Birds in the back yard

[snow1]

Sure was busy weekend of bird's migrating,here in central minnsewta,seen  shovlers,wood ducks,and mergansers already,the sounds of sand hills was none stop all day,beautiful sunday afternoon.

[LPS]

Not sure but I thought I saw some mergansers take off from the river yesterday. 

[Dotch]

Rooster pheasant's own our backyard, even after one of them got smoked on the road a few days ago. Snapped this guy's pic as he was heading for the pasture tonite. A couple seconds later one crowed from the brush pile on the other side of the yard. 

 

[LPS]

Great pic of a great bird.

[glenn57]

I could come down and rid them invasive species!!!
 

[delcecchi]

Speaking of the red star paywall.... If you put a . after com it bypasses the paywall.   Just helping spread the wealth from the evil capitalist paper owners to the poor working class here.

[Dotch]

Thanks, comrade. Wonder how long it'll take before they discover the word is out & folks are sent to the gulag? 

[Leech~~]

Rooster pheasant's own our backyard, even after one of them got smoked on the road a few days ago. Snapped this guy's pic as he was heading for the pasture tonite. A couple seconds later one crowed from the brush pile on the other side of the yard. 

I was shocked to see one running around up in Finlayson, Minnesota a few weeks ago when I was up that way.  Didn't think any of them were up that far? 

[Bobberineyes]

Rooster pheasant's own our backyard, even after one of them got smoked on the road a few days ago. Snapped this guy's pic as he was heading for the pasture tonite. A couple seconds later one crowed from the brush pile on the other side of the yard. 

I was shocked to see one running around up in Finlayson, Minnesota a few weeks ago when I was up that way.  Didn't think any of them were up that far? 

ya I've seen a few on that stretch,  good mix of grouse and ringnecks.

[Dotch]

Ya, when I think about that Finlayson area, I envision trees and such altho if it's like everywhere else these days, there are probably corn fields scattered around along with other field crops. On the flip side, SE North Dakota has some pretty good pheasant hunting and that would be on about the same latitude.

[Leech~~]

Not sure if you heard on the News tonight. They want us all to Stop feeding birds at our feeders because of the Bird flu.   

I wonder if we stop for two weeks, if it will flatten the curve-too? 

[LPS]

I don't know what to think of it.  ???

[Dotch]

I agree Leech. Saw the report on TV & read the blurb from the Red Star. I'll post some food for thought including data later, after I shower, record weather data, play initials & do payroll. 

[Dotch]

Oops! Forgot I had to email my black cutworm data XL spreadsheet. Annaway, as Sid Hartman was fond of saying...

I've been monitoring the avian flu situation closely as it could be an important factor when it comes to not only grain supply and price for farmers temporarily but what it means for prices in the grocery store. Those of us who like eggs and grilling yardbirds are already aware of that. I have a spring planting article ready that will go to print on Monday so we have the most current info possible concerning the avian flu. Originally it was slated to go to print a week ago so I had it submitted then. A lot has changed in a week. When I asked the editor if I could resubmit it with more current data on Monday, he was all for it in light of the changes. He "gets it". Something I also found from talking to a gal who is involved with the turkey industry is that once it warms up, the avian flu tends to disappear. Again, it's a virus and they generally don't like heat or sunlight. This one is no exception. If you look at the cases right now, they are focused where it is still cold. They also tend to be in areas where waterfowl has migrated recently or is still migrating. If you look at Texas, which is one of the largest egg producing states in the US, they have detected the disease in one county versus the 17 counties and counting here in MN. The forecast high for Dallas today is 85. It will struggle to get past 35 here.

1st off, the individual from the raptor center who was quoted does not represent a regulatory or enforcement agency. Until I see something concrete from USDA, APHIS, MN BAH, the CDC, MN DNR or some such official authority, I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. That said, look at the CDC's data included in the link. Tell me how many songbirds you see included on their list. I saw none. The predominant birds affected are waterfowl species with only a few raptors having the potential to be readily exposed to songbirds, one of those being a single instance of a Cooper's hawk. I know the lady claimed they were finding blue jays affected. Give us access to the data then so we can say, yup, there's a problem rather than making a blanket proclamation telling everyone to stop feeding the birds. As I said before, if that's the case, am I also supposed to pick & discard all the fruit off the 300' of row of American cranberry and a dozen or so crabapples? I hope not because the robins are struggling right now with the ground being froze and staying too cold the rest of the day for earthworms to surface. I'm not feeding them per se but in reality I am. I clean my feeders as well as anyone. They get periodic treatments in not only a 10% bleach solution but water so damn hot it'll take your hide off. We need it that temp for washing the bottles for our bottle lambs. Haven't had one get sick from lack of sanitation on our part.

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/data-map-wild-birds.html

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/data-map-commercial.html

[LPS]

Thank you.  We do get blue jays so was concerned about that. Our neighbor has two active eagle nests too so want to do what is the best for all.

[Dotch]

I look at it a lot like the mask deal Barry. If it makes you feel better, by all means pull your feeders. If you're taking the necessary precautions and are comfortable based on what you know, leave them out. I suspect the eagles that have been affected have been feeding on dead waterfowl carcasses. They're largely carrion feeders as are the vultures.

[mike89]

from what I have seen or rather read, it seems turkeys are affected the most here Mn...  seems strange unless I'm missing some thing... 

https://www.bah.state.mn.us/hpai/

this is the site have been looking at... 

[LPS]

Ya Dotch I guess an eagle isn't going to catch a songbird or even a blue jay for lunch.  Just filled the feeder!

[Dotch]

from what I have seen or rather read, it seems turkeys are affected the most here Mn...  seems strange unless I'm missing some thing... 

https://www.bah.state.mn.us/hpai/

this is the site have been looking at...

MN leads the country in turkey production as far as # of birds. Interesting to see where we rank on other poultry related production. I've been looking at the MN BAH site too. I see they added one more site since yesterday and are up to nearly 2 million birds affected between all the different poultry types. They're a few days behind as I found last week when I knew of a couple barns locally that hadn't been reported yet.

https://www.ers.usda.gov/newsroom/trending-topics/turkey-sector-background-statistics/

https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Todays_Reports/reports/plva0421.pdf

[Leech~~]

Oops! Forgot I had to email my black cutworm data XL spreadsheet. Annaway, as Sid Hartman was fond of saying...

I've been monitoring the avian flu situation closely as it could be an important factor when it comes to not only grain supply and price for farmers temporarily but what it means for prices in the grocery store. Those of us who like eggs and grilling yardbirds are already aware of that. I have a spring planting article ready that will go to print on Monday so we have the most current info possible concerning the avian flu. Originally it was slated to go to print a week ago so I had it submitted then. A lot has changed in a week. When I asked the editor if I could resubmit it with more current data on Monday, he was all for it in light of the changes. He "gets it". Something I also found from talking to a gal who is involved with the turkey industry is that once it warms up, the avian flu tends to disappear. Again, it's a virus and they generally don't like heat or sunlight. This one is no exception. If you look at the cases right now, they are focused where it is still cold. They also tend to be in areas where waterfowl has migrated recently or is still migrating. If you look at Texas, which is one of the largest egg producing states in the US, they have detected the disease in one county versus the 17 counties and counting here in MN. The forecast high for Dallas today is 85. It will struggle to get past 35 here.

1st off, the individual from the raptor center who was quoted does not represent a regulatory or enforcement agency. Until I see something concrete from USDA, APHIS, MN BAH, the CDC, MN DNR or some such official authority, I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. That said, look at the CDC's data included in the link. Tell me how many songbirds you see included on their list. I saw none. The predominant birds affected are waterfowl species with only a few raptors having the potential to be readily exposed to songbirds, one of those being a single instance of a Cooper's hawk. I know the lady claimed they were finding blue jays affected. Give us access to the data then so we can say, yup, there's a problem rather than making a blanket proclamation telling everyone to stop feeding the birds. As I said before, if that's the case, am I also supposed to pick & discard all the fruit off the 300' of row of American cranberry and a dozen or so crabapples? I hope not because the robins are struggling right now with the ground being froze and staying too cold the rest of the day for earthworms to surface. I'm not feeding them per se but in reality I am. I clean my feeders as well as anyone. They get periodic treatments in not only a 10% bleach solution but water so damn hot it'll take your hide off. We need it that temp for washing the bottles for our bottle lambs. Haven't had one get sick from lack of sanitation on our part.

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/data-map-wild-birds.html

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/data-map-commercial.html

Here's my response to the Raptor Center on Facebooks post below.  I'm sure like Deer with CWD they killed millions of Turkeys because they found a few birds with a cold!  Good thing they don't do that with humans! 

"All I'm reading is a lot of "we know, maybes, possibilities, and gaps in our knowledge" Get you Shat together before you spread fear, kill millions of farm birds, drive up the costs of food and start another panic like Covid during a time when inflation is running wild. Living on fears and panic seem to be the new costly and deadly norm! 😒"

[dutchboy]

Funny thing with my feeder this morning. Birds got all the sunflower seeds out and somehow 2 of them got under the glass and got trapped inside.    Never saw that before. Anyway by the time I got around to getting out there one had gotten out. I lifted the roof off and the other one shot out of there.

Also saw a Robin in the Pine tree outside the kitchen window yesterday. Only one i've spotted so far. Only a month and a half until the Hummingbirds show up.

[glenn57]

  birds got worse problems then the flu!!!

[tangle tooth]

First killdeer of the year in my backyard yesterday.

[glenn57]

Seen a loon on the horseshoe chain today. 

They usually follow open water!! But hey it's a start!!

[Gunner55]

Some of the smallest lake just south of ML looked open or close to it on Modis yday. First day clear enough in a week or so to even get a look. 

[snow1]

hmmmm,yesterday the sandhills were really active/vocal then what appeared to be a "black-back woodpecker out back along the creek downed  tree's,he was pestering a squrriel eye balling my feeder...fun to watch.

[Dotch]

Good article on the homepage concerning the feeding of birds during the avian flu outbreak. I put my main feeder back out Saturday after cleaning it up. Not much activity today and I could see why. A Cooper's hawk was patrolling the grounds tonite when I got home. It went after a bunny but it was bigger than the hawk was so no danger there. 

[Jerkbiat]

I had to rescue a Redpoll out of the feeder last night. Some how when it gets low enough on seed they can sneak in there somehow. I just filled it on Saturday and the Redpolls and Juncos have been hammering it. A 2.5 gallon bucket will fill the feeder. There have been close to a 100 birds the last week at the feeder and on the ground.

[LPS]

That is a lot of activity JB.  We have had juncos too the last few days. 

[snow1]

Good article on the homepage concerning the feeding of birds during the avian flu outbreak. I put my main feeder back out Saturday after cleaning it up. Not much activity today and I could see why. A Cooper's hawk was patrolling the grounds tonite when I got home. It went after a bunny but it was bigger than the hawk was so no danger there. 

Been thinking about our avian bird flu....

I find it interesting that the ONLY solution the govt folks have is to kill every bird in the flock, but then they all ask for people that see birds behaving strangely in their own flocks to call them so they can test the flock. WHY would any chicken owner willingly call when the only solution is total loss of your birds??? It never said in any of the reports of these so called "Positives" that the birds were symptomatic, sick, or dying. Just that they tested positive, with the same PCR tests that have been proven problematic with false positives numerous times in the past. Bird flu comes in two flavors from what I can tell, Low Pathogenic and High Pathogenic. High Pathogenic has high mortality in birds and the other doesn't do much of anything and neither infects people. Why kill all the birds? Why not let the flu take it's course thereby leaving the resistant birds in the flock and improving the flocks genetic health?? Seems to work for wild birds just fine. I just find it odd that instead of trying to build bird flu resistant poultry flocks, we kill them all and only accomplish reducing the supply of meat and eggs. Seems to me we are shooting ourselves in the foot as bird flu is uncontrollable in wild birds and we will continue to have this problem.