Bird Feeders and Landscaping for Early Birds

09/03/2022

Plant some native plants this Fall to attract and support hummingbirds as they are migrating now and when they return in the Spring.

08/30/2022

Although not an early-migrating bird, we have been seeing Great Horned Owls a lot at the farm recently. According to the DNR, "Most (up to 90 percent) of a great horned owl's diet is mice, voles, squirrels, and other small mammals. These owls also feed on hawks, crows, waterfowl, and other birds, including smaller owls."

An interesting fact about Great Horned Owls is that they have long eyelashes.

07/06/2022

The Beardtongue and Honeysuckle are both blooming and attracting a variety of bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies.

06/14/2022

The Scandia-Marine Lions will be at the June 22nd Scandia Farmers Market from 3:30-6:30 p.m. We will have 200 FREE native plants that attract pollinators including Meadow Blazing Star, Cardinal Flower, Wild Bergamot, Joe Pye W**d, Golden Alexander, and Showy Black-Eyed Susan.

We also will be collecting used eyeglasses, pop tabs, plastic bags, and cash donations to support local activities. This will be your last chance to purchase your 2022-23 Lions raffle ticket as well.

Make sure you pick up information about how to join the Lions too!

05/01/2022

This sandhill crane was on the opposite side of our fence where there is a shared pond. We are hoping it stays around...and that there will be young cranes later this spring.

According to Birds & Blooms, "Both parents build a nest from cattails, sedges,. and grasses, but it’s unknown which parent chooses the nesting site. Nests can be up to 40 inches across and 6 inches high."

04/25/2022

The mallards have been enjoying the pond during the last couple of weeks. Some interesting facts about mallards:

- Mallards can fly almost vertically, if necessary. They can even do this by taking off from the water.
- In North America, there are approximately 10 million mallard ducks.
- Most people know that a "flock" is a group of ducks that are flying. A "sord" is the term used when there is a group of mallard ducks on the water.

04/18/2022

Update:

The Raptor Center (TRC) is overwhelmed by the amount of caring and kindness by the community for the birds around us during this challenging time.

A few updates to consider:

- The current highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak is occurring at different levels throughout the country and the world right now. Search for the latest reports from your area, and expect delays in the reporting of new cases.

- Check out our website for further resources including: what about hummingbirds?, where can I find current transmission maps? And more information about HPAI in general at: https://raptor.umn.edu/about-us/our-research/HPAI

- What are we seeing at TRC?: Between March 28 and April 19, we have sampled 90 raptors for HPAI. There were 37 positives, 46 negatives, and 7 with pending results. The 37 positives included 16 great horned owls, 13 bald eagles, 7 red tailed hawks, and 1 barred owl. We will start updating on a weekly basis on our case count.

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Thoughts about bird feeders and highly pathogenic avian influenza, from The Raptor Center’s Executive Director and Veterinary Epidemiologist, Dr. Victoria Hall, DVM, MS, DACVPM

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The United States is unfortunately experiencing an unprecedented outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in our wild birds. It is important to remember that all bird species are potentially susceptible to HPAI- but how they show or do not show signs of illness and the role they play in carrying and spreading the disease will vary. This virus is shed in the f***s and respiratory secretions of infected birds and is very hardy, with virus particles able to survive in the environment for weeks in cool, damp environments.

In wildlife, we know the most about how this virus works and presents in waterfowl, shorebirds, seabirds- as these are the groups of birds who are most likely to carry and shed the virus without showing signs of illness.

We know some about how this virus impacts groups of birds like raptors, as these birds often get severely sick and rapidly die from the virus.

Unfortunately, we have a lot of gaps in knowledge about the role of songbirds in HPAI outbreaks. We have some data from previous outbreaks around the world, but this outbreak is very different. The 2022 outbreak is unique because of the very high levels of transmission of the currently circulating H5N1 virus strain in wildlife. With minimal viral surveillance being done with songbirds, it is hard to measure the risk of transmission from songbirds to other birds.

Every day at The Raptor Center, we are seeing the impact of HPAI- as we triage and test birds like bald eagles and great horned owls that are intensely suffering from fatal neurological illness due to HPAI. With these infected birds, humane euthanasia is the only tool we have left to help them. We also know that this strain and outbreak is causing severe illness in other species like geese, ducks, blue jays, and crows.

During these unprecedented times, we recommend doing anything that we can to try and help our wild bird populations. Because the science is unclear on the role of songbirds in this current H5N1 outbreak, one consideration is to not encourage birds to gather together at places such as bird feeders or bird baths. These are places where things like viruses could easily be exchanged between individuals.

In areas with HPAI transmission in any avian species, consider pausing the use of bird feeders and baths for the next couple of months until the rate of virus transmission in wild birds dramatically decreases. Not only will this action help to protect those beautiful feathered creatures that visit your yard, but will also help all wild bird species that are already having it hard this spring because of HPAI. We have it in our power to take a short term action so we are not accidentally assisting in the virus’ spread. This outbreak won’t last forever and I, for one, am greatly looking forward to when I can safely hang my bird feeders back up!

Dr. Victoria Hall

03/27/2022

We are seeing robins, purple finches, and common redpolls during the last week of March. The latter two birds are ones that we have not seen before at our farm. Diversifying the plants we have here by adding native wildflowers, grasses, and shrubs during the past two years may be one reason we are seeing new types of birds.

02/13/2022

Native plants are essential to pollinators - especially birds. "About 200,000 animal species worldwide act as pollinators. Of those, about 1,000 are vertebrates like birds, bats, and other small mammals....[Also,] parent birds must gather thousands of insects to raise a single clutch of their babies."

Learn more here by watching a short, beautiful video by Prairie Moon Nursery: https://vimeo.com/249483772?fbclid=IwAR3usqp4Ch7JKQCpOSDTOjyMy5KLc4v9QRuGAyn10Ej6hBmMaW5Me0S-3wo

THE CIRCLE OF LIFE: Native plants co-evolved with native insects and wildlife; they are deeply dependent on one another. Plants provide food and shelter to insects,…