After 3 days of rain, snow, and intense wind, as the sun tried to break through the light veil of clouds I was interested in what might have ‘blown in’ on the windless Sunday afternoon. Just a half-mile south of my office, even before reaching ice-covered Melody’s Marsh I could see a hawk perched atop a lone cottonwood along the road – likely a Rough-legged Hawk fresh from the Arctic. You never know how a bird will react as you approach it, but this colorful raptor’s attention was focused in the opposite direction, so I slipped into the best location to take advantage of the afternoon sunlight, which was filtered by an ever-changing veil of light clouds.

This Arctic hawk proved to be one of those remarkable birds we all hope for when we encounter a bird with photographic potential – an individual that I like to call a “species ambassador” – a bird that allows you to spend time with it and photograph at will, as though you were invisible. In reality though, the hawk was accepting a white van with a zoom lens poking out of an open window. The van was obviously larger than a person, but less concerning than me standing in the same position.

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White-winged Crossbills would be a great addition to any birder’s feeding station or evergreen trees.

Anticipation – we find ourselves thinking about what birds we can expect as the season progresses toward winter, and what kinds of birds we can hope to attract. For any birders, the answer is a product of geography, the winter range of the species in question, and having the right stuff – a variety of foods and water. Foods include a quality seed mix that emphasizes black oil sunflower seeds, a tube feeder filled with nyjer thistle seeds, suet, peanuts and other nuts, and in some areas where hummingbirds overwinter, a nectar feeder. But what birds can you really expect?

A great way to get an understanding of what birds might filter into your feeding station is to refer to the information analyzed and provided by FeederWatch, where you can find out the Top 25 species that traditionally visit feeders in your state or province (see the link below). That’s one of the many ways FeederWatch has contributed to our understanding of winter bird populations and monitored variations in annual bird movements, migrations, and irruptions.

You can also check your “region” out for the Top 25, but that information will be less accurate than the state or province list due to the much larger expanse of land included. Even the state list will probably surprise you with some birds that are not on your radar due to variations in habitat types and geography within a state. But it’s a great place to glean a little more information, and maybe even to contribute your own feeder visitor counts as a FeederWatch participant.

Check out your Top 25 lists at Top 25 Feeder Birds (feederwatch.org) Read more

RIVERTON — The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission met in Riverton this week for their last meeting of 2021. Concluding a big year for wildlife management, the Commission allocated $500,000 to the Kaycee to Buffalo wildlife crossing initiative on Interstate 25, which fully-funds the $3.8 million dollar project. The planned fencing and underpasses will reduce accidents with mule deer and white-tailed deer on a 15-mile stretch of road. Support came from 17 different funding sources, including partners, local government and donations from the public.

Animal migrations and homing instincts remain one the most fascinating of natural phenomena.  Salmon swim upstream and migratory birds fly south, north, and back again.

How do migratory birds know what to do? Memory is deeply implicated—molecular memory—profoundly encoded in the double helix of their DNA from eons of experience.

The first beautiful days of autumn usher migratory birds on their way before the breath of winter lays on the land: honking giant Canada geese in a V pointed south; swarms of chatty rusty blackbirds in an amorphous mass; and confusing fall warblers, singles slipping silently through sylvan stands. Birds big and little have learned a geography of survival over a span of time that rational beings can hardly comprehend.

What cues birds to pick up and go, and by what routes are becoming clearer, producing big data sets from the smallest of technologies over a vast geography of the northeast United States. It’s a multistate endeavor from Maine to Maryland made possible by State Wildlife Grants administered by the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration program of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

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Triple digit totals of Peregrine Falcons migrated past the Florida Keys Hawkwatch daily for 10 straight days from October 8th to 17th – totaling 2,430 Peregrines in 10 days! Most of us consider a sighting of a single Peregrine a great accomplishment, so imagine daily tallies of 117 Peregrines October 8th, 287 on the 9th, 609 on the 10th, 296 the 11th, 126 the 12th, 137 the 12th, 239 the 14th, 113 the 15th, 134 the 16th, 142 on October 17th. And that’s not all, considering many other raptors graced the sky, including numbers of Ospreys, Broad-winged Hawks, and Sharp-shinned Hawks headed trans-Caribbean.

Take a look at the Florida Keys Hawkwatch daily totals for the month of October to see Peregrine Falcon numbers increase toward the peak days of migration and then downturn after mid-October, and see totals of other birds of prey that passed by the count station at HawkCount The current season total for Peregrines is 3,264!

To review live counts as they are posted today, as well as daily totals throughout the season, and monthly counts of raptors at all hawkwatch count sites across North America – which is great fun and informative – visit HawkCount

Tree planting, care and planning in 11 Michigan communities will be supported by community forestry grant awards totaling $117,208. Funds were competitively awarded through the annual Michigan Department of Natural Resources Community Forestry grant program for projects in Berrien, Ingham, Isabella, Kent, Leelanau, Oakland, Van Buren, Washtenaw and Wayne counties.