Spring is Here: Robins, Red Winged Blackbirds, Grackles, Killdeer, and Cranes Return

I've only managed to photograph American Robins in our nannyberries but as of today, we took a walk this evening and saw Red Winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles. We also hear Sandhill Cranes and Killdeer today. Generally I declare Spring to have sprung when I've seen the Red Winged Blackbirds, Common Grackles, and American Robins which is typically closer to March 10th. When I have some good photos I'll share them here.

The Robins have been busy picking away at the berries left in our nannyberry viburnums.


The blackbirds like the Common Grackle have been looking through the leaf litter we didn't rake or remove last fall.

Wisconsin Wetlands

Two things drew my attention to wetlands this week. First Wisconsin's state legislature have advanced a bill to allow some amount of filling of wetlands in urban and rural areas without a permit. Some details of the bill can be found here. The short version is that isolated wetlands 1 acre or smaller in urban areas or 3 acres or smaller in rural areas can filled without permits.

The ironic part is (the second thing drew my attention) that various parts of the state have been under flood warnings recently because of melting snow and fairly heavy rains. In fact, the city of Fitchburg was recently distributing sand bags.

Of course after Hurricane Harvey, folks have paid some more attention to the value of wetlands in and around urban areas because the wetlands slow or absorb flood water. It's estimated that after over $600 million of damage was prevented during Sandy. because of local wetlands. However Houston's development boom filled wetlands and covered them with impermeable surfaces like roads and houses. Not only do you lose the wetlands ability to absorb the water, the impermeable surfaces give water nowhere to go and speed up the overall flow.

Wetlands provide a variety of benefits beyond flood protection. Clean fresh water continues to be a major concern whether it's about literal supply or the cleanliness of the water. Wetlands naturally clean fresh water. They filter chemicals and fertilizers and other substances which can be harmful to people. They are also excellent habitat for a diversity of wildlife. For those concerned by the number of Canada Geese, remember that every time a retention pond goes in and a wetland goes out, we've chosen the Mallards and Canada Geese over other bird species like Snipes, Rails, Herons, and Cranes.

In short keeping wetlands intact provides aesthetic and ecological benefit as well as economic and practical benefit.

Great Backyard Bird Count - Weekend Summary

As I'll be at work tomorrow, I won't be participating in the last of the The Great Backyard Bird Count. So I thought I'd summarize how the weekend went here.

Most of my counting was done at home, but I did make a short trip out to a local park yesterday. Here's a summary of the weekend's observations.

Species	Highest Count
American Crow	2
American Goldfinch	4
American Tree Sparrow	4
Black Capped Chickadee	4
Blue Jay	2
Common Redpoll	5
Dark Eyed Junco	7
Downy Woodpecker	2
European Starling	22
Hairy Woodpecker	1
House Finch	9
Mourning Dove	21
Pine Siskin	4
Red Breasted Nuthatch	1

In short not a bad weekend for birding, especially with the amount of wind we had. The Great Backyard Bird Count is currently reporting nearly 95,000 checklists submitted and over 5,000 species observed. That's amazing! Great job everyone!

Great Backyard Bird Count - Day 2 - Better Start and Unwelcome Visitors

Day 2 has started and we've had some different visitors this morning including two Northern Cardinals and a Red Breasted Nuthatch. The Great Backyard Bird Count has had updates as well, an additional 8,000 checklists submitted since I last posted and an additional 400 species reported.

The map they've shared shows checklists posted from all over the world.

In addition to some welcome visitors, we also had 23 European Starlings show up. It may be a sign that it will soon be time to take down the suet feeder.

Great Backyard Bird Count - 2018 - Day 1 Summary

So I posted earlier this morning when it was pretty windy. I ended up submitting three checklists for today. Here's a summary of my high counts for the yard for today.

Species	High Count
American Crow	2
Black Capped Chickadee	3
Blue Jay	2
Dark Eyed Junco	7
Downy Woodpecker	1
European Starling	1
Hairy Woodpecker	1
House Finch	2
Mourning Dove	9
Pine Siskin	3

At the end of day 1, I'm off to a slow start. Hopefully tomorrow will go a little better. NOAA says 60% chance of slow, likely half an inch, with a high near 33 F. Precipitation may bring the birds out in droves or keep them hunkered down like today.

As of now the Great Backyard Bird Count is showing 21010 checklists submitted with 3836 species counted worldwide. That's awesome! Hopefully your counting is going better than mine.

Great Backyard Bird Count - Just Getting Started

Happy Friday all!

I just submitted my first checklist as part of the 2018 Great Backyard Bird Count. This morning was mostly a bust. It was quite windy; my assumption is that the birds were largely hunkered down this morning. The feeders were blowing around...the highlight of the morning was a Downy Woodpecker male and a Hairy Woodpecker female.

These are two lookalike species, so I thought I'd jump into that quickly. Here are some pics I took back in 2016 which illustrate the difference.

Hairy woodpeckers are larger, they take up most of my double suet cake feeder.


Downy Woodpeckers are significantly smaller but have very similar markings.

The difference between the two species is most apparent when you can see the side by side. It's also worth noting the Hairy Woodpecker is equipped with a larger beak.

Also in case you are interested in seeing how the Great Backyard Bird Count is going, they shared a pretty cool live map. Happy birding all! I'll update things as I submit more checklists.

Great Backyard Bird Count - Little Yellow Birds

"Yellow birds" is probably a misnomer. However two fairly common, small brown birds with yellow highlights are likely to make an appearance at your nyjer feeder.

During warmer months, the American Goldfinch is easy to spot. Males are a vibrant yellow and really add a splash of color to our bird feeders. In the colder months, the males take on a more brown appearance and look very much like their female partners.

Vibrant Male


Male just starting to get his color back in early spring.

Pine Siskins are brown little birds which you'll often find amongst the more common American Goldfinches. They also seem to enjoy nyjer seed and are a winter migrant. By the time the male Goldfinches have returned to their vibrant yellow, the Siskins have likely returned to the North. While the Siskins don't turn a bright yellow, they do have distinctive yellow feathers on their wings. When taking a quick glance at your feeders, it might easy to assume that a bunch of small brown birds is made up entirely of Goldfinches but take a closer look and you may find some Siskins in the bunch.

Pine Siskins visiting my feeders.

Great Backyard Bird Count - Little Red Birds

The Great Backyard Bird Count starts this week on Friday. During this time of the year in Wisconsin, the feeder birds should be relatively easy to attract with oil rich seeds like sunflower and nyjer. Sexual dimorphism is bound to be on display in a variety of species as red males and brown females make their way to your feeders. The reddest of all is the state bird of Illinois; the Northern Cardinal is the easiest to pick out of the crowd.

Northern Cardinal - The males will be pretty much red all over.

Cardinals are easy to pick out with their bright red bodies, black mask, and red beaks. Even the more earth-toned females have a brightly colored beak which will help set these birds apart from the other visitors to your yard. The Cardinals will also be bigger than the other winter red birds visiting your yard. House Finches, Purple Finches, and Common Redpolls are sort of like variations on a theme, finches with a splash of red.

House Finches - have a fair amount of brown plumage including at the very top of the their head.


Purple Finches - Very similar to House Finches, their "red" plumage is often more fuchsia. The cap on the head is also not brown.

As pictured above, the House Finch and Purple can be relatively easily confused. The House Finch has spread throughout the Eastern half of the US and is easy to spot in gardens and suburban settings. I see them daily eating safflower and sunflower seeds. Purple Finches, I've only see during migration periods. They are somewhat larger than the House Finches, and the females seem to have more distinctive markings especially on the face. It's my understanding that Purple Finches are more common further north in Wisconsin.

Common Redpoll - Look for the bright red cap which appears on both the males and females to make this id.

The last little red bird is the Common Redpoll. They fit into my bucket of little brown birds for which I'll fetch the binoculars. The key to making the positive id is the small red cap which is shared by the both males and females. Black markings near the beak similar to a sparrow are also present and unlike the House and Purple Finches who have a white-ish beak, Redpoll beaks tend to be yellow or orange-ish.

Amazing Asters: Feeding Pollinators into the Fall

Last fall, the asters I had planted the year before bloomed incredibly well. The handful of plants I'd started with were open for most of October. So I thought I'd take a moment to share why asters are a vital part of any native plant landscaping.

Like other native plants, they are pretty easy to grow. They are also relatively easy to find. I've seen both New England and Sky Blue Asters at nurseries. I've chosen New England Asters for my yard.

The bright purple flowers add some perk to the Wisconsin fall. In addition they have been very successful at attracting pollinators (and rabbits too). This past October, I photographed bees and butterflies coming to snack on the asters. I've shared these pictures below. These flowers are a critical part of the food web for native pollinators. Many flowering plants in the upper Midwest peek during the warmest, sunniest months from June through August. A good strategy for maximizing both your support for pollinators as well as to maximize your bloom time is plant a variety of species which flower throughout the year from as early in spring as we can muster to as late in fall. Asters are a great addition in support of these goals.

Bees in the asters.


And more bees


A monarch in October? Can you find it?


Still working on butterfly ids, not sure what this one is.

Groundhog Day - Remembering A Close Encounter

February 2nd is Groundhog Day, perhaps one of the most absurd "holidays" of the year. While I could care less about what Phil thinks of the weather, today is a good day to learn a little bit about groundhogs and to remember a close encounter we once had on our deck.

Groundhogs or woodchucks are good-sized rodents. Their mountain dwelling cousins, marmots, make some frequent rounds in nature shows about the Alps. Groundhogs are herbivores and seem to do quite well living near us. I saw them somewhat regularly growing up in rural Illinois, often on the edges of fields or near the edges of wooded creeks. Groundhogs burrow and hibernate during the winter.

Not long after moving into our house, we sat out on deck, enjoying the mild warmth of spring. When a decent size brown furry thing came trotting through the neighbor's backyard. He climbed up on the deck with us. Made his way around, and then back around out via our front yard.

The view from my folding chair


Around the grill


Then off to parts unknown.