BirdingZen

Dean Phillips?

It has been snowy and gray
With little color again today.
Winter simplicity is now in play
Except for the blue flash of a Jay.

Try joining Notes on Substack.

The Embassy staff of Germany, France and the United Kingdom sing Schedryk in the Kyiv underground.
Wonderful!

Returning to Earth This week a special night occurred in the skies here in the North country.

Returning to Earth
open.substack.com/pub/birdingz...

An angel from space. #aurora Nov 11 #mnwx

The Sun makes the best AI #aurora #mnwx

#Aurora #Bird central MN #mnwx

Sandhill Cranes flying past on a foggy morning.

Fall woodpecker damage Can be maddening for those with natural wood siding

Fall woodpecker damage Have woodpeckers damaging your siding? Here are some thoughts on the topic. #birds

A secretive Lincoln’s Sparrow popping up to see who is walking by. Standing plants provide cover as well to protect feeding birds from predators.
And many native seed heads will provide vertical visual interest in the garden during winter. Don't be in a hurry to remove them from your garden. #birds

No Kings…..just Nature 🐸

Fighting the tendency to tidy up Once the cold weather arrives in fall, the urge to tidy up our gardens becomes prominent in our backyard to-do chores.

Once the cold weather arrives, the urge to tidy up our gardens becomes prominent.The desire to get ahead of the upcoming spring chores makes us gardeners want to cut down plants that have gone to seed. But that is exactly the time these plants (especially natives) become beneficial to birds. #birds

Excellent videos Kelly. Thank you for explaining how government should work.

The last day of August Today is the last day of summer - meteorlogically speaking.

Today is the last day of summer -meteorologically speaking. Whereas the span of astronomical fall starts with the equinox, the meteorological fall is based on climate data and the calendar which corresponds nicely here with the seasonal changes in our environment including bird activity. #birds

Garden Phlox A stunning native perennial for the sunny garden

Looking for a taller plant with showy blooms that will attract butterflies, moths and hummingbirds? The Garden Phlox shows why it is a desirable plant for a sunny garden. The tall plant has fragrant and nectar-rich blooms on sturdy stems that attract both people and pollinators to its show. #birds

Female red-winged blackbird.

Nest Box Activity A Photo Essay: Wrens and Chickadees

The cavity nesters in my backyard have been busy #birds

It is the copper that supposedly stops algae growth so you have to use pennies made before 1982.

Female blackbird with a winged insect in its mouth to feed to a fledgling #birds

I’m still searching for edible gluten-free bread - is it tasty?

A Black-capped Chickadee gathering pet fur for its nesting cavity. #birds

Always Memorable Scarlet Tanager visits the backyard

A Scarlet Tanager spent time in the hackberry trees by our deck, singing and foraging for insects. The brilliant red of its feathers stands out strikingly against the green foliage. Our stand of deciduous trees have matured now creating a canopy habitat that attracts a migrating tanager. #birds

What's blooming in the garden for birds Late spring

The gardening season is off and running here in Minnesota with some early bloomers that are beneficial for #birds

Breakfast in the eagle's nest #birds

YouTube video by AnimalDays Canada Geese chicks jumping down explore.org

Some brave goslings jumped to the ground today from their high perch in an eagle's nest. Five of the six survived the long drop. #birds
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqVy...

Migration Dashboard - BirdCast Explore nightly migration data in your region

If you want to know what birds to look for that might be migrating through your yard each day this spring, check out dashboard.birdcast.info #birds

Line graph time series of daily mean Arctic sea ice thickness for each year from 1979 to 2025 using shades of red, white and blue. A seasonal cycle is shown with thicker ice in late winter and thinner ice in late summer. A long-term decreasing trend is also visible. Data is from PIOMAS v2.1.

Each line represents one year of #Arctic sea ice thickness from 1979 [dark blue] to 2024 [dark red]. This year is shown in yellow - now updated through March 2025 which is around the 2nd thinnest on record for the month.

+ More visuals of thickness and volume: zacklabe.com/arctic-sea-i...

Mother Goose Nesting in a Penthouse For the second year in a row, a Canada Goose is nesting 70 feet high in an eagle’s nest.

It can be tough to watch. This nest has been used in the past by the geese - most of the goslings did survive the jump but a few each time did die on impact or got caught up in the branches. I wrote about it in 2023. open.substack.com/pub/birdingz...

One eaglet has hatched and another hatch is in progress at the web cam explore.org/livecams/rap... #birds