COOPER'S MAKES 36 FOR THE MONTH

Sometimes it's just so nice to sit home on a cold cold day. Today after our men's bible study we decided to just stay home and vegetate. Nicely done!!! Sitting impatiently in the neighbor's blue spruce was an immature Cooper's Hawk; number 36 for the month of January. And noticing the before and after was awesome as well. For when a hawk is present, there is not much bird activity. Take my word for it. And as Avalon states "I can take you at your word" (Lord thank you for that). I am getting really excited for the chance to take part in the Sax Zim Bog Birding Festival starting Friday, February 14th. Blessings to you - Stay warm out there today and in the coming days. And let the light of Jesus shine on! Amen.

immature Cooper's Hawk

NO GREAT HORNED OWL BUT GOT RED-SHOULDERED

I have not been out counting birds lately. But I have been busy trying to dodge this cold weather and beat at this cold in my body.
Like my friend Jean says - "It just seems to hang on." So I have been just hanging out - not doing much birding until the storm passes. Or at least the cold weather somewhat subsides. This seems to be one of the many obstacles in the way of winter birding. Besides the cold weather, it is also more difficult to move around with the tough road conditions, and there is also not as much daylight so time is of the essence. As of today - I just added another new specie for the month. I took a nice long walk down by the Rum River looking for the Great Horned Owl. I have seen it nesting there for the past 2 or 3 years but so far this year - no luck. As I headed to the tall pine grove, I did hear the unmistakable sound of a Red-shouldered Hawk. So far this month I have recorded a total of 35 bird species. And the Biggest Big Day of the month is 29. I don't have a photo of a Red-shouldered Hawk but enjoy this one instead - a Blue Jay harassing a Red-tailed Hawk. And remember that God has a plan for us and it does not include harassment. God Bless

New High January Bird Count Beats December's Best

Wow! What else can I say. Maybe it was due to the odd work schedule but today I logged 29 bird species. (see list below). Missed getting photos of both owls today. One because I didn't have my camera, the other because when I did have the camera, the owl flew before I could snap the shot. Oh well. It was a day that started out slow and I didn't think that I would even get 20 species, but God allowed me to have a grand day. And He always seems to surprise me with something special. Today I had a "first" for my birding experiences. I actually saw 3 Brown Creepers on the same tree at the same time. And they were serenading me. That was special and it made me feel warm inside, even though it was freezing cold today.  It's good to be home. Thank you Lord for taking care of me today.  God Bless

Brown Creeper

1. American Crow
2. American Goldfinch
3. American Robin
4. American Tree Sparrow
5. Bald Eagle
6. Barred Owl
7. Black-capped Chickadee
8. Brown Creeper
9. Blue Jay
10. Canada Goose
11. Common Goldeneye
12. Dark-eyed Junco
13. Downy Woodpecker
14. European Starling
15. Hairy Woodpecker
16. House Finch
17. House Sparrow
18. Mallard
19. Northern Cardinal
20. Northern Shrike
21. Pileated Woodpecker
22. Purple Finch
23. Red-bellied Woodpecker
24. Red-tailed Hawk
25. Rock Pigeon
26. Sharp-shinned Hawk
27. Snowy Owl
28. White-breasted Nuthatch
29. Wild Turkey

TWO SNOWY OWLS FOR CHUCK AND DIANE

Make that 19 species for January 19th. Today after church Melinda and I went with Chuck and Diane to look for the Ramsey Snowy Owl. We didn't find a Snowy Owl, we found 2 Snowy Owls. We had outstanding views of the first Snowy on top of the huge tower west of Armstrong Blvd thanks to the help of our spotting scope. Then as we were heading out of that dead end road, Diane spotted many parked cars just north of Coburn's. That was the ticket! We u-turned and drove over toward the group that was basking in the beauty of another Snowy Owl. This one was sitting on the ground in a field. You just never know. It's the wonderful love of Jesus that makes it possible. Imagine that - I get to fellowship in and outside of our church building. God is Good! Earlier today - before church - while "reading" (I don't really read the Sunday paper) the paper, I managed to log 14 species of birds. After the Snowy Experience, I ventured over to Martin's Meadows. Boy - I think I lost 50 pounds trudging through really deep snow. I did add 2 species for the day; Purple Finch & American Tree Sparrow, but I think I saw more snowmobiles than birds. It is still a beautiful park and look forward to going again. Just maybe not too soon. Coming out of the garage and heading to the house I added the Brown Creeper. That ended a nice sunny Sunday.
God Bless

SHORT DAY ALLOWS FOR 22

I had an early start to work today - up at 5 am. It was the perfect day to go bird watching and I had ample time. So I guess I should be happy with 22 bird species today. My attempts at the Big Days sort of came about because I wanted to be able to tell folks that there are still birds out in the winter - you may just need to go search - but they are out there. It sort of reminds me of God. He is always there and His door is always open. But sometimes we don't see Him because we don't want to or we aren't looking and our door is closed. Thankfully we don't have to search that hard - like I sometimes do for birds. I was at Springbrook again today and searched and searched and finally re-found the Barred Owl. My gosh is that a gorgeous bird. It was just sitting there on a branch right at the main trunk - eyes closed and enjoying the beautiful sun. Earlier today at Como Park I had a nice view of a Sharp-shinned Hawk. I think it was looking for a free song bird breakfast. There was a large flock of House Finches & American Goldfinches there as well. Then I ended my day here at home with the 22nd bird specie of the day. I couldn't believe that my first Mallard of the day was while sitting at home basking in the sun.      God Bless

BACK WITH A 2 OWL DAY

Originally I wasn't going to do any birding today. Temps good - but with wind gusting severely it seemed like not such a good day for it. The 20 species of birds I saw proved otherwise. Today was also a 2 owl day. I was in Maple Grove this morning and got great views of the Snowy Owl that has been hanging around the quarry area. Beautiful bird with dark barring. Then later today I was lucky to get a peek at the Barred Owl at Springbrook Nature Center. It was hiding next to the wooden shed behind the visitor's center. What luck!!! Also at Springbrook I got nice looks at 5 American Tree Sparrows. It has been some time since I have seen them. Another nice bird today was a gorgeous looking Pileated Woodpecker (also at Springbrook).

Well - again I feel so blessed to be able to do what I do. Thank you Lord! And while my cold kept me from going to Martin's Meadows (a nice Andover park) on Saturday, it didn't stop the presses. I got a bit of a mention in a news story on Wednesday (see attached link). http://www.startribune.com/local/north/240150631.html

Acts 17:28 - For in Him we live and move and have our being.

God is near. Amen!

Sky the BirdMan is MIA

After a wonderful bible study on Saturday and then being blessed to show my friend Merrill the Snowy Owl in Ramsey, I have been Missing in Action when it comes to bird watching. I was hit with a nasty cold and it's taking every bit of strength to just get up and do my job. But today I rested in Ramsey again and got to gawk at the Snowy Owl one more time. Apparently there have been many more sightings by the general public according to the posts that I have been reading. And there have been (unofficially) 176 Snowy Owls seen in our beautiful state so far this winter. I got to see the Snowy Owl just one time in December. As I look back at my bird log I noticed that there were over a dozen birds that I got to see just once in December. So this goes to show that you never know what God may place in front of you when you go exploring. On any given day if you really work at it, you should be able to see at least 12 species. If you're having trouble achieving that number, we should talk.  Last year around this time there was a lone female Wood Duck hanging out at the Courage Center (now Courage Kenny) in Golden Valley. I haven't seen one there this winter but I have had some other nice sightings. The combination of this cold weather and my cold have only allowed me to log birds only 2 days so far, and the month is half over. I think this proves that January can be a tough month to bird, but also that God is in control. Let's lean on His understanding to direct our paths.     Amen 

How Lovely is Your Dwelling Place

Psalm 84:3 says "even the sparrow has found a home and the swallow a nest for herself.

Well, I didn't find any swallows today but there are sparrows to be found. I just haven't been able to situate myself to find an American Tree Sparrow lately, just the common House Sparrow. But today I did find some Canada Geese.  Other notables today were: a Black Duck and Sharp-shinned Hawk at Courage Kenny, a Pileated Woodpecker at Mahnomin Park, and re-found the Barred Owl at Springbrook Nature Center. A new Big Day number for January - 25 species.

God Bless - Pete

First Listing of 2014

Wow!!
It was wonderful to get out again and look at and listen to the birds. God created them all.
But I didn't find them all. Today I managed a list of 22 species. After much searching, I did re-find the Barred Owl at the Springbrook Nature Center in Fridley. Also if you want to get close and personal to a Wild Turkey, there's one that hangs out next to the window of the visitor's center daily! Also of interest today were the nice group of Common Goldeneye and Common Mergansers at the Coon Rapids Dam. And I nabbed the Northern Flicker again at the Islands of Peace Park in Fridley. Oh and by the way - I was interviewed by the Star Tribune today regarding Martin's Meadows in Andover. That article should appear in the NW Metro Section of Wednesday's paper. I am looking forward to some higher bird numbers in the days to come and am so blessed to be able to do this. God's love is amazing.     
          God Bless                                       Pete

And.....Still Snowy

The cold weather seems to be subsiding and I think it's time I get back out there and start making some counts. I was tempted today but declined as the temps were still a bit cool and I wanted to finish a book I have been reading. I did get a chance to snoop around the Highway 10 & Armstrong Blvd area today and lo and behold there was still a Snowy Owl there. And I believe this is a different one. It has been rumored that there are 2 in the area and I believe this to be true as the one I was looking at today had black markings on the forehead. It was really really cute. So again if anyone wants to see it - now would be the time. I think I will head over there on Saturday after our men's bible study and check it out again. If anyone is interested, please contact me and we can go together.

Just got the official CBC report. Click on the link to view it.

http://www.exploresherburne.org/events/christmasbirdcount.html

Everyone seems to love the Northern Cardinal so I thought I would plop this photo in.
Remember God loves us and wants us to follow Him. Thank You Jesus for saving us.

Better Shots of the Snowy Owl

A wonderful message at church today. We are blessed with a wonderful congregation of believers. Speaking with Stan and Steve today I made the comment that I was temporarily going to hang up the birding until the cold weather subsided. And then I saw a report on  http://moumn.org/ about a Snowy Owl seen right in Ramsey, Minnesota near the intersection of Bunker Lake Blvd and Armstrong Blvd. Melinda had never seen a Snowy Owl before and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity for her to take in the beauty of one of God's awesome creatures. After driving around the area for about 20 minutes we came upon a car parked on a side road and I was fairly certain that the driver was looking for the Snowy Owl. So I pulled over and asked her. She said that we just missed it and she got some awesome photos of it sitting on some hay bales. She did point us in the right direction though and a few minutes later I was snapping shots of it perched on top of the light pole seen in these photos. Wow!!!! How about that? Thank you Lord for making us smile.

Lord I'm amazed at how you love me - if I may steal a quote from a popular contemporary Christian song. So now maybe I can put the ca-bosh on the birding. Or maybe this week I should call it "brrrrr-ding!!!  I still have no Big Day lists to share as I have not committed the time for that. But I am thankful for all that I have and again hope that you all stay safe and warm during this cold spell. 

God Bless ----- Pete

Sub Zero Approaches

Last February one of the many neighborhood European Starlings faced its demise at the hands (claws) of a visiting Merlin. It was cold back then as I recall, but not as cold as it will be in the coming hours. As the new year came to be, I mostly yielded to bird watching. All with the exception of gawking at the beautiful Snowy Owl that I managed to locate near the Maple Grove gravel pits. This weekend and coming week may prove colder yet and so I have decided to put the bird count on hold for now. I will no doubt be active again soon, looking for the biggest number of birds I can find in one day to reach January's high number. 

October's Big Day high (although I started on the 25th) was 41 with a total of 51 species.

November's Big Day high was 35 with a total of 57 species.

December's Big Day high was 28 with a total of 47 species (the Snowy Owl stealing the show).

This is my first official blog - hopefully it will be successful in spreading the word about my love for birding and my love for the Lord. 

I do hope to continue this in hopes that it will bring enjoyment to some and raise questions for others.

I know it seems vicious to post a bird killing another, but it does show how God provides for our needs. Let's give him thanks and praise.

Now that the CBC (Christmas Bird Count) is over, my next big birding event will be the Sax Zim Bog Festival http://sax-zimbog.com/ I have a list of 7 birds that I would like to find on this trip. Realistically though, if I find 2 new ones that would be great. Right now my Minnesota Life List is at 286. I would love this number to be over 290 by the end of the year. I am not sure if this is a realistic goal or not but I need to come up with some sort of goal. 

One other thing that I wanted to mention is that last year we had a whole lot of fun here at our house doing the GBBC or the Great Backyard Bird Count. I wanted to do that again this year but unfortunately this falls on the same weekend of the Sax Zim Bog Festival. If anyone is interested in hosting it this year for a small group, I would be happy to provide support or any additional information so contact me if you are interested. 

That's it for now. Stay warm and safe and in God's care.

God Bless

Pete