Why I Oughta...

 Sandhill Cranes were migrating south above our house on Thanksgiving Day 2023.  I covered these large birds migrating NORTH earlier this year - March 2023 .  Below is a video showing the birds flying in a circle above Downers Grove late last month: This is the full list of posts about these fascinating birds .   I first posted about them in Fall 2020 . Spring northern migration 2021 . Spring northern migration 2022 . Spring northern migration 2023 . Fall southern migration 2023 .

Sandhill Cranes flew over Northern Illinois on their commute back north this past week and how did I know?  When I was out in the yard, I heard that migration call from these large birds.   I've heard (and watched) these big birds fly over us the past few years - both ways.  Below is a video I took of them from our backyard - It isn't super steady, but if you turn up your volume, you'll hear that familiar croaking. Here's another clip from a year ago .   And here's the full archives of Sandhill Crane-related posts .  

In my recently-posted recap/scorecard of what I wanted to do in the yard this past year, I marked the item about getting back into wildlife feeding as a 'miss'.   The reality is that I really ONLY feed the birds and critters during the cold months.  That's something like November to March...usually.   A few years back, the kids and I applied to be a Certified Wildlife Habitat and part of that process is to ensure that your yard is providing - among other things - food.   During COVID, I was home everyday.  And so were kids.  That meant that we had the opportunity to feed the birds and squirrels every morning.  I fed the birds and the kids put cracked corn and various seeds on the perimeter of the fence for the critters to fuel up. I was able to feed the birds everyday because we had this really lovely clear, plastic fly-thru feeder that I bought back in 2018 .  That was a real breakthrough moment for me with birds.  Up until ...

We have a couple of - what we call - "nests" up in some of the larger, mature trees in our backyard.  I say that we 'call them' that because, frankly, we don't know what they are.  They're these large, clumps of leaves that exist up near the top of the trees (in a crotch) that sure look like a nest, but for all I know could just be a clump of leaves that didn't fall down. Or, that was...until I saw something recently up there.   On a recent afternoon, I saw good-sized hawk swoop across our yard and land right next to one of these nests.  Here, below is a photo showing that hawk perched right on top of said nest.  Can't quite make out what is going on?  Here, below, is a slightly zoomed in version of the photo: Still can't quite figure things out?  Here's an even-more zoom'd in version that I've annotated below: Well....that seems to settle things for me.  A little bit. This is, most certainly, a nest.   But, a nest for whom? ...

The Wintertime is *the* time that we feed the birds around here.  Due to the critters we have around the yard (Raccoons, mice, voles, etc), I mostly lay off adding any feed to the feeders until the first frost arrives.  Once we hit that mark, I then tend to provide fresh food each weekday - both for the critters AND the birds.   Back a few years, we went through the process of becoming a "Certified Wildlife Habitat" via the National Wildlife Federation and part of the criteria is a yard that provides food for wildlife.  They ask for confirmation of a couple of types of feeding including natural nuts (we have Oaks and Walnuts) and seeds (birds, critters) and suet (birds).  We confirmed we go about it both ways - natural via the nuts the trees drop AND the addition of feeders with seed and suet. We put the critter feed - which is a mix of corn, cracked corn, sunflower seeds and some nuts - on the top of the fence.  The KotBTs likes to put it out in thre...

On a recent afternoon, we had our backdoor open to enjoy the warmer temperatures when I heard that prehistoric call of the Sandhill Crane.  We live out in the Western Suburbs of Chicago and it was early afternoon in early/mid March of 2021 when I took this video below of a group of Sandhill Cranes flying in what sure seems like a circular pattern that continues to move north .  Almost like how a tornado moves across land.  They were, as is their pattern, flying pretty high in the sky, but that sound was unmistakeable.  This is a 2:30 video, but I've started the embed below at about half-way because that's when the noise is clearest.  Turn up your speaker and click play below: This is the northern migration that I've captured now, but I also posted a similar video of these same (well...probably not THESE same birds) heading south in late November of 2020 .  You can see that video here .   Wildlife Illinois says that 20K of these amazing-looking ...

We had a raptor visitor to our bird feeder this past week and I was able to grab a photo of him/her with their back to us.  You can see it in the photo below that she was perched on the top arm of our feeder set and there wasn't another bird anywhere around.   We've had other birds of prey visitors to our yard over the years and I've posted some photos of them from time-to time.  Last year, I saw a Cooper's Hawk in a similar spot .  And a huge bird far off in the trees .  I heard an owl on my walk to the train in January of 2020 .  And, most recently, a large hawk in October of 2020 .   I've identified the birds in various ways, but I've always been *kinda* sure about the identification.   But, this bird gave me a lot to work with in terms of looks.  Looking through our birding book, I seem to have narrowed it down to two hawks.  A Cooper's Hawk.  Or a Sharp-Shinned Hawk.  According to the book, the Sharp-Shinned...

On Monday, I posted a photo of the new puzzle project (1000 piece wild bird puzzle) from Kodak and talked about how it was the fourth puzzle that I had taken on during Wintertime COVID.  This puzzle had been sitting on the table for a few days, so the progress shot here below isn't the result of two days.  It is more like seven days or so.  I started assembling the border and began to sort the color pieces into piles.  Here's where it stands now:  Like every puzzle project in our screened porch that came before this one, it always feels like it gets off to a slow start.  

 Ten or so days ago, I posted a photo of the completed Disney Parks pin trading puzzle (750 pieces) and mentioned that the next one up was a Kodak puzzle featuring some wild birds like the ones we see in our backyard.  Today, that bird puzzle is up.  I was given this as a Christmas gift from the Babe and we just got started on it.   This one has some birds we see all the time including the Northern Cardinal, the Blue Jay and the American Goldfinch and some less common ones like the Scarlet Tanager that I spotted up in Wisconsin and the Indigo Bunting that we saw at Waterfall Glen .  This is the fourth Winter puzzle project we've taken on.  And the second 1000 piece one - the first being a Harry Potter book cover 1000 piece puzzle that I worked on right around Christmas . 

  This isn't the first time I've posted about a large hawk hanging around our backyard.  But, this time it certainly was the BIGGEST hawk.  And the photos don't do this beast any justice.  I opened up the door to let Lizzie out the back and *woosh* I see and hear this thing take off from a lower tree limb and fly away towards the taller trees in the far back of our property.  I'm pretty sure it was hanging out, stalking either the squirrels or the small song birds that hang at our feeders.  But, I interrupted it. The photo at the top of this post shows that bird hanging in a large tree.  But, you can't tell from look at the photo, I'm guessing.   Here's an annotated version.  Doesn't do him justice.  He was H-U-G-E. He *might* be the same one that I saw in October of this year .  But, not sure (of course).  

It is getting back to being the bird feeding time of the year.  I take most of the warm weather months off and feed during the Winter when I don't have to deal (as much) with raccoons and skunks and other large critters.  That means that I'm getting our feeders out of the garage and hanging them up, but it also (this year) meant that I added a new feeder to our program. I found this relatively inexpensive ($4.99 at Home Depot) cage feeder that takes these Peanut Suet Nuggets ($2.96 per bag) that would add a different variety of food to our setup.  Below, you can see the cage feeder - with three perches - and the bag of Peanut Suet Nuggets. I didn't fill the whole feeder, but I think that the bag would fill a little bit MORE than the whole thing, but not that much more.  At $3 per bag, I'm interested in seeing how long this will last and how it performs against the weather; not to mention if it attracts some new visitors.  I normally put out a suet cake (hot pe...

\ It is hard to determine the size of this Cooper's Hawk in our backyard, but he was big.  And, I'm pretty sure he is/was a Cooper's Hawk based on the details from Cornell .  The last time that I captured one of these birds of prey was back in February of 2019 when I saw one sitting on our fence.  This time, he was way up on a tree limb and he hung around for a while - like five minutes - before flying off. This piece shows all the hawks that call Illinois their home, but I can't tell from it if I should change by classification from Cooper's Hawk or not.

This isn't a net new entry to the [ bird visitor log ] here on the blog as I've already documented the Blue Jay in March of 2019 here .  But, I spotted this beauty the other day hanging out by the feeders and he was showing off his blue feathers for a minute or two.  I snapped the photo above (and below) with my phone real quick before he flew off.   Above, he's showing off his full colors on his back.  Below, he's facing the house. I dug around a little bit on the web and learned that Blue Jays are part of the Corvidae family - which is the same family as crows  - that we commonly call "Corvids".

With all the stay-at-home time on our hands, I've begun to work through some of my to-do list in terms of projects.  The first up was a bird feeder.  I've seen Oriole bird feeders at the store, but have never pulled the trigger.  They're expensive and I'm not sure that I've ever seen an oriole in our yard. (Could be...because...um...we don't have an oriole feeder?!?) But, I recently came across these plans for what is billed as an "Easy DIY Oriole Feeder" and I had all the lumber on hand.  (Just a small piece of 2x4, a cedar fence board and a dowel.) What is different about oriole feeders?  They don't use seed.  You have to use specific foods to attract Orioles.  This story on BirdWatchingHQ lays out what you need: use oranges and/or jelly.  And you'll have the best luck during their migration in the Spring.  According to this map , we're in the Baltimore Oriole territory and this Oriole page on JourneyNorth.org lays out when we sho...

Yesterday, I posted a photo and a short video of (a first-time) male Cardinal visiting our window-hung bird feeder box that had been up for more than four months.  In that post, I mentioned that I was a skeptic of window-hung feeders and nesting boxes, but now my own eyes have shown me that - in the right conditions - a bird will perch on something right outside your windows.  It also had me wondering if one of those window-hung nesting boxes (where you can *see* the nest and eggs from the inside of the house) would actually work.  I'm still not sure that they're viable (based on the Amazon reviews), but going down that path also had me nose around for plans for nesting boxes and platforms. After all, we're a Certified Wildlife Habitat and that comes with a requirement of providing shelter and places to raise young.  To that end, a couple of Summers ago, we built a bird nesting shelf and hung it in the back of the yard .  It hasn't gotten much attention/actio...

Back in the Fall, the KotBT had a birthday and one of the gifts that we gave him was a window bird feeder.  The kind that use suction cups to attach to the window.  The one we have is this one from Amazon that they say is their #1 best seller in the category .  We have a variety feeders already - including a fly-through , a couple of suet cages , one of the smaller Squirrel Busters  and a squirrel 'big ole' cob' bungee feeder .  But, those are all set out in the yard a bit.  In a spot where we can see them and observe the critters/birds, but also far enough to have any critters not want to make a home close to our house/patio. These window feeders have been around forever and I've been skeptical of them.  I mean...birds get spooked by people.  And...from what I know, they don't love windows and the reflections off of them.  So, mounting a feeder on the window seems like a long shot in terms of getting any action on it. We talked about ...

We have an owl that lives on/around our block. He's been around for a while and we hear him hooting in the overnight hours during the Summer when we sleep with our windows open.  In fact, I'm pretty sure that there are/were multiple owls in the neighborhood.  I've heard them call and respond.  Maybe Momma and babes?  Or pairs/partners?  I don't know. Our neighborhood is called Randall Park in Downers Grove and has a large pond at one end of it and a creek running through one side of it, so we have plenty of wildlife.  And we're doing our part by participating in the 'Certified Wildlife Habitat' program from the National Wildlife Foundation where we've provided the necessary components of food, water , places to raise young , shelter and some sustainable practices like composting and what-have-you. So, it is a good spot for something like a family of owls to make a home around our block.  They have plenty of water, large, mature trees for shelte...

In November of 2017 - as we approached our first Winter in our new house - I posted a photo of our heated bird bath being placed in the yard near our feeders .  At that time, I kept the feeders a little bit closer to the house.  That bird bath was originally from our old house in Elmhurst and it was a 'deck-mounted' heated bird bath.  So that meant that when I used it in Downers, I had to place it on a little table.  It didn't have a pedestal.    For Christmas that year, I was gifted a Water Wiggler to keep the water moving .   The bird bath was one of the key pieces that we needed in order to meet the criteria of being a Certified Wildlife Habitat from the National Wildlife Federation (the other criteria include three kinds of food, two types of cover/shelter and places to raise young).   The first year, I didn't see much action in the bath.   But, during the Winter of 2018/2019, we placed the heated bird bath ou...

About a month and a half ago, I was complaining about how my big Squirrel Buster bird feeder was leaking seed  - you can see that post here .  Spring is the time when I give our feeders a rest after feeding the birds and critters all Winter long, but for my birthday, I was given this new addition:  a Squirrel Buster Standard Edition.   This is much smaller than the big one we already have and has a little different set-up in terms of how you fill it.  But, it is made by the folks at Brome Bird Care, so I know it is a thoughtful feeder.  I'll get it out on our feeder pole (We have a new one of those, too...so I'll post about it because it is awesome looking) soon and fill it to see what kind of birds we get in late Spring.   

It is hard to see, but inside of that little red circle is a Blue Jay.  Adding him to our [Bird Visitor Log] here on the blog .  And despite the zoom'd photo above being not so clear, it was *very* clearly a Blue Jay when I laid eyes on him.  The funny part?  That's exactly how the passage in our bird watching Field Guide book starts the Blue Jay entry:  "Nothing else comes close to looking like the Blue Jay.  It is instantly recognizable to almost everyone in Illinois -- bird-watcher or not."