Any Other Birders?

Hey everyone! Aside from raising chickens, my other avian obsession is studying and observing wild birds. I live on a 20-acres of wilderness by a small, non-motorized lake in mid-Eastern Minnesota, so we get many different birds here. Waterfowl, warblers, finches, cranes, herons, woodpeckers, sparrows, etc. My all-time favorites are the Red-Winged Blackbirds, which have already arrived. I'm still waiting for the May comers, Baltimore Orioles and Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds.

Anyways, the reason I'm starting this thread is because I have a question about one of my other favorite species; Dark-Eyed Junco. They usually come down in October, and then fly up to northern Minnesota and southern Canada in March, or when the weather gets warm. However, today it was 70 degrees, but I'm still seeing these birds at the feeder. The weather here is always changing, so I suppose weather could have interrupted their migratory pattern. But, I just wondered if anything else could have affected their instincts.

Thanks in advance!

I think the migration patterns depend on many factors, including time of year, weather, and food availability. The Juncos winter south of here, and are one of the first migrants we see returning north - I have had a huge flock at my feeders for the last 2 weeks, but in the last 2 days they seem to have mostly moved on. My Mom down in southern Michigan says she has not seen any recently.

I love to bird watch, and was thrilled to see a Golden Eagle a week ago. They count the migrating birds in Mackinaw City on the south side of the Straits of Mackinac every spring and fall, and this spring counted over 100 of these great birds. In past years they believe the Goldens migrated before the count began, so this year they started a few weeks early.

Wow, a Gold Eagle? That's fantastic! I once got American White Pelicans on our lake, which is odd because they usually don't migrate so far west.

We see the white Pelicans in Florida, near Placida, in the winter. Last summer I was driving through Green Bay on a cloudy, rainy day and looked up to see a group of white Pelicans! I called my BF and told me to stop drinking and driving . Later I found out that they summer as far north as Lake Superior. Wonder what kind of fish they live on up here?

Pelicans hanging out on a bar in Charlotte Harbor end of March

Sweet! I was in Florida about a month ago. Lots of gulls, terns, and pelicans; even saw a Double-Crested Cormorant. Your birds coming back yet?

The absolute coolest that we saw was a small flock of Magnificent Frigatebirds, they were riding a thermal over the Intercoastal near Englewood.

No Robins that I have seen yet, but the Sandhill cranes are back, and a few of the smaller sparrows and finches. Too early for warblers.

1muttsfan said:

The absolute coolest that we saw was a small flock of Magnificent Frigatebirds, they were riding a thermal over the Intercoastal near Englewood.

No Robins that I have seen yet, but the Sandhill cranes are back, and a few of the smaller sparrows and finches. Too early for warblers.

Click to expand...

Wow! Those look so beautiful, love the red chest.

We've got a ton of robins here, and the Sandhill cranes. I saw a White-Throated Sparrow, but they only migrate through. Still waiting for the House Wrens, and Song and Chipping Sparrows. We got the Yellow-Rumped Warblers here.

And just heard a robin!

1muttsfan said:

And just heard a robin!

Click to expand...

Aw, that moment!

Probably whining about the weather - cold, windy and raining with snow in the forecast