Online bird watching in Minnesota Welcome class

Wood Duck Natural cavities for nesting are scarce, and the Wood Duck readily uses nest boxes provided for it. If nest boxes are placed too close together, many females lay eggs in the nests of other females. The Wood Duck nests in trees near water, sometimes directly over water, but other times over a mile away. After hatching, the ducklings jump down from the nest tree and make their way to water. The mother calls them to her, but does not help them in any way. The ducklings may jump from heights of over 50 feet without injury.

Ring-necked Pheasant Pheasants, along with most members of the grouse family, have specialized, powerful breast muscles—the “white meat” that you find on a chicken. These muscles deliver bursts of power that allow the birds to escape trouble in a hurry, flushing nearly vertically into the air and reaching speeds of nearly 40 miles per hour. While the birds normally don’t cover more than about 600 feet at a time, strong winds can extend their flights considerably. Observers in 1941 reported seeing a pheasant fly a record four miles while crossing a body of water.

Sandhill Crane The Sandhill Crane’s call is a loud, rolling, trumpeting sound whose unique tone is a product of anatomy: Sandhill Cranes have long tracheas (windpipes) that coil into the sternum and help the sound develop a lower pitch and harmonics that add richness. Sandhill Cranes are known for their dancing skills. Courting cranes stretch their wings, pump their heads, bow, and leap into the air in a graceful and energetic dance.

American Golden-Plover The American Golden-Plover has a long, circular migration route. In the fall it flies offshore from the East Coast of North America nonstop to South America. On the return in the spring it passes primarily through the middle of North America to reach its Arctic breeding grounds. Adult American Golden-Plovers leave their Arctic breeding grounds in early summer, but juveniles usually linger until late summer or fall. Some adults arrive on the wintering grounds in southern South America before the last juveniles have left the Arctic.

Common Loon The Common Loon swims underwater to catch fish, propelling itself with its feet. It swallows most of its prey underwater. The loon has sharp, rearward- pointing projections on the roof of its mouth and tongue that help it keep a firm hold on slippery fish. Loons are water birds, only going ashore to mate and incubate eggs. Their legs are placed far back on their bodies, allowing efficient swimming but only awkward movement on land.

Osprey Ospreys are unusual among hawks in possessing a reversible outer toe that allows them to grasp with two toes in front and two behind. Barbed pads on the soles of the birds' feet help them grip slippery fish. When flying with prey, an Osprey lines up its catch head first for less wind resistance. Ospreys are excellent anglers. Over several studies, Ospreys caught fish on at least 1 in every 4 dives, with success rates sometimes as high as 70 percent. The average time they spent hunting before making a catch was about 12 minutes—something to think about next time you throw your line in the water.

How Go birding by ear How to Go Birding by Ear It takes practice to effectively identify bird sounds. To begin birding by ear… Get Familiar: Listen to common bird calls and songs for your regional species so you know what tones and sounds to listen for in the field. Recordings are available from bird compilation CDs, websites, specialized books and electronic downloads. Use multiple resources to help you practice listening to bird songs and tune your ears to the right notes. If you can easily recognize the most familiar, common birds, you will be quicker to recognize when a bird sounds different.  Visit Early: Birds are more vocal with distinctive songs in the early morning since still, cool air will carry their songs further and louder. This also makes the songs easier to identify if you are birding early in the day. This is especially important during spring and early summer when birds are part of the dawn chorus, and more birds will be vocalizing.

Videos birding by ear https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9dy3rbBXJA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZE8vGhOs5c

Birding by sight You need spot birds fast even smaller birds. Be able to know how to use your eyes to spot and then use your binoculars. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_cy6- qKy3s&t=12s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvHHVhdRZtA

Up and down flight pattern Wood peckers: moderate rises and falls Finches: steep roller coaster pattern

Flapping VS Gliding Northern goshawks, sharp shinned hawks, and Coppers hawks: several wing flaps, then glide Buteo Red tail hawk: soaring sky pattern

Crow vs raven Crows perform several wing flaps and glide Ravens flap, then soar in the sky

Head on flight patterns Turkey vultures: shallow V Bald Eagles: hold their wings flat Red Tailed hawk: is somewhat flat but not completely flat Most hawks and eagles hold their wings flat

Alphabetical order vs taxnomic Order Alphabetical order is not best way or either by arranging them by habitat. By trying to sort birds by color is hard, because both male female and young are different colors. Because Alphabetical order in no help if you don’t know birds name. Because these birds have different habitats. Taxonomic order is largely used in bird identification because of the association between species in families; however, a downside to this categorization occurs when scientists make discoveries which change bird names or the family they belong to.

The best way to Study Birds Is through your book. By studying bird families here, you can become more familiar with the field as you go out. Illustrations are important in learning how to identify the field marks of birds. Bill shape Facial pattern Body size Manner of flight

Finding The Correct Bird Guide Fundamentals: your guide should detail the different bird family groups, and information on where and when you can find each bird. Photos can aid you in identifying birds in the field, but some people prefer and work better with illustrations. Some field guides only cover birds from America. Others cover birds all over world. Popular field guides: Stokes Peterson Sibley National Geographic Wildlife Federation.