.”

“In the White's the Grey Jay (similar to the Blue Jay but grey...) is a very popular and a somewhat tame bird. Dude and I stopped at a Summit intersection on the trail and while we were there 2 of them flew down within 5 feet of us and just watched us. There were also a pair of them in camp. They are very friendly.”

“It's bird time...

Within the next few weeks, several million raptors (hawks, eagles, etc.) will funnel down past Detroit. Half of the raptors on the continent will pass by.

By the end of the month, several thousand sandhill cranes will congregate in a marsh just west of Detroit before flying south. I like to watch 'em fly over my head in big bunches.

The butterflies are also currently moving through the area. It will take three generations for monarchs to reach the mountains of Mexico. Their great-grandkids will return north in the spring.

We like to think we have the power to destroy the environment. But the natural, immutable force of nature marches on.”

“I apologize to our bluejays for leaving them off the list. The grackles of summer I do try to ignore, while our brown thrashers have been absent of late. We had a couple hummingbirds at our hanging plants, too.

I'm looking forward to seeing some juncos soon, and have been wondering where the white-breasted nuthatches and cardinals are hanging out.

Sirpete: When I've been to Isle Royale, the Gray Jays (Whiskey Jacks/Canada Jays) were regular camp visitors, especially around the shelters, where they would land in front of you as you sat eating at the picnic tables, hopping over to your plate if unattended and living up to their camp robber reputations.”

“Yeah thats them alright!”

“Each winter, a couple of thousand Bald Eagles make Brackendale (near Whistler) their home. It's a truly amazing spectacle!
A brief Seattle PI news article”

“bc, here in northern Wisconsin, we don't have dying salmon to keep the eagles on hand during the winter, so we get in our cars and run down whitetails on the highways, leaving the carcasses for the eagles (and ravens), LOL. Always a stunning sight on a Northwoods road in the white of winter to zip by a dead dear being lorded over by an eagle with crimson dripping from that beak and pink stained head feathers.

However, most of our baldies probably head down to the lower Wisconsin River below Sauk City where there is more open water, or over to the Mississippi.”

“For years, two bald eagles would return, to the highest tree, on the point, right behind our beach house, on Vancouver Island. We would sit out there with binoculars and watch them fish.

One time, as I was strolling the beach, toward the house, I unwittingly passed the spot where my neighbour had tossed some salmon guts, at the low tide line. The largest, of the two eagles, swooped down so close, that I could practically touch him. Just the flapping, of it's seven foot wing span made and incredible noise. Actually, the thing scared the crap out of me! But, what a rush”

“Here I sit by the big window, the somber voice of Dan Rather coming from my left with various permutations on the terrorism story, while from my left come the oblivious chirps of tiny feathered creatures at my bank of feeders.

Four female or juvenile goldfinches have just arrived together, the subtlety of the golden hue giving them a certain luster in the afternoon light. A female hairy woodpecker showed up today, seeming so outsized compared to our regular downies. The other day a juvenile pine grosbeak made an appearance, perhaps the first of the birds who summer farther north and will now winter in northern Wisconsin. Winter...hard to say that.

A juvenile rose-breasted grosbeak is at the sunflower seeds now, and a plump whitebreasted nuthatch came headfirst down the big pine a minute ago. Now a bluejay sits in the pine bough over the feeders.

All this goes on even as we humans are lost in our concerns. Thank goodness it does, and let's hope it still will in the future. It is more solace than I would have expected.”

“The first of the migrating monarchs has reached KY. It's always a beautiful sight. It's more special than ever this year. I really needed to see that.”

“Birds have always amazed me for their resilience, and how adaptable they are to humans.”

“I think they are adaptable to almost anything Pathman. Have you ever seen some of the crazy places they'll build a nest? Or some of the things they'll use as construction material?”

“A pair of purple finches has joined the party today. We have as many as six species enjoying the bounty at one time. A lesson? Hmmmmm I'll try not to anthropomorphize; it's not fair to the birds.”

“A gray, rainy day in the Northwoods, brightened by the return of a pair of cardinals to the feeders. Enough activity to suddenly drain four of the seven feeders (blame some of that on the squirrels).

What birds are passing through or arriving in your areas as the autumn migration unfolds?

BTW, the trees suddenly have jumped to about 20% color.”

“Hmmmm. Still too hot to go outside pekka... I'll let you know in about 3 months when the temps drop below 100.”

“I'm in Seattle, but outside the main city. I see those Blue Jays that are blue with black heads & a crest, sorry I don't have my bird book handy. I see loads of chickadees & crows, and an occassional bald eagle.

We have an area here called Rockport/Concrete, that is filled with bald eagles in October I believe as the salmon are passing through. It's amazing to see so many sitting in a tree at one time.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the bird I see everyday inside my house, my African Grey Parrot that is sitting on the back of my chair now, pulling at my shirt so that I'll play with him.”

“lipstick, what's his favorite game to play?”