Sunday, February 21, 2010

Sunday Birds

I got this suet feeder last weekend at the Sax-Zim Bog birding festival. It's a little chunk of a cedar log with a hollow center. The Boy Scouts were selling them for $1 and if that's not a heckuva deal, I don't know what is! I stuffed it full of suet on Tuesday morning and hung it out on a hook off the deck. I've been keeping an eye on it but haven't noticed any activity at this new suet feeder until this morning. We were at the dining room table eating our breakfast pancakes and watched this little female Downy Woodpecker cautiously approach and then fly over to sample some suet.
It wasn't more than 10 minutes later and a male Downy showed up to try out the new feeder too.


Later in the morning we took of for another birding trip to the Mississippi. I'm still trying to check the Long-Tailed Duck off my list and was hoping that the ones that had been seen down there last weekend were still hanging around. Unfortunately, there were almost no ducks to be seen anywhere on the open channels of the Mississippi, but our disappointment was only temporary because once again there were plenty of Bald Eagles for our viewing pleasure. This one perched really nicely right at the edge of a scenic pull-out along Highway 61.


A little farther down the road we pulled out at Reads Landing where we had seen ducks and swans a few weeks ago. We saw only a small flock of mallards, but the swans were still there. We counted about 20.
Aren't they beautiful?


After checking out the open water near the National Eagle Center in Wabasha, we crossed the bridge to Wisconsin and followed the river road south from Nelson. Again, there was a surprising lack of waterfowl on the river, but we did get a good look at some longbeards pecking some grit along the edge of the road.
It's only 2 months now until our spring turkey hunting season and I sure hope we see some nice birds like this when we're out there (I also hope the snow's gone by then too!)


11 comments:

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

I just remembered the two little feeders I bought from the scouts! I'll have to get them out this weekend. I hope to get out one afternoon this week to do a little birding.

Ruth said...

Nice feeder...nice birds. We have had very little open water around this winter so our Bald Eagles have been scarce. We have lots of Wild Turkeys around here..good luck when you hunt.

Anonymous said...

Those are nice sized turkeys, and would look very nice on any dinner table YUM-YUM.

MOM

Gaelyn said...

I like the suet feeders, what a steal of a deal. The swans are elegant, but the eagle is majestic. Spring can't come soon enough as far as I'm concerned.

Bonnie said...

What a great bird feeder. Great photo of the eagle.

RuthieJ said...

Hi Lynne,
This little suet feeder is hanging really close to my suet log. I'm sure the Downies would have found it faster if I'd let the log go empty, but now that they know it's there, maybe more Downies can be served at the same time. Let me know how yours work once you get them hung out, OK?

Thanks Ruth. I was surprised yesterday to see how much more open water there was on the Mississippi from just a few weeks ago. I suppose the longer days and different sun angle contribute to this.....I think it's a good sign of spring on the way!

Hi Mom,
Those were good lookin' turkeys.....too bad they were in Wisconsin! I hope we have good luck this spring, I'm really hungry for a wild turkey dinner with all the fixin's!

Hi Gaelyn,
Lynne and I thought those suet feeders were a great deal too! I can just imagine all those little Boy Scouts getting together to make them.
Only a month until spring now.... Hang in there!

Thanks Bonnie. I got that eagle photo just in time.....about 5 minutes after we parked, the train came by and scared it away!

Carolyn H said...

Ruthie J: Boy, that is a great deal on that suet feeder. And it's obvious your birds love it!

CarolynH.

Dawn Fine said...

Nice little log suet feeder...great that you supported those scouts!
I do love that swan photo too..
great birdie shots!

Jayne said...

What a cool feeder... and for a buck! Can't beat that! Love seeing your beautiful swans.

Joy K. said...

I was...puzzled...by your claim of finding a great little suet feeder. You see, I hadn't scrolled down to see its image. Instead, my eye was drawn to your "favorite pictures" gadget on the right side, which was showing a picture of a reclining cat. Wrinkled brow, perplexed frown...then, "Aha! I'm a doofus."

Larry said...

Nice collection of birds Ruthie! The Downys are adorable and that suet feeder was indeed a deal!

I always enjoy seeing Wild Turkeys and Bald Eagles too.