Great Backyard Bird Count

[Barbara Peerenboom]

I tried to submit this earlier and it just disapperared!

This weekend - Feb. 18 - 21 the Great Backyard Bird Count is taking place. You can find out ALL about it at the web site -

www.birdsource.org/gbbc/

It is fun (especially for kids), easy (we did today's count from our kitchen window), provides a valuable service (to the Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology) and it's absolutely FREE.

Go ahead, you'll enjoy it!

Barb

[eljay]

What a great idea! I love the birds around oiur house. We have 5 pairs of cardinals that winter here. The robins made their return last weekend. That always tells me spring is near. Thanks for the link!

[canny_banjo_man]

Hi there...
As I work in a warehouse, I have FREE access to SCRAP wood... I jus kept on bringin home these bits n pieces of the "...It'll come in handy, one day...", LOL...I took My Mother 2 the local Garden Centre, & My, My what an eye opener....Now there's an IDEA...I made a few peanut feeders & nestin boxes, abt 25 of each, I took them all 2 the car-boot sale one sunday, & came back with only 4 feeders, now some of the money I made on them, went 2wards some new blades & glue, nails & PEANUTS, the rest funnily enough went 2 the RSPCA, via a Pet Food collection outside our local supermarket, so when the weather picks up a lttl, I'll B in My shed makin more....I have a nester on My wall, & it's bn gettin a LOT of interest lately, I keep tellin the birds, It's FREE...Jus bring Yr OWN beddin...LOL...Chris.....

[canny_banjo_man]

Hi there...
As I work in a warehouse, I have FREE access to SCRAP wood... I jus kept on bringin home these bits n pieces of the "...It'll come in handy, one day...", LOL...I took My Mother 2 the local Garden Centre, & My, My what an eye opener....Now there's an IDEA...I made a few peanut feeders & nestin boxes, abt 25 of each, I took them all 2 the car-boot sale one sunday, & came back with only 4 feeders, now some of the money I made on them, went 2wards some new blades & glue, nails & PEANUTS, the rest funnily enough went 2 the RSPCA, via a Pet Food collection outside our local supermarket, so when the weather picks up a lttl, I'll B in My shed makin more....I have a nester on My wall, & it's bn gettin a LOT of interest lately, I keep tellin the birds, It's FREE...Jus bring Yr OWN beddin...LOL...Chris.....

[Davydd]

On the 18th we headed up and out to the Northern Minnesota North Shore. On our way we made a 125 mile diversion to go through a bog area south of Eveleth where the great gray owls had been spotted in abundance. We didn't see any but we did spot two northern hawk owls. The owls fly low and hare getting hit by cars frequently. Quite a few have come into the University of Minnesota Raptor Center for rehab. We thought we might release one up there but they have been releasing them right in Minneapolis/St. Paul and not bothering to return them up north.

[maxandgeorgia]

I had read about the abundance of the great grays in the Cook County Herald newspaper we subscribe too. It would have been neat to have seen one or two on your trip. You know I am pretty jealous to hear of your drive along the North Shore! Grand Marais is planning a development of its little harbor that will probably be a great boost to marina econony, but which may conflict with the birds that flock there. I know that many birders have written the paper concerned about the effect of marina development in an area that is rich in bird life. There are benefits both to development and to status quo; we tend to come down on the side of status quo--let the charm of what is left natural, stay natural. So much has already been highly developed along the shore. We too feed the birds here in mid Missouri, and in looking for our retirement home, woodland and birds rank right up there with baths and kitchens

[Davydd]

We took our winter weekend stay at the Naniboujou Lodge up the road from Grand Marais, cross country skied and snowshoed in Cascade State Park. Saw lots and lots of deer and little else except a coyote crossing Highway 1 outside of Ely and an American Bald Eagle on Highway 61 just outside Grand Marais. No moose this trip. Development in that area is inevitable. The only thing holding it back is it is still a 5 plus hour drive from Minneapolis. Despite that land values seem to be out of reach.

We usually follow up around this time a year with a drive down the Mississippi River to Wabasha to watch the bald eagles there. You can see literally scores in one viewing. I took one picture and counted afterwards more than a dozen.

[CanoeStream]

There were some excellent photos in the Mpls Tribune recently: http://www.startribune.com/images/ss/1410_0.html

This link may not last real long and you may need to do the free sign-up... Excellent action shots nevertheless!

[WayWard Wind]

We recently took a drive to the nearby town of Aitkin, Mn & along a 4 mile stretch of road we saw 12 of the Great Nothern Owls. They are so unafraid of humans, etc, that several were sitting on the road side signs. What a magnificant bird with a REALLY big wing span. Wouldn't you know it!!! I didn't think to bring the camera. I think if you go onto www.kare11.com & click on the feature links, they have some great shots (pics) along with info. they say we usually get somewhere around a couple hundred during a normal winter, but this year we have over a 1000, mostly in our area. Also in our bird news, we are seeing the Redpoles dieing. We recently had 5 laying in our yard & now they are saying that because of the up & down temps, the bird feeders are growing mold, which is killing the birds. To be on the safe side we've stopped feeding all together for the winter. Not only in the bird news, but this winter we also have had some REALLY great Northern Lights. It has to do with the recent large sunbursts. Guess that must be some of the reasons we love Northern Minnesota.