half-dutch

So this is not a new thing! Interesting. I keep finding more and more complex behavior in so many of these "dumb" animals! So many of them are anything but dumb.

Last Thursday on a visit to my sister in Rock Rapids IA, we made a circuit through the Island Park there. At the low dam just past the former railroad bridge which is now a walking path we saw a group of grackles fishing at the edge of the white water where it ran against the rocks at the shore line. There probably were a dozen or so all told moving back and forth and some on the rocks at the other shore line. In something like half an hour or less we saw various of the birds bring out minnows and eat them on the shore to a total of at least 8. They also contested for the better fishing spots and tried to horn in on other birds' catches; they would fly out to quite a bit up on shore with a catch to eat it there. I never expected to see grackles fishing. I never heard of that before, but then it wouldn't be the first time I didn't know about something relatively common.

I've seen deer there, too. I go by there on my way to work about 3:30 am S S & M.

The webcam eagles are not doing so well around here this year. The male at Decorah has disappeared and the female is raising her three chicks by herself. She sorta has a new boyfriend, but she won't let him near the nest and the not so little ones. They are all three growing like pigs; so mama must be doing a pretty good job of soloing. She is getting some assistance from he new boyfriend even if she is holding him at an arm's length from the kids. She keeps getting intruders and he is helping her chase them off.

Quite a few duck and waterfowl species are in the openings in the ice on the Metro Lakes, but the oddest bird I have seen is a hen turkey stopping traffic on Portland between 22nd and 23rd in South Minneapolis. Then I hear that there is a known small flock already established inside the city on the near south side and this one is not so odd. Wild turkeys are going commensal it seems!

The eagles on the DNR eagle cam have given up for this year. They lost all three eggs this year The eagles on the Decorah nest cam have hatched all three of their eggs and the eaglets are growing like weeds. The falcons on the DNR falcon cam have eggs and are incubating. Right now they are up to their knees and more in snow, with a whole pile that has blown into their nesting box.

Looks like the DNR eagles are going to fail this year. Likely none of the eggs will hatch; already two of them have been discarded and the third is being left untended for extended periods. This year better to watch the Decorah eagles. They hatched all three of their eggs in the past week, and are feeding all three of the chicks. Cute little suckers, too.

First shypoke Sat evening flying down Minnehaha Creek toward Meadowbrook Lake.

This time of the year, as ice outs on Harriet and the formerly known as Calhoun, the migrators assemble. Some of the rafts are huge including upwards of maybe a dozen species (or so I have been told). I just love to watch them. I get an especial kick out of the antagonism between the loons and the much smaller grebes. The loons never seem to be able to catch the grebes and they never seem to be able to quit pestering the loons. Isn't this quite early for woodies? If you want pictures once they get back, there are always quite a few of them on Powderhorn. The crew residing my house has pretty much kept the wildlife out of my back yard, but I know it is spring, because the snow is almost gone and the garlic planted last fall is already pushing about 3" out of the ground, tall enough to row all the varieties. There have been a pair of cardinals in my shrubs all winter long, hopefully they come back once the crew is done, supposedly next Tuesday.

We certainly have enough crows in the Metro this time of the year. We also have a very healthy population of carnivorous birds; so they better watch their step or they become supper.

The pair of bald eagles on the Minnesota DNR Nest Cam are finally sitting eggs. Looks like at least three again.

The big hawks I have been seeing around this winter, I think are redtails that are hunting metro pidgeons. I have not personally see the snowy owls myself.

Feral black Swedish hen

The Eagle Cam is working and the eagles are starting to visit the nest. http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/features/webcams/eaglecam/index.html

At the KMart at Nicollet and Lake in Minneapolis, there is a flock of pigeons that numbers several hundreds. Last Thursday going home from the Super Market I saw a large hawk make a strike at one, but missed. This was a pretty dark bird overall and much bigger than a Coopers or a Sharpshin and heavy bodied not at all slender. The attack was a straight line shot from a street light roost on a bird sitting on the shorter parking lot light post. It seems to me that the attack was launched from a perch about a block away. The target flew off and there was no chase, the attacker just returned to its previous roost. I could not get over into the turn lane and go into the parking lot to get a closer look. The main flock of pigeons didn't actually seem to notice, and there were even some stragglers. Is it possible that goshawks are starting to come into the city in the winter? From a goshawk I would have expected a chase. There are certainly plenty of pigeons, and the local falcons have gone south... I know they are supposed to avoid human concentrations, but then so are loons and they are now common city residents and rest here when passing through in the spring. We are getting all kinds of wild life in the Cities these days and not all of it goes around just on two legs.