ThinkingAfield.org

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.