Warm weather brings out uncommon late fall birds

by John Karrigan

The lake was mostly ice-free until the last two days of November, but birding was fairly sparse in spite of the mild weather. Wood Ducks and Pied-billed Grebes stayed on the water for the first week of the month, and Mallards, Canada Geese and Ring-billed Gulls stayed until the ice came in for good. I think I am safe in saying the ice will not go out again until spring.

There was a small flock of Robins north of the lake on Thanksgiving Day along with Cardinals, Juncos and Starlings. Crows are sometimes gathering on the shore, ice or trees, but I think it is too early to tell if the park will be a major winter crow roost, as it is some years, or if they will choose another spot in the city.

The back yard has had more bird variety than the park (if you don’t count shore and water birds), with three kinds of woodpeckers (Downy, Hairy and a Northern Flicker) on one early warm November day. A Peregrine Falcon flew over late one afternoon and Robins have been in the yard several times. One robin was using the heated birdbath on Nov. 27. The usuals—Cardinals, Chickadees, English Sparrows, Blue Jays, and Pigeons—are pretty regular, and so far Juncos have also been regular. There are almost always Juncos somewhere in the park all winter, but some years they hardly ever come to the yard. I hope they will continue to brighten up the yard this winter, but of course nothing brightens up a winter yard like a Cardinal. I saw Roger Rabbit in the yard very early on the 19th, the first time I have seen him in quite a while.

In my wandering around the area, I have seen a lot of Red-tailed Hawks this fall, both on urban and rural freeways, and lots of flocks of Canada Geese. Some are just going to or from feeding areas, but some are actually heading south for the winter, I think. I also see deer and turkeys, and sometimes Elk and Buffalo herds. Of course the Elk and Buffalo are confined to farms (or ranches) but it still makes me happy to see them, though the animals and I would rather they not be fenced in.

One of my highlights for the month (I’m easy to please) was seeing rainbows on Nov. 12. I am fairly sure I have never seen a rainbow in November before.
My Tundra Swan trip on Nov. 17 did not work out the way I had hoped. That was one of the cold snap days and all the Mississippi River backwaters had frozen, thus no swans. I did see some swans on the river, a very long way away, way too far to hear their melancholy singing (one of the best parts) and I did see a very late Kestrel. The backwaters thawed out a couple of days later, but I don’t think many swans were there. Unusual weather on various parts of their migration route reduced Minnesota and Wisconsin swan watching a lot this fall.

Remembering ….
At various times through the years I have referred to a birder in Prestigious West Powderhorn who has given me bird sightings, tips, etc. She has shared information with me about her longtime family friendship with the Fitzpatrick family. Two members of the Fitzpatrick family (John and Jim) are key members of the search teams that failed to find Ivory-billed Woodpeckers in Louisiana, and then succeeded in finding them in Arkansas. John is head of Cornell University’s Ornithology Department and Jim is a naturalist in Minnesota.

That Prestigious West Powderhorn birder is Carol Olyphant. Carol’s mother, Jane, passed away on Nov. 12 and now, through reading the obituaries in the Star Tribune and Pioneer Press, I see where Carol gained her interest and knowledge of birds and nature. Carol’s mother banded over 84,000 birds in her 45 years of bird banding. She also shared her birding and nature interest and expertise with children and adults in schools, colleges and nature centers. I hope all the good things Jane Olyphant did for nature and people help Carol and her family deal with the loss of such an exceptional person.