The mid-Atlantic winter has been colder and wetter than it was last year. As a result, a lot of the migratory Canada and Snow geese have been delayed from starting north. That changed this past week and I hear and see them non-stop flying over my house right now.
This is a live webcam from a wildlife management area not far from where we live that serves as a stopover destination on their way north. They roost on the lake and feed on the waste grains in the ag fields in the area.
https://hdontap.com/index.php/video/...ation-live-cam
Yeah. We'd been snow-covered most of February and it's been cold down here, too. They're a bit later than normal so I'm assuming they won't linger all that long. Past week has been up around 50 and some rain so all the ag fields have cleared.
Just got done reading a travelogue called The Snow Geese about a guy that follows the migration from Texas to the Arctic. Book was okay but got me itching to go anywhere besides my back porch for a change!
Will start putting sunflower seeds out shortly.
Removed my satalite dish .using the pole to mount a bird feeder.
Had a wild rooster walking around the otherday.that or someone has a pet they arr not supposed to and it got out.
Good news for an esteemed poster! Sage Grouse reproduction in Wyoming holds steady in 2020:
https://wgfd.wyo.gov/News/Sage-grous...steady-in-2020
I haven't. This is the first year I have been able to enjoy the area off season and fully appreciate all the nature here. I was completely blown away by the Monarch migration this fall too.
I am just starting to get to know the local experts. I should take your lead here and see if any of them have enough connections to your list.
Badin lake has lots of common loons still hanging around. Central NC.
You might check in at the Cape May Bird Observatory. I don't know how active Pete Dunne is these days; I gather Sibley is mostly in New England, but Michael O'Brien is around Cape May unless leading an international bird trip.
It gets hot and heavy in September and October. On my last trip to Cape May in fall migration -- the aforementioned were standing on a spoil bank near the ferry dock identifying migrating warblers flying overhead by their "chip notes." A little intimidating, but everyone is nice and helpful.
And the hawk watch is a really good place to hang out. I promise you will soon be able to tell Sharp-shinned Hawks from Cooper's Hawks on the wing.
Sage Grouse
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'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013
Just an FYI - you may want to clean your feeders or even take them down for a period according to this article in the News & Observer. I've seen similar articles in other locales in the south.
"The future ain't what it used to be."
There was a virus going around a few years ago that was killing house finches but it has abated for the most part..
This seems to be more related to salmonella and it is a problem because it spreads through their feces.
In happier news I got a couple pics yesterday. It was woodpecker Wednesday in my back yard. Here's a Pileated, a Northern Flicker and a male Downey woodpecker.
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"The future ain't what it used to be."
There's a pair of Wood Ducks that roost outside of our place at SML. I've tried to get a pic of the male a few times. It's difficult because they are only there in the early morning hours. I'm going to work on getting a better shot of him this Spring. Here's the best I've done so far.
WoodDuck.jpg
"That young man has an extra step on his ladder the rest of us just don't have."
Happy to see our annual pair of mating kestrels is back in the yard, looking for another fruitful year of reproduction...seems a bit early for them...
Sage Grouse
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'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013