Any bird feeders?

Kestrels are an awesome bird not only for the way they hunt but in beauty too.

Joel Ballweg wrote:

The Kestrels are very cool to see. They’re fast and deadly!

No kidding! Duck hunting a few years ago, just as I was pulling up on some passing teal one of these guys zoomed in over my shoulder and whacked a teal right out of the flock. Shocked me so bad I didn’t even get a shot off. Only opportunity I had all morning; spent the next hour watching him eat it on a hummock. I guess that’s really why I hunt and fish; I get to see things I’d never see walking the dog through some manicured neighborhood park. Thank for the reminder!

Jon Jordan wrote:

The rabbits don’t seem to fair well in my yard. It’s just a matter of time until an owl has dinner.

The rabbits do the same here, only for us it’s bobcats preying on them the past two winters. They hide in the overgrown plum bush next to the big feeder and stalk the rabbits, grouse and squirrels that come in. 30 feet from the back porch, it’s amazing. Have only seen one this year though.

Then of course there’s these guys just beyond…

Attachments:

1. 

   SUNP0008.jpg
   

2. 

   SUNP0018.jpg
   

reverend, are you sure it was a kestrel? They are much smaller than a teal so I’d be surprised if they could take one down. Could have been a peregrine falcon or a cooper’s hawk? Either way its awesome to see… and I am in the same boat, love just seeing stuff like that.

Quite a few years ago, dad and I were fishing on the Mississippi for eyes in the spring. It was a cold crappy day in late March. We looked out over the channel and there was a tree swallow struggling up the channel against the north wind. I said “There goes the first swallow for the year”… the words had barely left my mouth when we caught movement from the trees on the other side of us. A sharp-shinned hawk blasted out over the water and smoked that swallow and carried him off to eat. Pretty awesome!

@youngfry

Ok, you made me think about it and do some quick research and…good call out, you’re probably right. Based on size alone, that would make sense. I’m ruling out Cooper’s hawk based on markings and size…the darn thing really wasn’t any or much bigger than the teal. Falcon…maybe. In my area unlikely, but possible. Thing is, it LOOKED like the kestrel, hardly bigger than the teal if at all.
Dang, back to the bird books…it’s too early in the week to make me think, now I’m going to have to obsess about it for awhile!

My money would be on a Sharp Shinned hawk.

Kestrels feed primarily on insects and very small rodents, smaller birds possibly.

This is a great site for info on different birds. Without it, I wouldn’t be able to identify many of the waterfowl, birds of prey or others.

Cornel Lab of Ornithology

Does the Sharp Shinned hawk have longer tail feathers? I’ve seen them in action trying to nail some birds feeding on the ground by my bird feeders, mostly morning doves. They can really maneuver when coming in for a kill. Saw one last summer go after a group of 10 swallows and pluck one out of the sky.

Audubon also has an awesome app.

On a side note, I saw my first Florida coyote this morning running along side the highway.

The red shouldered hawks are pretty common down here and live harassing the doves at the feeder. And I found one eating a blue Jay out front one day.

Kingfishers are fun to watch when you fish. I like the mockingbirds too. Did I mention how loud Carolina wrens are before?

Lastly, I almost took out a sandhill crane today. I thought the car in front of me was slowing down to turn right, and when I passed on the left, I almost clipped the crane he was slowing down for.

We have pigeon hawks that tend to that job around here.
They look like peregrine falcons in coloration but smaller,
Never get much above the treetops and know where all the local bird feeders are set up.

Both the Coopers Hawk and the Sharp-shinned hawks are common in Minnesota and Wisconsin during the winters and both are smaller hawks that prey ily on other birds. Both could be mistaken for a Kestrel at a distance, but the Sharp-shinned is the smaller of the two and probably more easily mis-identified.

If you have feeders, chances are you’ll have coopers, especially in older neighborhoods with mature treea. Had them both at Goldan Valley and Richfield. Those things are fast and agile.

Tom Sawvell wrote:

Both the Coopers Hawk and the Sharp-shinned hawks are common in Minnesota and Wisconsin during the winters and both are smaller hawks that prey ily on other birds. Both could be mistaken for a Kestrel at a distance, but the Sharp-shinned is the smaller of the two and probably more easily mis-identified.

I’m going to go with one or the other Tom, but it’s been a couple years and, hell, I have trouble remembering last week all that clearly these days.
This is a great topic by the way!

reverend wrote:

This is a great topic by the way!

One for the birds. Heck, even Targaman and I can be in the same thread without being at each other. lol

I make a lot of chicken stock for soups and have to skim the fat off the cooled broth. I mix seed with this fat too and set it out on feeder arm or in flat trays and the birds dine on it. Chickadees seem to favor the chicken fat so my last batch I added only sunflower hearts and millet to….see how that goes.

mplspug wrote:

If you have feeders, chances are you’ll have coopers, especially in older neighborhoods with mature treea. Had them both at Goldan Valley and Richfield. Those things are fast and agile.

We have one in the yard right now. It just went past my window following a bunch of sparrows. Its not the speed that amazes me on the predator birds, its how they can stop and turn on a dime.

At our cabin in N. Minnesota, the black-capped chickadees, red breasted nuthatches, and the pine siskin will eat seeds out of your hand. Never had that happen here in the metro though…and we’ve tried. In the summer, the hummingbirds will also perch on your hand to take sugar water when holding the feeder. There’s something pretty special when wild songbirds fly out of the trees and into your hand. When I had a guest up there that didn’t believe, I took a handful of seeds and stepped out the back door with him. Within seconds, a chickadee saw us from the treeline probably 50 yards away and made a beeline right to my hand for a little seed breakfast. Birds sure are aware of what’s going on around them.

I’ve always heard that about chickadees. I’d love to experience that.

I’ve tried so many times here and they will land just a few feet away but won’t land on my hand. Titmice are the same way.

I carry a small bag of black sunflower seed while I am in the deer stand and can get chickadees to sit on my leg and eat. I’ve had them land on the bill of my cap too. Downy Woodpeckers are just about as tame if I stay quiet. Love the interaction with the birds in the woods.

If you have understanding neighbors and family or no neighbors close by, hang the rib cages and spine from the deer you take. The birds go nuts and pick them clean. Here I have many of the birds you all mentioned but also a good population of Eurasian or “Collared” doves. They are an invasive to this continent and are about twice the size of a mourning dove. The size of a pigeon. They make funny calls, almost a “croak”. Like a tiny Heron. Anyways the Kestrals love them. Fun to watch the Kestrals catch and eat dinner. Think “POOF”! Lol.

Hey, I mentioned Eurasian Doves! I never saw them in Minnesota, but we get quite a few here on the ground at the feeder. They are cool. We toss seeds doves prefer on the ground to attract them.

Ever notice how birds like to eat in the rain to keep their bodies warm?

One day we had a dozen or so mourning doves perched on the fence sitting in the rain. Some of them would tilt to the side and raise their wings like they were washing their “arm pits”. It was pretty funny to watch.

The cardinals have started their early morning courting calls. I wonder how the population compares to Minnesota. I only heard the resident cardinal, where in Minnesota I’d here many cardinals for blocks around our house.

I know we have 2 pairs because I’ve seen them chase each other off. Also there are a lot when the brood are big enough to follow mom and dad to the feeder.

I think we have a lot of hawks and other raptors down here because I assume most species have several broods every year.

Funny you mention courtship Pug. We have an active eagle’s nest only a few blocks from here in town and both eagles have been seen together in the nest already. I don’t think there are eggs yet…another couple weeks maybe…but the local TV news had a blurb on another nest that has a camera to watch it and mentioned that eggs should be seen in a short time.

Last fall, I had some flicker’s that were amazing. Those and rose breasted Grosbeaks are some of my favorites. I love the way they move their heads. Almost human-like.

I’m going to try to post a short vid my daughter filmed at the cabin. Never done that here, so if it doesn’t work, my apologies in advance.

Attachments:

1. 001.mov

I had no idea how early owls and eagles lay eggs. Then after watching an eagle can I did a little research. Crazy. Makes sense though. They are feeding g the kids when its easier to find prey come early spring.

Tom Sawvell wrote:

Funny you mention courtship Pug. We have an active eagle’s nest only a few blocks from here in town and both eagles have been seen together in the nest already. I don’t think there are eggs yet…another couple weeks maybe…but the local TV news had a blurb on another nest that has a camera to watch it and mentioned that eggs should be seen in a short time.

Funny you mention that-I’ve noticed the squirrels around our feeders start to play around like they do in the spring-I call it playing grab-ass. It’s early this year, and only a little bit but I’ve watched it enough over the years that it’s unmistakable…they’re thinking about getting their spring on a little early this year. Any bets on an early ice-out? My last pair of robins finally left last week-WAY later than normal.

We just got home from bird food shopping….a very regular thing in this house lately. Sheeeeese. 100 pounds of sunflower, 100 pounds of tweety food, 10 pounds of thistle seed.

We passed by the eagle’s nest and they were both in the nest, one had a face full of long grass. Getting ready I’d say.

No kidding Tom. Between the squirrels, rabbits, deer, and coons… I’m not sure I can even call them bird feeders anymore. I’ve gotten quite stingy on how much I put out in the morning because by the following morning it is gone… regardless of how much I put out. Its fun to see all the critters but they can run up a big tab in a hurry…

This is maybe three weeks worth.

One of the reasons I hate the crows is that they’ll come in and hang on the wire caging and flap their wings like crazy so all the seed flies out of the towers. I just put another crow in the trash can a few minutes ago. I see deer tracks in the yard now for the first time this winter and that isn’t good. Deer will beat the life out of a bird feeder to get the seeds to drop. I may have to bring the towers in at night now.

We had a dove kick out the seeds from the feeder to the ground. Thank God he stopped that bs.

I remember the raccoon that used to visit in Golden valley just after dark. It was cute seeing him stand up and eat from the feeder.

I wish we had fleet farms down here. I used to get those big 50# bags of sunflowers for cheap and other seeds in bulk. I haven’t found a place like that down here.