Bird Language, Jul 7

Post date: Jul 23, 2018 4:20:10 PM

Here are highlights from our Bird Language sit on Saturday, July 7, at the Minnesota River Valley Wildlife Refuge. The air was warm and breezy, and there were quite a few mosquitoes. As we walked into the forest on the hillside trail and found places to sit, bird activity was fairly quiet except in the northeast where a small group of hikers and a dog seemed to elicit alarms from Black-capped Chickadees and a red squirrel. During the first period Black-capped Chickadees were active in the northeast, including the sounds of juveniles begging for food, which continued throughout the sit. In the southwest House Wrens were singing back and forth; during the sit they moved position a few times, but continued to sing almost the entire time. In the second period the songbirds became very quiet in the north, it was unclear what may have caused this. A large bird that flew overhead during the first period, likely a Red-tailed Hawk, was too high above to concern the songbirds. In the past, Cooper's Hawks have used the area for nesting; perhaps one was nearby. During the third period a hiker moved through in the southern part of the area which was followed by silence for a few minutes. We also heard American Goldfinches and Common Yellowthroats during the sit. Thanks to all who came, and we will meet again on August 4!