ALWAYS IN SEASON
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MIKE JACOBS/ALWAYS IN SEASON: Bird movement remains a mystery 
The species in question is the red crossbill. Its invasion may be abetted by its close relative, the white-winged crossbill. But reports indicate that the red crossbill is by far the more numerous.
By Mike Jacobs , September 09, 2012
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ALWAYS IN SEASON: Bird behavior reflects change of seasons
Much of the summer, I’ve wondered how many swallows my buildings hosted. Swallows are hard to count, though. They rarely stay still. Instead, they’re aloft or in flight, resting (briefly) or chasing airborne insects.
A peculiar combination of conditions produced an opportunity to count the swallows last week.
By Mike Jacobs , September 02, 2012
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ALWAYS IN SEASON: Nature picks up the pace as autumn unfolds
This year’s swallow season went on longer than usual, it seems to me. Already, mixed flocks of swallows have crowded the overhead lines. This activity suggests an imperative to move south.
By Mike Jacobs , August 26, 2012
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ALWAYS IN SEASON: Sapsuckers have big impact on ecosystems
The yellow-bellied sapsucker has probably had more influence on the natural world at our place west of Gilby, N.D., than any other bird species. The sapsucker is an unlikely candidate for such a role. It’s a generally inconspicuous bird that’s probably quite often overlooked.
By Mike Jacobs , August 19, 2012
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ALWAYS IN SEASON: Wren an odd choice for ‘king of all birds’
European folklore holds that the wren “is the king of all birds.”
This seems an odd choice, since the wren is among the smallest of birds.
By Mike Jacobs , August 12, 2012
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ALWAYS IN SEASON: Red-tailed hawks predominate in the valley
Of all the hawks, the red-tail is by far the most common here. That doesn’t mean that it’s the most likely to be seen, however. That would depend on where you’re looking. In Grand Forks, Cooper’s hawk is probably the most abundant raptor.
By Mike Jacobs , August 05, 2012
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ALWAYS IN SEASON: Flycatchers deserve pride of place as summer birds
The title “Birds of the Summer” surely should go to the aerial insect-eaters.
Chief among them are the swallows, so numerous this time of year. Seven swallow species of swallows nest in the Red River Valley. A seventh occurs in western North Dakota. These birds differ in habits and, especially, in nesting and flocking behavior. But they are all insect eaters.
By Mike Jacobs , July 29, 2012
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ALWAYS IN SEASON: Swallows fill up the mid-summer sky
Swallows have taken over the sky at our place west of Gilby, N.D., and one evening last week, there was an aerial encounter.
By Mike Jacobs , July 22, 2012
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ALWAYS IN SEASON: Already autumn in the bird world
Birds have their season in the spring. That’s when birds are most active, when they sing the loudest and the longest. By early summer the nesting season is over for most birds. In fact, what humans think of as summer is really autumn in the bird world. The explanation is straightforward. Birds respond to light. Humans respond to heat.
By Mike Jacobs , July 15, 2012
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ALWAYS IN SEASON: Uncertainty, confusion, disagreement about dickcissels
It’s possible to get into an argument about dickcissels. Several arguments, actually. For many local birders, this has been the bird of the season. Dickcissels are not regular birds here. Or at least they aren’t reported regularly. That’s one of the arguments about dickcissels.
By Mike Jacobs , July 01, 2012
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ALWAYS IN SEASON: Cuckoos herald the weeding season in the valley
June is weeding season, and a black-billed cuckoo kept me company while I was weeding last week. I caught only an occasional glimpse of the cuckoo, but I knew it was there nevertheless. The cuckoo calls with a persistence that defies explaining. This is not the cuckoo of cuckoo clocks. Instead, its call it is a staccato knocking noise that only vaguely sounds like “cu-cu-cu-cu-cu” – but it is unmistakable nevertheless.
By Mike Jacobs , June 23, 2012
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MIKE JACOBS/ALWAYS IN SEASON: Short walk brings a big surprise
I heard the bird as I rounded the dike and I soon saw it on a tree near the Sorlie Bridge. The bird took flight and headed to the Minnesota side.
By Mike Jacobs , June 03, 2012
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ALWAYS IN SEASON: In the bird world, each spring brings surprises
Every spring is the same. The birds return. But every spring is different — and this one is not just different but unusual, I think. First, many species arrived here very much earlier than they normally would. On the other hand, I have yet to encounter a nighthawk, another summer icon.
By Mike Jacobs , May 26, 2012
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ALWAYS IN SEASON: Cliff swallows forecast summer’s arrival
Mid-May always brings a rush of new arrivals in the bird world. The late-moving sparrows showed up last week. So did the Baltimore orioles, ruby-throated hummingbirds and a big suite of warblers, sometimes as many as a dozen species in a single day. But the most notable arrival, for me, was the cliff swallow.
By Mike Jacobs , May 19, 2012
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ALWAYS IN SEASON: The fits and starts of bird migration
Spring migration proceeds in fits and starts, delivering half a dozen new species one day and none the next, and producing new species in one place and not in another.
By Mike Jacobs , May 13, 2012
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