Mike Jacobs
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If you want to see birds, it's always good to cultivate a sense of possibility, especially in midwinter in this part of the world, when the chances of seeing a...
The red-breasted nuthatch is another of those birds that seem to flutter into and out of our awareness. Fortunately, lately, it's been more into than out of, for this is an attractive and interesting bird. The red-breasted nuthatch is one of two nuthatch species that occurs locally, and it is by far the less common. Its cousin, the white-breasted nuthatch, is common and hard to overlook. The red-breasted nuthatch, on the other hand, is unusual, though not quite unexpected.
Last week, I offered four candidates as the bird to represent Christmas and awarded the title to the northern cardinal. The other candidates were goose, partridge and snowy owl. Shiela Rabe of Cando, N.D., was not impressed with the choices, insisting that the black-capped chickadee should have been considered. It certainly could have been, but I had other plans for the chickadee. I intended to make it the emblem of the New Year. "Black-capped chickadees are common here in the great white north," Rabe wrote, "as opposed to the gorgeous northern cardinal. "After 16 years of living in Cand
A blue jay may seem both dark and light, blue and white, slim and stout, loud and silent, here and gone. That is to say, that the jay is a changeling of a kind, always the same bird and always around but sometimes difficult to find and to identify. The blue jay is a permanent resident found year-'round in our area. In winter, the blue jay is a dependable species, likely to be seen every day, hard to avoid, actually. Blue jays appear along roadsides, moving between shelterbelts. They come readily to feeders, where they take sunflower seed.
The appearance of redpolls is a welcome occurrence in early winter. The redpoll's appearance is a vivid reassurance that there is life in the bleak December landscape. Alas, this reassurance does not come every year. The redpoll is one of the "irruptive species," present in good numbers in some years and almost completely absent in others. But, hallelujah, this appears to be a redpoll year. Upwards of 50 of these little birds have been at feeders in my backyard west of Gilby, N.D., for more than a week.
It appears that the North Dakota Board of Higher Education has a death wish. Having escaped assassination by the voters, it presents itself for vivisection by the Legislature. In the...
Last week’s column was about ravens, and this week’s is also about ravens. It’s the first time in more than 30 years that I’ve written about the same bird two...
It wasn’t Mark Twain who said that “No man’s life, liberty or property is safe when the Legislature is in session.” It was a New York State judge. It’s wrong,...
Matthew Spoor of Grand Forks is a birding newbie, and he’s obviously both excited and serious about it. Here’ a report he posted last week, about identifying his first raven:...
Much can be said about the bald eagle, and much has been said. It is America’s symbol, a magnificent bird with a steely gaze and a wingspan exceeding the average...