Butterflies fly routes as if they had been given bad directions

Naturally

  Butterflies fly routes as if they were given bad directions.

  The minimum temperature for honeybee flight is 54º. The optimum temperature for flight activity is 72-77º, but activity continues up to about 100º before declining. The University of Maine Cooperative Extension found that bumblebees fly in adverse weather conditions: temperatures lower than 55°, light rain, cloudy or foggy conditions, wind speeds higher than 15 mph, and poor light conditions.

  Wild parsnip is an invasive plant that could cause painful skin burns when its sap comes into contact with skin exposed to sunlight. It’s a member of the carrot family with yellow, flat-topped flower clusters. It thrives in open, disturbed areas like roadsides and pastures.

Q&A

  “Is the daddy longlegs a spider?” It isn’t a spider. It’s an arachnid more closely related to scorpions than spiders. Unlike true spiders, daddy longlegs have only two eyes instead of eight, and don’t produce silk or webs. Daddy longlegs aren’t venomous, don’t bite humans, and are commonly preyed upon by spiders. Daddy longlegs (harvestmen) hunt small insects and eat decaying plant matter and fungi.

  “How fast can a rock pigeon fly?” The average speed a rock pigeon achieves when flying is 50 to 60 mph. However, a racing pigeon reached a top speed of 92.5 mph.

  “Do mallards become flightless in a molt?” Mallards shed all their flight feathers at the end of the breeding season and are flightless for 3–6 weeks. Molting makes them vulnerable, and they hide in secluded areas while their body feathers molt into a concealing eclipse plumage, a comparatively dull covering.

  Dean Muesing saw many insect wings on the lawn and wondered why they were there. Dean found a young bluebird out of a nest box and wanted to know what to do. I associate insect wings on the ground with flying ants during swarming. Flying ants leave their wings behind as they establish new colonies. American kestrels catch dragonflies on the wing, then, while still in flight, rip off the wings and consume the body. Moths are common bat prey items. Once the bat has eaten the body, the wings are typically discarded. Some flycatchers remove the wings from their prey before consuming it. They do this by beating the prey against a branch to break off the wings. Dragonflies discard the wings of larger prey before eating it. If you find a young bluebird outside its nest, there are two schools of thought: One, it’s best to leave it alone. Two, if it's a fledgling, place it back in the box. Fledglings often hop back out on their own. If the bird is a nestling (younger, with sparse feathers), try putting it back in the box.

 Casey Madson of Hartland watched swallows hunt a farm field and wondered what kind of eyesight they have to be successful in catching flying insects. Barn swallows have exceptional eyesight, which is crucial for their aerial hunting style. They are two eyes with wings and have a bifoveate retina, meaning they have two areas of sharp focus (foveae) in each eye, one for distance and one for close-up vision. They share this trait with other predators like raptors, but most other songbirds have only one. The foveae are areas with a high concentration of cone photoreceptors, which are responsible for sharp vision and color perception. This allows them to track insect prey with precision while flying at high speeds. The elongated eye shape of barn swallows further enhances their spatial resolution, allowing them to perceive minute details and accurately judge distances while flying. Like many bird species, barn swallows can perceive ultraviolet light, which helps them find insects. The killing of egrets is often cited for inspiring the U.S. conservation movement, but it was the millinery trade’s impact on barn swallows that prompted naturalist George Bird Grinnell’s 1886 Forest & Stream editorial decrying the waste of bird lives. His essay led to the founding of the first Audubon Society.

  Becky Schuhmacher of Glenville asked why some sandhill cranes she has seen have had so many brown feathers. Sandhill cranes are typically gray, but their plumage sometimes appears reddish-brown due to the preening cranes do with iron-rich mud. That may act as camouflage. The adults have a distinctive red patch on their heads, while immatures (colts) lack this feature and have a more uniformly rusty-brown appearance.

  “Do opossums hang by their tails?” Opossums don’t spend lengthy periods hanging by their tails or sleep while hanging by their tails. It's a common misconception perpetuated in cartoons. Their tails aren't strong enough to support their weight for more than a moment. Young opossums could hang in there, but not for long, because they don’t have the muscle structure necessary to hold the position. Opossums can use their prehensile tails like a fifth limb to aid in climbing trees and other structures, or for carrying bedding materials.

  “Do bats eat fireflies?” Bats generally don’t eat fireflies. Fireflies contain toxins that make them taste bad to bats, and bats have learned to avoid them. I was a young Batt once. I owned nothing but an appetite. I tried to eat everything. Studies have shown that bats try to eat fireflies but quickly learn to avoid them after experiencing a lightning bug’s unpleasant taste. The fireflies' bioluminescence serves as a warning signal to bats, indicating that they’re not good to eat. Instead of a neon sign saying, “Eat here,” the insect’s flashing light proclaims, “Don’t eat here.”

  “Is the killdeer the only bird that feigns a wing injury to draw a predator away from a nest?” I watched a killdeer recently. It stopped to look at me, before bobbing up and down as if it had the hiccups. Killdeer distract predators by calling loudly, bobbing, and running toward and away from the threat. They are well-known practitioners of the broken-wing display, which is an attempt to lure predators away from a nest by feigning injury, which gets the Academy Award for the best performance by a bird. Researchers at California Polytechnic State University scanned databases of scientific studies and surveyed ornithologists and birders to track down additional species performing the display. This effort yielded 285 species from 52 families across the world. Shorebirds, ducks, songbirds and owls use the broken-wing display. A collective noun for killdeers is a season.

Thanks for stopping by

  “If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things in nature have a message you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive.”—Eleanora Duse.

  “Perhaps the truth depends on a walk around the lake.”—Wallace Stevens.

  Do good.

©Al Batt 2025

Song sparrows have 25 distinct subspecies, with individuals being larger in colder climates. A subspecies is a subdivision within a species that has unique identifying traits but can interbreed with other members of the species. “King Phillip Came Over For Good Soup” is a mnemonic for Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species, in order of increasing specificity. Song sparrows exhibit regional dialects in song, much like humans have accents. Females prefer males with the best playlists. Photo by Al Batt.

Quoth the Chickadee, Chickadee-dee

Naturally

  If all the world is a stage, birds are the applause sign.

  If he’d been listening to the mournful call of a dove, Edgar Allan Poe would have written, “Quoth the Mourning Dove, Hula-hoop-hoop-hoop.”

  But he wrote, “Quoth the Raven, Nevermore.”

  In the first few days of a mourning dove’s life, the nestling is a milk drinker. Both parents feed chicks “pigeon milk,” which is a nutrient-rich substance with a texture like cottage cheese.

  The bobolink sports a backwards tuxedo with light colors on the back and dark colors on the front. He sounds as if he’s trying to sing too many bubbly songs at once. The bobolink’s song is often described as mechanical, like R2-D2 from “Star Wars.”

  I was in the LRGV region of Texas, where great-tailed grackles were ubiquitous, doing what the Cornell Lab of Ornithology described as “make an impressive array of sounds, ranging from sweet, tinkling notes to what one biologist described as calls so loud they were best heard at a distance.” I’ve heard other descriptions such as a “rusty gate hinge” and “machinery badly in need of lubrication.”

  A Texan, Lyle Lovett, sang (edited for length), “I don't go for fancy cars, for diamond rings or movie stars. I go for penguins. Throw your money out the door. We'll just sit around and watch it snow. Penguins are so sensitive to my needs.”

  I go for chickadees. They are sensitive to my needs.

  Poe could have written, “Quoth the Chickadee, Chickadee-dee.”

  On a warm, humid evening, fireflies (lightning bugs) come out to light my world. Those insects are memory makers. On dewy mornings, sparkling silver dots the lawn. They’re dew beads on the funnel webs of spiders, which glisten in the sunlight.

  Daisy fleabane is a native plant with white flowers about 1/2 inch across and a daisy-like appearance. Each flower has 40-100 ray florets. The plant is part of the aster family and blooms from June to September. Our eyes quickly spot the vibrant orange flowers of the butterfly milkweed blooming in the road ditches. The color pops.

A chipmunk demolition derby and mosquitoes

  Our cat, Pinky Sue, is a feline that never sets a paw outdoors and enjoys watching the nefarious chipmunk activity outside her favorite windows. Rodents on parade. She fancies seeing four or five chipmunks gleaning fallen seeds under a feeder. Pinky Sue knows that eventually, one chipmunk will object to the company of another, and a chase will ensue. Innocent bystanders will be trampled by rampaging animals in a spirited chipmunk demolition derby. Now that’s entertainment.

 Casino Context crunched the numbers, looking at factors such as average summer rainfall, temperature, mosquito species, West Nile virus cases and Google searches for mosquito prevention. It found that Florida is the nation's mosquito hotspot in 2025. Southern states dominate the top 10, with Louisiana, South Carolina, Mississippi and Georgia all experiencing high mosquito activity. North Dakota was 12th in rankings, Iowa 20, South Dakota 22, Wisconsin 31, Minnesota 36 and Alaska 50.

Q&A

  “Are there fire ants in Minnesota?” Fire ants don’t occur in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, South Dakota or North Dakota, but field ants that are similar in size and coloration, and build mounds, do. According to the USDA, imported fire ants currently inhabit all or parts of Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Fire ants are 1/8- to 1/4-inch long, reddish-brown or black, and respond rapidly and aggressively when disturbed. The stings from fire ants are painful and cause a burning sensation and itching blisters. They bite with their mandibles, then arch their backs and sting with a potent alkaloid venom.

  “How many fawns does a deer have?” Starting as early as a 1-year-old, a white-tailed deer doe will have one, two or three fawns in the spring. A doe giving birth for the first time usually has one fawn. From then on, twins will be most common. Triplets are fairly common. In most parts of the state, half of the fawns born are males and half are females. Most fawns are born in late May and early June in Minnesota.

  “What are the milkweeds I see growing in the road ditches?” I see three species of monarch caterpillar chow regularly, and they identify themselves by the colors of their flowers. Common milkweed flowers are a pale pink, butterfly milkweeds are orange, and swamp milkweeds are purple.

Thanks for stopping by

  “It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty; the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living.”–David Attenborough.

  “Plant seeds of happiness, hope, success, and love; it will all come back to you in abundance. This is the law of nature.”–Steve Maraboli.

  Do good.

©Al Batt 2025

One might mistake a breeding male dickcissel for a meadowlark. Its song is a dick-dick-ciss-ciss-ciss. The first two notes are clear, followed by a buzzy, hissed cissel. Dickcissels are among the last neotropical migrants to return to Minnesota each spring, frequently not arriving until the last week of May. Dickcissels nest near the ground in dense grasses and sedges and winter in South America. Photo of a dickcissel by Al Batt.

The catbird produced a mile of music

Naturally

  The early morning catbird outside my bedroom window was long-winded, producing a mile of music or a kilometer of cacophonous sounds.

  The morning chorus was robust. Love was in the air. There was a parade of birds to the feeder. A red–winged blackbird, doing what the bird does to fill its day, ate sunflower seeds.

  They met in an open-billed showdown on the platform feeder. One was a female red-bellied woodpecker and the other a male cardinal. The woodpecker won without a single bill being aggressively jabbed.

  Flowers scented the woods. A ginormous American robin splashed water out of the birdbath. A ginormous robin might weigh 3 ounces—less than a deck of cards.

  Lemon-yellow goldfinches made me look. A blue-gray gnatcatcher, looking like a miniature mockingbird, produced buzzy, insect-like calls.

  I listened to a scarlet tanager near the city of Mabel. Or perhaps Mabel was near the scarlet tanager.

  Foxtail barley is a common grass of the roadsides, often in saline soil. Even though it is considered by some to be a weedy species, the flowering spikes are attractive, silky and waving in the slightest breeze. It’s known for its distinctive feathery seed heads that resemble a fox's tail.

  I wobbled around Rochester’s Mayo Clinic. The two female peregrine falcon chicks that hatched there this year were named Riya (meaning beautiful or graceful) and Aria (meaning lioness or noble). Newly fledged peregrines make short returns to their natal site for the first week or two. The first egg was laid on March 24 in the Mayo nest box. Typically, there are 2 to 4 eggs laid. Three eggs were laid this year, and two hatched. The adults take turns tending to the eggs, although the female peregrine (Hattie) does the majority of incubation while the male falcon (Orton) does most of the hunting.  Eggs hatch about 33-35 days after they’re laid. The nestling stage lasts for 38-42 days. Falcon chicks fledge in mid to late June.

Q&A

  “You mentioned a bird that uses snakeskins in its nest. Details?” Great crested flycatchers are known to include a shed snakeskin in their nests. If snakeskins are scarce, they use materials with similar characteristics, such as cellophane, plastic wrappers or onion skins. Why do they do this? Some research suggests the purpose might be to deter predators. A study found that nest boxes with snakeskins were less likely to be disturbed by predators.

 “Why do foxes have fur on the bottoms of their feet (their paw pads)?” There are a number of reasons. In cold climates, the fur provides a layer of insulation against the ice and snow. For foxes living in deserts, the fur on their paws protects their tootsies from the scorching hot sand. The fur on the paw pads provides better traction on slippery surfaces of ice and snow. The fur helps muffle the sound of their footsteps, allowing them to hunt more effectively. Spider-Man had his spidey sense, a tingling sensation that alerted him to impending danger. A fox may have a foxy sense that alerts the fox to food. The fur on the paw pads may help foxes sense prey burrowing under the snow.

  “Where do I find western meadowlarks in Minnesota?” A friend and field trip leader extraordinaire, Kim Eckert of Duluth, suggested a general rule of thumb is that any bird seen west of a north-south line from the city of Warroad in Roseau County south to the city of Fairmount in Martin County was a western meadowlark. East of this line, however, both the western meadowlark and the eastern meadowlark species could be seen. The Minnesota Breeding Bird Atlas data showed that the western meadowlark is encountered in moderate breeding densities along the western tier of counties from Rock and Nobles in the far southwest to Kittson and Roseau in the far northwest. Scattered pockets of higher breeding densities can be found throughout this region. Breeding populations rapidly decline in east-central and south-central areas of the state, and the western meadowlark is predicted to be rare to absent throughout much of eastern Minnesota.

  “Do barn swallows eat a lot of insects?” Barn swallows eat all kinds of flying insects, including ants, beetles, bees, butterflies, flies, gnats, mosquitoes, moths and wasps. A single barn swallow can eat 60 insects per hour or up to 850 in a day. A married barn swallow devours the same. That's approximately 25,000 insects in a month.

Thanks for stopping by

  “You can’t go back and make a new start, but you can start right now and make a brand new ending.”—James R. Sherman.

  “We must not only protect the countryside and save it from destruction, we must restore what has been destroyed and salvage the beauty and charm of our cities. Once our natural splendor is destroyed, it can never be recaptured. And once man can no longer walk with beauty or wonder at nature, his spirit will wither and his sustenance be wasted.”–Lyndon B. Johnson.

  Do good.

©Al Batt 2025

The cliff swallow is the species that used to return each March to Mission San Juan Capistrano in California. A popular song was written,  “When the swallows come back to Capistrano. That's the day you promised to come back to me. When you whispered, ‘Farewell,’ in Capistrano. T'was the day the swallows flew out to the sea.” Photo of cliff swallows and their mud nests by Al Batt.

Why Van Gogh lost an ear



Naturally

  I find awe in a gray catbird’s company. It joins me before breakfast each morning, jazz singing outside my bedroom window. Copycat catbirds actively sing before sunrise and after sunset. They mimic other birds but add their own interpretation to the sounds. Their songs are long but would be even longer if they played guitars. Catbirds are friendly birds that visit feeders to eat grape jelly, suet, sunflower hearts and raisins. I don’t need a field guide to identify a catbird. I have a feel guide to help me enjoy my sidekick.

  Birdsfoot trefoil blooms on roadsides. It’s a legume identified by its low-growing, yellow pea-shaped flowers and seed pods resembling a bird’s foot.

  A squirrel started running across the street. There was no traffic behind me, so I slowed my car. The squirrel froze in place in the middle of the road. Then it made a U-turn and headed back to whence it had come. Then, it made another U-turn and started running across the street again. It stopped briefly, just short of where it had been earlier, faked a continuance of the run before reversing its course and running back to where it had started its journey that had ended abruptly, and sniffed the ground under a tree. This is probably where politicians learned their flip-flopping antics.

  That’s a bird in the tree I saw. It was a red-eyed vireo singing, “Look at me…Way up high…Over here…In a tree…Here I am…In a tree…Where are you? Can’t see me.” It sounds as if the bird is counting the leaves on the tree. In 1948, Music Digest estimated that Bing Crosby's recordings filled more than half of the weekly hours allocated to recorded radio music in America. The red-eyed vireo is trying to match that. Its marathon singing has earned it the nickname of the “preacher bird.”

  Skippers look like something between butterflies and moths. They are small butterflies that visit flowers during the day. When perched, a skipper evokes the shape of a fighter jet.

  The neighbors’ rooster crowed. In many traditions, the crowing of a rooster at dawn signifies victory over darkness and the triumph of light. In some cultures, it's believed evil spirits flee at its sound.

  Vincent van Gogh traveled to the Netherlands, England, Belgium and France. I can’t prove it, but I think he traveled because he wanted to hear a meadowlark. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology didn’t yet exist, so Van Gogh didn’t know he needed to venture to the Americas to hear one. Being unable to listen to a meadowlark hit him hard. His ear had to go.

Father's Day

  On a day long ago, in a land not far away, the sky was as black as blue and as blue as black. Then, a beautiful day shouldered its way in. I stood beside my father’s grave on what some might call a windswept prairie, regretting those things I had left unsaid, and my questions that went unasked. I thought there’d be more time. Then, I heard a western meadowlark call from a pastureland near the cemetery. It brought precious memories of my wonderful father, the farmer, and of our many talks. I know the bird was proclaiming territory, but sometimes, a bird sings when I need to hear it.

Q&A

  “What is a group of dragonflies called? A flight, swarm, cluster or wing.

  “What do skunks have that no other animal has?” Baby skunks.

  A woman who joined me on a boat tour I led asked why there were more cliff swallow nests on the west side of the highway bridge over a lake than on the east side. When highway construction replaced old wooden trestle bridges with new concrete bridges and overpasses, cliff swallows abandoned nesting on loose, crumbly cliffs of sandstone or limestone in favor of firm concrete structures that offered overhangs sheltering the birds from the elements. Their densely packed nests extend over lengthy sections of buildings, dams, culverts and bridges. Ectoparasites (swallow bugs and ticks) in their nests sometimes cause colonies to abandon their nests and move elsewhere. Cliff swallows require a nearby source of freshwater to construct their gourd-shaped nests, each made of 900–1,200 individual mud pellets collected in their bills. I suspect cliff swallows might build more nests on the west side of a bridge than on the east side due to the direction of the sun's path and the resulting temperature differences. The west side of a bridge receives more direct sunlight later in the day, which can lead to warmer temperatures overnight. The warmer temperature could benefit the nestlings by regulating their body temperature and potentially provide a more comfortable environment. Baby birds are more vulnerable to cold than heat, especially when they lack feathers.

  “How many lakes are there in Alaska?” According to the State of Alaska, it has over 3 million lakes (3,197 are named). The largest, Lake Iliamna, encompasses over 1,000 square miles. Alaska has over 3,000 rivers, about 100,000 glaciers, lots of earthquakes and numerous active volcanoes.

Thanks for stopping by

  “He who praises another enriches himself far more than he does the one praised. To praise is an investment in happiness. The poorest human being has something to give that the richest could not buy.”—George M. Adams.

  “Nature tops the list of potent tranquilizers and stress reducers. The mere sound of moving water has been shown to lower blood pressure.”—Patch Adams.

  Do good.

©Al Batt 2025

The Canada anemone is my favorite flower. It makes me happy when I see one. Don’t other flowers do that, too? They do. I have many flowers that are my favorite flower. A Canada anemone is confident, hardy and lovely. It caters to small, native bees. Deer don’t relish this native perennial. Photo by Al Batt.

Who sings "Fire, fire; where, where? here, here; see it?"



Naturally

  The bluebird nestlings were becoming bluer, a fawn followed its mother through the tall grass, indigo buntings sang "Fire, fire; where, where? here, here; see it?" incessantly, and spiderwort brightened the day. The deep-blue spiderwort flowers open in the morning and typically wilt by noon on hot days.

  A catbird must have wanted me to see those things as it had begun singing outside my bedroom window before civil twilight began. How do catbirds produce their remarkable song? They have a voice box that's different from ours. It has two separate branches that are controlled independently, allowing the bird to make two distinct sounds at the same time. The catbird was singing a duet with itself. Town criers were responsible for making public announcements and acted as human loudspeakers when shouting things like, "12 o'clock and all is well," to reassure the public. The catbird is a town crier.

  Multicolored Asian lady beetles had become rare in the house, but some stubbornly overstayed their welcome. I watched cedar waxwings feed feverishly on midges in May. Midges are small flies that resemble mosquitoes. Midges don’t bite or transmit disease, but they do create obnoxious swarms. Often referred to as lake flies, they’re frequently mistaken for mayflies, which are much larger.

Q&A

  “How smart are blue jays, and do they migrate?” Blue jays belong to the Corvidae family, which are considered among the most intelligent birds in the world. That family includes ravens, crows, jays and magpies. Blue jays would do better in school if they’d just apply themselves, but other birds do copy from their papers. Their migration remains a mystery. They don’t all migrate, and it hasn’t been determined why those that migrate do so when they do. Another reader asked why blue jays were chipping away at the light-colored paint on her porch. It’s believed they use the paint chips as a source of calcium in the spring, when the mineral is essential for egg-laying. Some paint includes limestone, a good source of calcium.

  Miriam of St. Paul saw a wild turkey hen with 12 poults and wondered about the clutch size of that species. Wild turkeys have one brood a year with a nest of 4 to 17 eggs. A hen sometimes renests if her first nest was unsuccessful. The hen lays one egg each day, but they all hatch at the same time, which is called synchronous hatching. The poults are precocial, meaning they hatch with their eyes open and are ready to run. Before hatching, the eggs are in danger from foxes, skunks, bobcats, raccoons, opossums, coyotes, crows, hogs, dogs and some snakes. After hatching, cats and avian predators, such as hawks and owls, become threats to poults. Studies indicate 10 to 40% of nests successfully hatch. About 25% of the poults live beyond four weeks. The diet of newly hatched turkeys is dependent upon a successful, timely hatch of insects. In the summer, it‘s common for turkeys to merge into larger brood flocks.

  “Do we have bullfrogs in Minnesota and Iowa?” Bullfrogs are present in both Minnesota and Iowa, though they aren’t native to the entire state of either. In Minnesota, bullfrogs are considered native to the southeastern corner—Houston and Winona counties. Elsewhere in Minnesota, they’re considered introduced and invasive. People have tried to establish bullfrog populations in other parts of Minnesota because bullfrogs provide the majority of the frog legs for restaurants. In Iowa, they’re common and are the largest frog species in the state, growing up to 8 inches long. The natural, historical range of the bullfrog in Iowa was along the Mississippi River in the eastern and southern parts. They’re now found statewide due to introduced populations. Bullfrogs eat small mammals, birds, reptiles, fish and other frogs. They’re known for their deep calls, which have been described as “jug-o- rum,” the moo of a cow or the sound made by drawing a bow across a bass fiddle.

  “What preys upon Canada goose goslings and eggs?”  Messing with a goose can be a daunting task. They don’t take any guff and have aggressive behaviors. Raccoon, mink, bald eagle, bear, bobcat, dog, fox, coyote, raven, crow, gull and skunk are possible predators.

  “How do I clean a hummingbird feeder?” Mix a solution of a 1:2 ratio of white vinegar to water. Let the feeder soak for a couple of hours. Scrub well. Use something like your brother-in-law’s toothbrush to clean off any residue. Rinse thoroughly. Air dry and feed those tiny birds.

Thanks for stopping by

  “The business of the poet and the novelist is to show the sorriness underlying the grandest things and the grandeur underlying the sorriest things.”—Thomas Hardy.

  “Birds sing after a storm; why shouldn't people feel as free to delight in whatever sunlight remains to them?”―Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy.

  Do good.

©Al Batt 2025

This eastern tiger swallowtail’s yellow has faded. It has a 3.5 to 4.5-inch wingspan and flies from May through September. Larval hosts include American basswood, ash, birch, black cherry, chokecherry, cottonwood, mountain ash, poplar and willow. I love to see the butterflies nectaring on blazing stars later in the year. The Canadian tiger swallowtail is found in the northern half of Minnesota. Photo by Al Batt.

An oriole tree

Naturally

  It was a one-bird feeding frenzy. A gray catbird with a stubby tail fed, then did a jazz riff. Then it meowed like a cat before eating more. Why did it have a stubby tail? The bird didn’t want to talk about it, but I’m guessing it was a stress molt, during which it shed tail feathers to escape a predator. Feathers only re-grow rapidly when they’ve been pulled out. Tails are important but not critical. Tail-less birds can still fly, avoid danger and feed themselves, but might have trouble getting a table in an upscale restaurant. It’s better than losing a tail in the winter. Catbirds aren’t here then, but nobody wants a cold rear end. Cars driven by birds don’t have heated seats.

  A reader described an oriole tree, one where it seemed as if every branch held a Baltimore oriole. The weather had likely postponed flights. Sometimes, we’re given splendid gifts wrapped in feathers.

  I walked in the yard while using the Merlin app on my phone. It does a remarkable job of detecting bird sounds.

  Flowers for hours. Salsify or goat's beard has a flower head similar to a dandelion but much larger. The seed head resembles a dandelion but, again, is much larger. The inflorescence opens early in the morning and often closes up by late afternoon.

Q&A

  "Is the sex of a turtle determined by the temperature?” Scientists know that temperature determines sex in certain reptiles—alligators, lizards and turtles. In many turtles, warm temperatures during incubation create females and cold temperatures males.

  “What preys on mallard nests, and what are the chances of an egg hatching?” Common nest predators include skunk, raccoon, coyote, fox, weasel, mink and some snake and large bird species. A nest success rate of 15% is a rule of thumb for maintaining a mallard population. Delta Waterfowl found that 90% of egg destruction is due to predation; the rest is because of weather events. Approximately 7.5% of eggs leave the nesting site as live ducks. The survival rate of those drakes is around 70% and about 60% in hen mallards. That leaves 70 drakes out of 100 and 60 hens after one year.

  “What kills the most songbirds?“ Habitat loss is the most significant cause of declining bird populations. A U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service report found that cats are the top human-related cause of bird deaths, with collisions with buildings/glass a distant second.

  “Can I move a robin’s nest if it’s in an inconvenient place?” The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) protects most bird nests. This law says: “No person may take (kill), possess, import, export, transport, sell, purchase, barter, or offer for sale, any migratory bird, or the parts, nests, or eggs of such bird except as may be permitted under the terms of a valid permit.” It’s illegal to destroy a nest that has eggs or chicks in it or if young birds depend on the nest for survival. It’s unlawful for anyone to keep a nest unless they have a permit issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. If you move a robin's nest, the parents will probably abandon the nest because nest-site fidelity is based on the setting. If the nest is an inactive nest with no eggs or young, it can be moved, removed or destroyed. You may legally harass birds building nests, provided the birds aren't harmed. Once an egg is in the nest, it’s against the law to move or destroy it. Because of their invasive status, house sparrow, European starling and rock pigeon nests, eggs, chicks and adults aren’t protected by law.

  “What should I do if a bird hits the window of my house?” If the window collision left a bleeding bird or a broken wing hanging limply, contact the Wildlife Rehabilitation of Minnesota (WRC) at 651-486-9453. If cats or harsh weather threaten, place the bird in a shoebox and put the box in your garage or unused room. Close the door and keep the room quiet to reduce stress on the bird. After an hour, take the shoebox outside and lift the lid. The bird will either fly away, have died from internal injuries, or have injuries that prevent it from flying.

  “How long do baby wood ducks stay in the nest box?” They are precocial, meaning they can walk, run and swim a few hours after hatching and can leave the nest quickly. Ducklings generally leave the nest box early in the morning within 24 hours of hatching,

Thanks for stopping by

  “Rivers do not drink their own water; trees do not eat their own fruit ... Living for others is a rule of nature. We are born to help each other.”—Pope Francis.

  “In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks."—John Muir.

  Do good.

©Al Batt 2025

Tree swallows return to their nests earlier than other swallows due to their versatile diet, which allows them to winter farther north. They are agile aerialists who catch insects on the wing. Their bubbly chatter is cheering. This photo shows a tree swallow describing the size of the flying insect that got away to another swallow. Photo by Al Batt.

There’s no need to duck, duck, buckle up when a gulp of swallows attacks

   "Fasten your seatbelts; it's going to be a bumpy night."

  That famous line, often misquoted as “Fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy ride,” was spoken by a past-her-prime actress with a flair for drama named Margo Channing, played by Bette Davis, in the movie “All About Eve,” released in 1950. The film was based on the 1946 short story “The Wisdom of Eve” by Mary Orr.

  A red sports car blew by me on the highway. It was as if I were backing up. Seat belts save lives, but they don’t keep egos in check.

  I see road signs reading “Click-it or ticket” or “Buckle up. It’s the law.” Those signs remind us to buckle our seat belts for our own good while we’re disobeying various traffic laws or hurrying along while discovering the gastrointestinal consequences of eating a dozen hot dogs while losing an eating contest.

  My favorite signs are a couple of Minnesota ones: “You know it’s love when it clicks. Buckle up,” and “Duck, Duck, Buckle Up.” The latter hits home. Evidently, Minnesota is the only state where kids play "Duck, Duck, Gray Duck" instead of “Duck, Duck, Goose.”

  Incredibly, 49 other states are unaware that their faulty thinking has led to a grievous misconception. I hope they come to their senses.

  When I was a kid, buckle up meant to buckle your five-buckle rubber overshoes before going outside.

  I grew up without seat belts. We didn’t even have seat suspenders. I was a free-range kid. The closest I came to having a seat belt was my mother’s arm. She stretched her upper limb across the passenger seat when coming to a stop sign to keep me from ramming my face against a dashboard padded in concrete.

  Kids rode in the boxes of rusty pickup trucks and on the opened tailgates of rickety station wagons. Those places lacked seat belts.

  Using seat belts is such a good thing that the birds remind us to use them. There are no seat belts on my push lawn mower, but the barn swallows follow me, calling out the advisement, “Click-it, click-it!”

  They do that because they care.

  Barn swallows are cheerful aerialists with an appetite for flying insects, and they eat them without gravy. When given a choice between a fly and a bar of Toblerone chocolate, they choose the fly every time. Swallows eat cake only on their birthdays.

  The birds appreciate the food service my humble push mower provides. I call it the Lone Mower, and it’s powered by a hamster in a wheel. I named it, but the mower refuses to come when I call it. What it does is encourage insects to become airborne. The world becomes a swallow’s inflight meal. I grew up with a push lawn mower without a motor. It was a reel mower—a real reel mower. The blades were on a cylindrical reel that cut like scissors instead of having the rotary blades that are on my current cutter of grass. The swallows enjoy the sound of a lawn mower’s engine because it acts as a dinner bell.

  That said, the swallows like my wife better. Why wouldn’t they? Because of a disjointed command structure, my wife is the only one who operates the riding mower, the Blade Runner. The swallows worship the Toro she rides upon.

  Swallows do what they do. In the Boothill Graveyard in Tombstone, Arizona, there is an epitaph that reads: "Be what you is, cuz if you be what you ain't, then you ain't what you is."

  When swallows and lawnmowers join forces, everybody wins except the flying insects. The grass is used to the process and survives without needing hospitalization. The swallows are good company. Playing follow-the-leader with a gulp of swallows is a uniquely joyful experience. A pack of raccoons, skunks or protestors supporting the right of lawn grass to grow tall could be the ones chasing me.

  The helpful nagging of the swallows has caused me to consider buckling up while I push the lawn mower. I’m going to start wearing five-buckle overshoes while cutting the grass.

  As I buckle that footwear, I’ll make a sound that mimics clicking.

  The swallows need to hear it.

©Al Batt 2025

Contrary to popular belief, barn swallows do not eat barns. Other than that one outside of Scarville, Iowa.

Will Canada geese nest in trees?

Naturally

 Why do birds sing so loudly in the morning?

 It’s because they don’t have thumbs and can’t text.

 The fur coat of a deer changes colors depending on the time of year—reddish in the spring and brown in the fall. A deer’s coat provides thermoregulation and camouflage. Summer coats are reddish and thin, helping deer to cope with heat stress. The coat color of deer tends to be darker in forested areas and lighter in agricultural areas, where deer are exposed to more direct sunlight.

 A rusty-colored brown thrasher gobbled down black oil sunflower seeds from a platform feeder before flying to another feeder and eating suet. I needed to get ready for a clinic appointment, but the thrasher assured me that a short walk in my yard would do me good. Beginning at 8:03 a.m. on May 22, I counted the following species: Baltimore oriole, brown-headed cowbird, common grackle, blackpoll warbler, American goldfinch, song sparrow, magnolia warbler, great crested flycatcher, Nashville Warbler, gray catbird, red-bellied woodpecker, downy woodpecker, American redstart, mourning dove, wood thrush, Tennessee warbler, yellow warbler, red-eyed vireo, bay-breasted warbler, white-breasted nuthatch, house wren, blue jay, chestnut-sided warbler, chipping sparrow, European starling, American robin, rose-breasted grosbeak (produces a rich, robin-like whistle, without breaks—its breathless singing takes my breath away.), brown thrasher and black-capped chickadee. It was no record, but it was gladsome. I couldn’t have experienced the 29 species if the woodpeckers hadn’t been knock, knock, knocking on wood for my good luck. It was a good day.

 Jim Grotte of Fairmont said he was listening to me on KMSU Radio, and the moment I mentioned a Cooper’s hawk, one flew in and grabbed a sparrow near Jim’s worksite. A coworker said, “I think that’s one of those hawks right there.”

The Peregrine Falcon Program

 The Peregrine Falcon Program has a nesting box atop the Mayo Building in Rochester. The program began in 1987 with the cooperation of the Midwest Peregrine Society. The adult peregrine falcons return to the nest in early February, the female lays one to five eggs from mid-March to mid-April, and the eggs hatch after about 35 days, from late April to late May. The chicks (eyasses) are named and banded during an event for patients, staff and volunteers. The nestlings fledge from early June to early July and depart in the fall to pursue further education. The Latin name for peregrines means wanderers. It’s crow-sized and can live nearly 20 years. It’s the fastest animal on earth, able to reach speeds over 240 mph in a stoop. Peregrine falcons inhabit every continent except Antarctica. The falcon has long been associated with royalty in the sport of falconry. There are two youngsters in the nest this year.  

https://history.mayoclinic.org/falcon-program/

Q&A

 “Will Canada geese nest in trees?” Canada geese don’t spend all their time playing vuvuzelas to let us know they aren’t quacks. Canada geese typically build their nests on the ground, but they do nest in trees or on buildings. Canada geese have nested in bald eagle nests. In 1804,  Captain Meriwether Lewis (Lewis andClark Expedition) reported Canada geese nesting in trees along the Missouri River in North Dakota. In 1820, Titian Ramsay Peale recorded a goose in peaceable possession of an eagle’s nest near what is now Council Bluffs. In the mid-1950s, in the Flathead Valley of Montana, biologists monitored 77 tree and cliff nests where Canada geese were nesting. Some sites were up to 200 feet off the ground. How do the nestlings get out of the nest? Air Force One doesn’t stop and pick them up. They escape the nest the uncomplicated way. After the goslings hatch, the parents call persistently from the ground to the goslings. Like Rob Schneider, they yell, “You can do it!” The goslings jump from the nest and beat their puny wings on their descent to the ground. Goslings are tough, just like baby wood ducks.

 “Why is a group of crows called a ‘murder?’” There are several explanations for the origin of this term based on folklore and superstitions. There is a folktale in which crows gather and decide the capital fate of another crow. Ancients regarded the appearance of crows as an omen of death because crows are scavengers and were associated with dead bodies, battlefields and cemeteries. It’s likely the term “murder of crows” reflects a time when groupings of many animals had colorful and poetic names.

 Other bird species could answer to that collective noun. If you’re an insect, two chickadees are a murder of chickadees. Is one crow an attempted murder? Are the crows in my yard a murder? They had probable caws.

Thanks for stopping by

 “A man should never be ashamed to own he has been in the wrong, which is but saying, in other words, that he is wiser today than he was yesterday.”—Alexander Pope.

 “Many eyes go through the meadow, but few see the flowers in it.”–Ralph Waldo Emerson.

 Do good.

©Al Batt 2025

The red-headed woodpecker is the only North American woodpecker to store food and cover it with wood or bark. Skillful at flycatching, 1/3 of its diet is animal materials (insects) and 2/3 plant materials (fruit, nuts and seeds). This bird is nicknamed the flying checkerboard. Its cavity nests are often found in snags that have lost most of their bark. Photo by Al Batt.

It was time to feed the mosquitoes



Naturally

  It was time to feed the mosquitoes and take a walk in a state park.

  A forager showed me some morel mushrooms—sponges on sticks. Another talked about collecting fiddleheads from ostrich ferns. This fern has a pronounced U-shaped groove running down the center of its stalk (similar to a celery stalk), paper-like brown scales on emerging fronds, and a smooth stem lacking wooly hairs. Know what you are eating.

  I heard a spirited discussion in a tree and saw the coppertop battery of birds. The male brown-headed cowbird has a glossy black body with a dark brown head.

  I watched ring-billed gulls fly invisible roads in the sky. The European Seagull Screeching Championship takes place at the Verloren Gernoare cafe near the Belgian coastal city of De Panne. I’ve heard ring-billed gulls called McGulls, dumpster gulls, landfill gulls, fast-food gulls and french-fry gulls. I think Gully or Gulliver would be fine nicknames. I associate the cries of these iconic birds with tranquil weather.

  I gazed at a rose-breasted grosbeak eat sunflower seeds, cracking the hulls and spitting them out before swallowing the heart. It did so in an effortless way that would put any baseball player to shame.

Q&A

  “Why are the maple tree helicopters red this year?” Those are maple helicopters, not Mayo helicopters. Those winged seeds of a maple tree are called helicopters, keys, whirlybirds, spinners, whirligigs, spinning jennies, whirlers, twisters, whirlwinds, wing nuts or samaras. Red maple samaras are red, in contrast to those of the sugar maple, which are green in spring when the samaras of both the red and sugar maples disperse. Norway, sugar and Japanese maples drop their seeds in the fall. The weather may have some impact on the color because the weather affects everything.

  “Why did Noah send out a dove?” In the biblical story of Noah's Ark, Noah sent out a dove to determine if the floodwaters had receded. The dove found no place to rest and returned to the ark. Seven days later, Noah sent the dove out again, and it returned with an olive leaf, indicating the waters were receding. After another seven days had passed, Noah sent the dove out a third time, and it did not return. I’ve been to Israel and was told that yonah is the Hebrew name for a dove. A pigeon is a dove. For thousands of years, people have domesticated pigeons as pets and for food, feathers, racing and their ability to carry messages home from any distance or direction, despite adverse conditions. Carrier pigeons delivered messages in ancient Persia starting in about 1000 BC. Phoenician sailors used pigeons to send messages home, and the Greeks used them to announce the results of the Olympic Games. A homing pigeon, which gathers twigs to build its nest, would be the perfect recruit for Noah’s use. It could fly for hours and return reliably. Remember, yonah could be either a dove or pigeon because a pigeon is a dove, but the translation in the Bible was “dove.” It could have been the European turtle dove, but the rock pigeon would be better suited for the job. In Greek mythology, turtle doves pulled the gold chariot of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, which made the species synonymous with devotional love. In the King James Bible, the Song of Solomon includes: “The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of the birds is come and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land,” heralding the onset of spring in what is now the modern-day Middle East. Turtle derived from “turtur,” imitating the cooing call of a dove. The New International Version of that text is “Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.” The New Living Translation of the Bible reads, “The flowers are springing up, the season of singing birds has come, and the cooing of turtledoves fills the air.”

  “Where are ravens breeding in Minnesota?” While most common in the northeast and north-central regions, they’re expanding south to Isanti, Chisago and Washington Counties and westward to Becker and Otter Tail Counties. I’ll bet the crows know right where the ravens are.

Thanks for stopping by

  "A sober look at our world shows that the degree of human intervention, often in the service of business interests and consumerism, is actually making our earth less rich and beautiful, ever more limited and grey, even as technological advances and consumer goods continue to abound limitlessly. We seem to think that we can substitute an irreplaceable and irretrievable beauty with something which we have created ourselves."—Pope Francis.

  “You can't be suspicious of a tree, or accuse a bird or a squirrel of subversion or challenge the ideology of a violet.”—Hal Borland.

  Do good.

©Al Batt 2025

Commonly referred to as the Confederate violet, with its name coming from the color resemblance to the gray-white/navy blue color combinations of the Civil War Confederate States soldiers’ uniforms. This is a naturally occurring bi-colored variation of the common blue violet. This perennial flower always seems happy to see me. The feeling is mutual. Photo by Al Batt. 

No self-respecting cardinal fears a fake owl

Naturally

  I listened to a brown thrasher and its gleeful, repeated musical phrases. I want to sing along, but I don’t know the words. I recited the human words from the mnemonic I’d learned in my youth. "Plant a seed, plant a seed; bury it, bury it; cover it up, cover it up; let it grow, let it grow; pull it up, pull it up; eat it, eat it."

  I love watching the exploits of birds. Starlings insert their bills into the ground, then pry their mandibles open, creating a space to grab prey. I don’t mind seeing those birds. I’ve developed starling callouses.

Q&A

  Mark Monlux from Tacoma asked what the skinny was on feeding hummingbirds. The best solution for your hummingbird feeder is a 1:4 solution of refined white (table) sugar to tap water. That’s ¼ cup of sugar in 1 cup of water. Bring the solution to a boil, then let it cool before filling the feeder. You can make a larger batch and refrigerate the extra solution. Remember to bring it to room temperature before refilling the feeder. During cold, rainy or foggy conditions, when fresh water is plentiful but birds need more energy, it’s OK to make the mixture ⅓ cup of sugar per cup of water. Concentrations of sugars in nature vary within that range. If you mix up small quantities of sugar water every day or two, there’s no need to boil the water. There’s no need to add red food coloring to sugar water or use red-colored commercial mixes. Nectar in flowers is clear. It’s the flowers themselves that are brightly colored, not the nectar. Don’t use brown sugar, honey, molasses, fruit juice, artificial sweeteners or syrup instead of white sugar. If you see any cloudiness or mold in the water, then it needs to be replaced. A rule of thumb is that if you wouldn’t drink it, don’t feed it to hummingbirds.

  “What scientist proved that bumblebees shouldn’t be able to fly?” None. The popular myth began in 1934, when the French entomologist August Magnan noted that a bee's flight should be impossible. Bees flap their wings back and forth, not up and down. Bees should be able to fly according to the laws of physics because they do fly. Their wings twist and rotate, creating enough lift to make it possible for bees to become and remain airborne.

  “When do chickadees and mourning doves nest?” Black-capped chickadees nest from mid-April through late July and have a single brood. In Minnesota, dove nesting extends from early April until early October, with a peak in early June. Minnesota doves average about three nesting attempts per year.

  Linda Ebeling of Trimont asked why goldfinches aren’t eating the Nyjer seeds and how to stop a cardinal from fighting with a house window. Goldfinches are picky eaters and want fresh seeds. Nyjer has a high oil content and thin shells, and provides protein and energy. When Nyjer (thistle seed) gets wet, it clumps like cat litter and can spoil or become moldy. Shake the seed in the feeder. The seed should move around freely. If it clumps, water has gotten into the feeder. If this happens, the finches lose interest. If Nyjer gets moldy, remove it from the feeder and clean the feeder with a 10% bleach-water solution. Oily seeds can go rancid, emitting a foul odor. Sniff them, and you’ll know if the seed has turned rancid. Nyjer seed can also dry out. Crush the seeds onto a white paper towel and look for oil blotches. If oil stains are present, the seed is fresh. If the seeds look dull and aren’t shiny, replace them with a fresh batch. Nyjer seed isn’t derived from thistles, but from an African yellow daisy. Sources claim Nyjer seeds last up to six months, but it’s a good practice to replace the seeds every three to four weeks.

  After choosing a nest site, a pair claims a territory and defends it from other cardinals. When one male spots another, a chasing fight ensues. The dominant male gets a mate, the desired territory and the area’s food. The window acts as a mirror. A cardinal is territorial and makes an enemy of its image. The reflection refuses to flee. Being persistent and stubborn, the cardinal refuses to enter into peace talks with itself. Soap the outside of the window or cover the glass with cardboard, black nylon screen, painter’s cloth, or plastic cling to block the assailant’s image. Covering the inside of the window enhances reflections. Plastic owls and fake snakes don’t help.

Thanks for stopping by

  “Find tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything.”―William Shakespeare, “As You Like It.”

  “To learn something new, take the path that you took yesterday.”—John Burroughs.

  Do good.

©Al Batt 2025

This male orchard oriole is smaller than a Baltimore oriole. He has a rich chestnut color, and the Baltimore oriole male has a flame orange color. The orchard oriole eats insects, nectar and fruit. Like the Baltimore oriole, it has a sweet beak and will visit orange and jelly feeders. Photo by Al Batt

St. Francis of Assisi was a great birder who used a bird dog. This artwork is found at the Saint Marys Campus at Mayo in Rocheste

The feather report was for a 99% chance of grackles



Naturally

 The feather report was for a 99% chance of grackles. They nailed it. 
 It’s nearly impossible to describe a Baltimore oriole male without using the word “orange.”
 French fry gulls flew toward a fast-food restaurant. 
 I watched a robin picking worms, paring its world to its essence. Northern house wrens brought hustle and bustle to the yard. These joyful enhancements to the local avian diversity might be smaller than their names. I’m amazed by what the world holds.
 I walked at Myre-Big Island State Park with a friend from Grand Junction, Colorado, and looked at spring ephemerals, tiny flowers that emerge in early spring and disappear when the tree canopies fill with leaves. Hope in bloom.
 It’s sprinter—part spring and part winter. Ramps and goslings were commonplace. Canada geese engaged in several debates simultaneously.
 The night before, weather advisements had warned of a tornado. A wind that searches for weaknesses it can push around. The annual number of tornadoes in each state based on the years from 2003 to 2022 showed that the two states with the most tornadoes are Texas with 124, and Kansas with 87. Oklahoma averaged 66, Mississippi 64, Alabama 63, Illinois 57, Iowa 53, Missouri 53, Florida 46 and Minnesota 46.
 I watched trumpeter swans in a black farm field, sticking out like a freshly painted white line on a dark highway. Many bird species have a brood patch—a vascularized patch on their breast where they’d plucked the feathers to provide warm skin to apply to the eggs. Swans don’t have a brood patch. Trumpeters incubate eggs with their webbed feet. 

Q&A

 “What is castoreum?” Beavers secrete a thick, brownish goo that has been described as smelling like musky vanilla. It’s called castoreum. It’s a chemical compound found in the beaver’s castor sacs located under their tails. Romans burned it to light lamps. It was used to add a sweet scent to perfume.
 Vicki Lauruhn asked about the anting behavior of birds. A number of species exhibit this behavior. I see it in blue jays and grackles. A common belief is that anting controls parasites, such as biting lice and feather mites, which live in a bird’s plumage. Another theory is that, during anting, the ants rid themselves of the formic acid, allowing the birds to eat them without harm. The parasite removal makes sense to me because I’ve seen birds performing the same actions with cigarette filters and mothballs.
 “I went on a field trip to see and hear the American woodcocks dance near Byron with you one year. What were the nicknames you said those odd little birds had?” The males of this shorebird species utter a distinctive one-note nasally peent before fluttering high into the air and circling repeatedly, the rushing air passing over their wings producing winnowing whistles. Then they descend back to the ground like a falling leaf, hoping to attract a female. They toss in a comical rocking motion in a funky walk. Their nicknames include timberdoodle, bog snipe, brush snipe, Labrador twister, night partridge, big-eye, bogsucker, swamp bat, hokumpoke, mudsnipe, sky dancer, timber ghost and fiddle squeak. I’ve heard it called a little russet feller and a pop-eyed shot dodger.
 “How much can an eagle carry?” While there is a notable size difference between male and female eagles, most bald and golden eagles weigh between 8-15 pounds and can carry about 1/3 of their weight and still fly.
 “Why do phoebes wag their tails?” California research tested possible reasons: balance, territorial aggression, foraging and predators. It concluded that tail pumping is a signal meant to send a message to the predator that the phoebe has spotted it and isn’t worth pursuing.
 “Do ring-necked ducks nest in Minnesota?” Yes, Minnesota’s Breeding Bird Atlas found them to be the fifth most common nesting duck, behind the mallard, wood duck, blue-winged teal and hooded merganser. The vast majority of nests were in the northern forested counties, stretching from Cook County in the northeast, west to Itasca, Beltrami, Clearwater and Becker Counties. Its chestnut collar, which is difficult to discern gives the duck its name. It’s also called a ringbill because of the white ring at the end of its bill.
 “Do mergansers lay eggs in a wood duck’s nest?” Yes, both hooded mergansers and wood ducks are known to lay eggs in each other's nests. They don’t put all their eggs in one basket. This behavior is typically called brood parasitism. A study revealed that hooded merganser eggs experience higher success when laid in wood duck nests, whereas wood duck eggs experience lower success when laid in hooded merganser nests. Egg dumping is likely to occur when nests are in close proximity to one another.

Thanks for stopping by

 “To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.”—Mary Oliver.
 The forest is for rest. 
 Do good.

©Al Batt 2025

Seeing a cardinal is a glorious thing in itself, but people interpret its presence as a sign of hope, joy, good luck, positivity, or a message of comfort from a late loved one. Others believe it signifies divine intervention or a blessing. Yet others see it as a symbol of strength, vitality, resilience, or new beginnings during challenging times. I’ve heard it said, “Cardinals appear when angels are near.” Photo by Al Batt.

Mayapple photo by Al Batt

Mayapple photo by Al Batt

Jumpseed photo by Al Batt.

Jumpseed photo by Al Batt

False rue anemone photo by Al Batt.

Jack-in-the-pulpit photo by Al Batt.

The name “Jack-in-the-pulpit” comes from its resemblance to a preacher in a pulpit. The hooded spathe is the pulpit and the spadix (a fleshy, spike-like growth) is Jack. Photo by Al Batt.

Wild phlox has five petals, while the bright and fragrant purple, pink, lavender or white flowers of the invasive dame’s rocket have four petals. Photo by Al Batt.

We all have the duty to do good

Naturally

The rain had filled the birdbath. I’m pleased to have a house with a view of the water.

  I was up at the whipcrack of dawn. Birdsong spilled into the morning. It’s spring training for male birds. As the morning grew older, I broke out the binoculars, unfurling the flag of my birding kingdom. The bouncy flights of shiny goldfinches delighted me, and my emotional support dandelions bloomed. To see that much of anything is thrilling.

  I’d joined a gathering of endotherms at an Easter dinner. Endotherms and ectotherms are animals that regulate their body temperatures via different mechanisms. Warm-blooded endotherms generate heat internally to maintain a constant body temperature. Cold-blooded animals, or ectotherms, get heat from their surroundings, so their body temperatures change with the weather.

Q&A

  Kathy Enter asked if the pair of cardinals in her yard might be the same couple as last year. On average, cardinals in the wild might live as long as 3 to 5 years. One lived 15 years, 9 months. If one of a pair is lost, the surviving bird might remain on the territory and find a new mate.

  “Why is a red admiral butterfly called an admiral?” Some believe the name is a corruption of the phrase “red admirable,” with “admirable” meaning commendable or deserving of esteem. Early naturalists gave the butterfly its name because of its striking coloration. Others believe the name came from its red-orange wing markings, which resemble the chevrons of British naval uniforms. 

  Micah asked what bird has the longest lifespan, and the shortest. Laysan albatrosses can live more than 70 years in the wild, kakapo (New Zealand parrots) over 90 years in captivity, a bald eagle lived 38 years, a Canada goose 33 years and a sandhill crane 37 years. Cookie, a male pink cockatoo, reached 83 at Brookfield Zoo near Chicago. Small birds generally live the shortest lives. Data from the bird-banding station at Pennsylvania's Powdermill Nature Reserve found that 31% of adult male ruby-throated hummingbirds and 42% of females survive any given year. Nine years is the record longevity for that species. I don’t know which species has the shortest life.

  “How can I tell a golden eagle from a bald eagle?” Their bodies are similar in weight and wingspan, with the females being larger. Golden eagles have feathers on their legs to their feet, whereas bald eagles have yellow skin on their ankles. Bald eagles have large beaks, about one-third the size of their heads, while goldens have smaller beaks. Adult golden eagles have tri-colored beaks, while the white-headed adult bald eagle beaks have a solid yellow color. Immature birds of both species have similar coloration, but a golden eagle has white wrist patches, a white tail with a distinct dark terminal band, and dark armpits. Immature balds have white-mottled plumages and white armpits.

  Kent Spellman of Albert Lea wrote, “What birds am I hearing singing at dusk versus dawn?” When there is music outside my window, I’m not on Bourbon Street. I’m listening to the morning chorus. Not all our avian amigos are morning birds. Crows can be vocal before alarm-clock time, opening their day with conversation. Robins call at first light. I stayed in a hotel with a parking lot so well-lit that a robin serenaded guests most of the night. The dawn chorus is a natural phenomenon that visits the doorstep. Some might grumble about that cheery singing before the caffeine has kicked in, but the dawn chorus delights me. The reasons for the songs are the need for continual reminders of territorial ownership, an endless advertisement for mates, and to proclaim survival. Birds don't swipe right or left—they sing to find a mate. Why sing so early? Sound travels better at dawn than later in the day, and there is less noise to compete with. Who wants to sing in competition with a lawn mower? Early morning is a poor time to feed, as the light makes hunting difficult, and insect prey can become inactive during the morning chill. I listened to a brown thrasher, and I could almost hear Perry Como crooning, “Oh! It’s a good day for singing a song, And it’s a good day for moving along. Yes, it’s a good day, how could anything go wrong? A good day from morning till night!” It was going to be a good day. Dusk brings out more territorial singing than mate enticing. Catbirds, cardinals, robins, brown thrashers, owls and great crested flycatchers add their spirited voices to an evening's soundtrack.

Thanks for stopping by

  “We are called to live lives of gratitude, joy, and caring, profoundly moved by the bare fact that we live in the time of the singing of birds.”― Kathleen Dean Moore.

  “We all have the duty to do good.”—Pope Francis.

  Do good.

©Al Batt 2025

A reader asked, “What was the first bird you ever looked at through binoculars?” They weren’t really binoculars, but I think it was a turkey vulture I saw through my Grandma Cook’s opera glasses. She had used them to watch the Metropolitan Opera on the radio. They gave me class. I’m sure the vulture was impressed. Photo by Al Batt.

I love seeing the big leaves of the pieplant. Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote about being newly married and making dinner for a threshing crew, where she referred to pieplant, and that she needed to bake a pie from it. She didn’t add any sugar to it, so the rhubarb pie wasn’t a resounding success. Marco Polo brought rhubarb from China to Europe. Benjamin Franklin is credited with introducing rhubarb seed to North America in 1770, but John Bartram had been growing the edible rhubarb in Philadelphia 40 years before that. In the 17th century, the English became the first to eat rhubarb, but ingested the leaves because they resembled chard. The leaves contain an oxalic acid that causes cramps, nausea and worse. By the 18th century, Europeans had discovered that the tart stalks were the part to eat and were perfect for tarts. A neighbor boy, who enjoyed the sauce and crisp, called rhubarb the “good celery.” Al Batt

Antlers or horns?

 Naturally

 I notice nature’s gifts, finding beauty in the commonplace and mystery in simple things. I can’t send a thank-you card to a chickadee, so I supply it with sunflower seeds instead.
 An eastern bluebird male perched on the mailbox, checking everywhere for nest cavity vacancies.
Red-tailed hawks plopped down on posts and poles. I wonder when a post becomes a pole. The terms are used interchangeably. A post is generally shorter, while a pole often serves as a structural element in buildings or utilities. 
 I’m sure they’d planned the journey behind crows’ doors. I watched five crows fly this way and that way in a meandering flight. "As the crow flies" is used to describe the distance between two points, ignoring roads and obstacles. 
 Birds teach us to listen by providing a delightful component to learning. I listened to the cheerful and complex warbling of a house finch and its backup singers—chorus frogs. Gophers and moles break through the grass ceiling, and Siberian squill pushes through the fallen leaves and reaches for the sun.

Q&A

 Mike Rucker of Lake Wilson saw a pair of short-eared owls fly up from the grass in a road ditch and figured they weren’t tree-roosting owls. He noticed northern shovelers forming a circle on the water. Thanks, Mike. Short-eared owls are ground nesters. In Minnesota, this species is an inhabitant of grasslands, wet meadows, grainfields and open peatlands. They aren’t a common nester in Minnesota, with confirmed nesting mainly in the northwestern part of the state and some in the far southwestern corner. Groups of northern shovelers form tight swimming circles, creating a vortex to bring food to the surface. Mike also mentioned the abundance of Eurasian collared-doves and how the flickers perched in a tree like a robin or grackle. Eurasian collared-doves are larger than mourning doves and slightly lighter in color. It wears bling with a diagnostic black collar on the back of its neck and has a squared tail as opposed to the pointed tail on a mourning dove. Mourning doves, native to North America, have spotted wings, pinkish-buff bodies, and white tail tips. It’s sometimes incorrectly called a turtle dove. The name comes from its moaning coo. Eurasian collared-doves are originally from the Bay of Bengal in Asia, and escaped captivity in the Bahamas in the 1970s, arriving in Florida a decade later. Eurasian collared-doves make a three-note "koo-KOO-kook," with the middle syllable being the longest. Mourning doves produce a softer, haunting cooing sound, sometimes likened to an owl's hoot. Eurasian collared-doves make a loud "hwaah" call when excited or alarmed, and before alighting. Flickers spend substantial time on the ground, presenting un-woodpecker-like behavior as they search for ants, beetles and other invertebrates. In Minnesota, a male northern flicker can be identified by his distinctive black “mustache” stripe.
 “Do the teeth of mice grow throughout their lives?” This is characteristic of rodents, including mice, rats, squirrels and beavers. As their teeth wear down from gnawing, they continue growing. This ensures that the teeth remain sharp and functional throughout the rodent's life. If the teeth don’t wear down properly, it causes problems such as difficulty eating, malocclusion and jaw damage. Rodents chew to maintain dental health.
 “How many times do blue jays nest?” In Minnesota, where the bird-growing season is short, a pair has time enough for one successful brood, although re-nesting could occur two or three times if egg clutches are lost.
 “How can I tell which kestrel is the male?” American kestrel males have slate-blue wings; females’ wings are reddish brown. Both sexes have pairs of black vertical slashes on the sides of their faces—resembling a mustache and sideburns. Females are 10 to 15% larger. Kestrels have two black spots, known as ocelli ("little eyes" in Latin), on the back of their heads. These fake eyes discourage potential attackers from sneaking up from behind. Males have one black bar on their orange tail feathers; females have many black bars on theirs.
 “Antlers or horns?” Deer have antlers, not horns. Antlers are made of bone, while horns are composed of a bone core covered in a keratin sheath. Bucks have antlers to fight with other bucks for dominance. Antlers are football helmets that protect heads during battles. Antlers are shed each year, while horns continue growing. An exception is the North American pronghorn (not an antelope), which has horns it sheds annually. Horns are found on antelope, bison, sheep and other members of the bovine family. Deer, elk and moose are part of the Cervidae family. Deer shed their antlers annually, due to hormonal changes and changing daylight hours. Shedding antlers could be a way for deer to conserve energy, as they’re cumbersome and resource-intensive. 

Thanks for stopping by

 “In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they’re still beautiful.”–Alice Walker.
 “Spring would not be spring without bird songs.”—Francis M. Chapman.
 Do good.

Al Batt 2025

Killdeer are common and widespread shorebirds that inhabit open fields, golf courses, lawns, airports, gravel parking lots and the edges of wetlands. They scrape shallow nests in gravel parking lots where they aggressively scold humans who get too close to a nest. They use a broken wing act to lure threats away from the nests. Killdeer loudly proclaim their name: “Kill-deer! Kill-deer!” Photo by Al Batt

A single bird can be my birding trip





Not seeing a violet-green isn’t easy to swallow

 I needed to be getting ready when I heard the bubbly, gurgling sounds made 
by a purple martin in our home.
 It wasn’t an actual bird, but the authentic recorded sound of a purple martin coming from a bird clock. My father-in-law gave me one that lasted over 30 years. My wife gave me a replacement clock last year. The purple martin sounds off at 8.
 I was off to see the wizard—an ologist of some kind with many letters behind his last name. A cardinal sang. I looked out the window and saw what I’ve seen often, but not enough, before. A deja view. That brilliant redbird brightened my day.
 Leo Buscaglia wrote, “A single rose can be my garden... a single friend, my world.” 
 A single bird enhances my day.
 On the ride, I looked for swallows from my passenger seat. Tree swallows return to their breeding grounds earlier in the spring than other swallow species. This is due to their ability to adapt to a broader range of foods. I typically see one around March 19. Tree swallows are cavity nesters known to investigate artificial structures like the tailpipe of a truck for nesting. 
 “One swallow does not make a summer, neither does one fine day; similarly, one day or brief time of happiness does not make a person entirely happy.” This is attributed to Aristotle. A swallow helps spring spring into action.
 In Minnesota, we get to see a nice variety of swallows: barn, tree, cliff, bank, northern rough-winged and purple martin.
 Some are easy to identify. Barn swallows eat barns, tree swallows eat trees, cliff swallows eat cliffs, and bank swallows eat banks, but only the branch offices.
 My father was a persistent but failed purple martin landlord. He lowered the rent and did away with the required security deposit, but had no success. He was a member of a purple martin organization that proclaimed that each martin ate 2,000 mosquitoes a day. Martins hunt for food during the day, and mosquitoes are active in the evening, with little overlap in their schedules. Martins feed high in the air, while skeeters dine closer to the ground. Eating a mosquito would be like going through a drive-thru and ordering one french fry at a time. It’d make no sense. I watch the martins at our bird club’s martin houses and gourds. They eat many dragonflies. Oklahoma research found martins eat invasive red fire ants, and eat termites, beetles, dragonflies, damselflies and other insects. When a baby martin cries, “I’m hungry,” it gets a dragonfly shoved into its gaping maw. That’s like a kid getting a large birthday cake, including the candles, shoved into his mouth because he whined, “Ma, I’m hungry.”
 If I had to pick a favorite swallow, it’d be the barn. I grew up in a dairy barn and watched many generations of barn swallows fledge from their mud nests in our barn. When I mow the lawn, barn swallows shadow me, snacking on the flying insects the mower causes to take flight. “Click it, click it,” they call. I remind them that there is no seatbelt on a push lawn mower, but they’re not listening.
 Barn swallows are symbols of spring, renewal, good luck, love and fidelity. A Native American legend is that a barn swallow dared to swipe fire from the gods and give the fire to humans. The angry gods shot flaming arrows at the bird. One arrow hit the swallow at the base of its tail, burning away the central tail feathers. Since then, the barn swallow has had a forked tail. The bird commonly associated with a swallowtail is the barn swallow, but all swallows have swallowtails. What are they going to do, borrow a tail from a blue jay? That’s not happening.
 I narrate natural history tours and tell stories on the Pelican Breeze boat that floats upon Albert Lea Lake. One year, barn swallows nested on that vessel. A nestling’s life is a happy sequence of significant events. Four young birds crammed into a nest that could have used a couple more bedrooms. When the boat took a tour, the young swallows came along. The parents stayed at the dock, waiting for the return of their boating babies. It was a glorious reunion, with parents and relatives gleefully fluttering about the youngsters and joyously welcoming them.
 I enjoy sitting on the deck of the house and watching swallows feasting on the ant swarms flying high in the air. It’s an evening at the bird ballet.
 If I don’t see a swallow, it’s probably a violet-green swallow. There are only two records of that species in Minnesota—1942 and 1990.

Thanks for stopping by

 “There are always flowers for those who want to see them.”—Henri Matisse.

©Al Batt 2025

This bird clock reminds me daily that I am fortunate to be nutty about nuthatches and looney about loons. Photo by Al Batt

A robin needs three snows on its tail, back or toes before it’s truly spring

Naturally

 The rain had turned into a heavy snowfall. An eastern bluebird found shelter in a window feeder and hunkered down. I couldn’t read his mind, but he didn’t appear to be the bluebird of happiness. “I wish you bluebirds in the spring. To give your heart a song to sing,” is from the song “I Wish You Love” written by Charles Louis Trenet and Albert Askew Beach. I wished the bluebird would have other bluebirds for company.
 Northern flickers arrive in my yard in April. These lovely birds pecked the ground in search of insects. They love to eat ants. 
 I see oak and ironwood trees clinging to their dead brown leaves. This retention of dead plant matter is called marcescence. The new spring growth eventually dislodges these dead leaves.
 I watched a wild turkey tom strut around, trying to impress hens. He thought he was all that because he had a bourbon named after him. Wild Turkey is a brand of Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey produced in Kentucky. The tom shook his fanned tail because he was a mover and a shaker. A wild turkey can run up to 25 mph and fly 55 mph. How smart is a turkey or birds in general? It depends on who is giving the test.

Q&A

 “I love hearing the chickadee call its name. What other birds call their names?” These are onomatopoeic names. Other birds include the killdeer, eastern phoebe, eastern wood-peewee, eastern whip-poor-will,  Chuck-will's-widow and northern bobwhite. An imagination like one used to name the constellations is helpful in hearing what words a bird is saying, even if it doesn’t know it’s speaking our language. The blue jay calls “jay” and some human ears insist a crow says “crow” instead of “caw.”
 “When do rooster pheasants crow?” They might be heard crowing throughout the day all year round, but mostly at dawn and dusk in spring and summer. A rapid beating of the wings often follows a rooster's loud crow. Roosters also often cackle when they fly. It seems to me that they crow more often when the skies are clear, and there’s little to no wind.
 “How can I tell if it’s a downy woodpecker or a hairy woodpecker drumming?” I just heard a pileated woodpecker drumming. The big bird was on a big tree and produced an impressive, powerful, resonant sound. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the downy woodpecker has about 17 beats per second, which makes it almost sound as if we could count them. The hairy woodpecker has faster-paced drumming, with about 26 beats per second and sounds impossible to count. 
 “What is a spatzie?” Spatzie or spotsie are names that people call the house sparrow. Others refer to it as the English sparrow. The name likely comes from the German word Spatzen which means "sparrows." Spätzle, Spätzla or Spatzen are a kind of Central European egg pasta. 
 “I saw an owl pellet. Do other birds produce pellets?” Owls swallow prey whole or in large pieces, but cannot digest fur, teeth, bone or feathers. Birds, which consume food that has indigestible matter, cast pellets as part of the digestive process. Other birds that cast pellets include hawks, falcons, eagles, herons, cormorants, egrets, grebes, gulls, kingfishers, swallows, grouse, nighthawks, swifts, shrikes, crows, ravens and jays, and many species of shorebirds.
 “What bird runs the fastest?” Ostriches can’t fly, but no birds can match their speed on land. They are the fastest birds in the world when it comes to running. They have been clocked running continuously at speeds of 30-37 mph and sprinting up to 43 mph. In North America, our speediest land bird is the greater roadrunner. It speeds along at 20 mph, and it can reach about 26 mph when in top gear. And as any TV cartoon watcher can attest, that’s fast enough to elude Wile E. Coyote.
 Jim Muyres of Mankato wrote, “I am wondering if the spring migration is different than the fall? In the spring, it seems like more of a free-for-all or are there big flocks I am missing?”  The spring migration occurs within a shorter period than the fall migration. In spring, birds are driven to fly north to find breeding territories and to nest. This gives the spring migration more urgency. The spring migration typically follows more distinct migratory patterns and routes. The fall migration occurs over a more extended period, with birds taking a wider variety of routes to their wintering grounds. Flocks tend to be larger during fall migration than in spring because birds gather to increase their chances of survival, while in spring, they’re more focused on finding breeding territories. 

Thanks for stopping by

 “A single rose can be my garden... a single friend, my world.”—Leo Buscaglia.
 “By discovering nature, you discover yourself.”—Maxime Lagacé.
 Do good.

©Al Batt 2025

My family’s elders insisted that a returning robin needed three snows on its tail (back or toes) before it was truly spring. Sometimes, they were right.  Of course, this doesn’t apply to the rockin’ robins who were here in the winter. A common mnemonic for remembering the ballad sung by an American Robin is "Cheerily, cheer up, cheer up, cheerily, cheer up." Photo by Al Batt. 

The cheep seats in the trees were filled

Naturally

 I was off to see the wizard—an ologist of some kind with many letters behind his name. A cardinal sang. I looked out the window, and a brilliant redbird brightened my day. I took it as a good sign.
 I listened harder. Sandhill cranes made prehistoric-sounding calls that cut through the morning like a cleaver and could be heard from 2.5 miles away. They produce the sound on the ground and in flight.
 A mourning dove called coo-ah, coo, coo, coo or hul-a, hoop, hoop, hoop. The dove was named for its solemn, mournful song. Mourning doves can fly 55 mph.
 Knock, knock, who’s there? A woodpecker drumming on a tree. It’s a woodpecker’s whatness.
 Blackbirds and robins fill the cheep seats in the trees. By returning in the spring, they perform community service.
 Maple tree branches suffer toothy mayhem as squirrels chew on them. The cambium layer, just under the bark, contains sugary sap squirrels find appealing, and the bark and cambium layer can be a source of nutrients during times of scarcity. Squirrels might use the bark and twigs for nest-building materials. Squirrels have continuously growing teeth and chewing helps wear them down. 

Q&A

 George Downs of New Ulm wrote, “I have a question about bird feeding. During the winter, we enjoyed multitudes of sparrows at our birdfeeders in the yard, and large numbers of finches entertaining us at our window-box feeder. For the past two weeks the sparrows have all but disappeared and there have been no finches at the box at all. Is this a migratory pattern or just a return to natural feeding? We had good feeder action last summer that picked up as the cold months arrived. Is the pattern we have observed normal? Also, will they return once natural sources have been depleted?” Bird populations fluctuate seasonally and from one year to the next for a range of reasons. There is normal variation, but fluctuating food supplies/requirements, predator populations, stale seeds and changes to local habitat can impact bird numbers. They’ll be back.
 “Do birds urinate?” Birds do produce pee, but it’s different than mammal pee. Bird pee isn’t stored in a bladder but mixes with feces. Birds release a white paste with some dark components all in one dropping, which contains both urine and feces. This is what we lovingly call “bird poop.”  Ostriches, the biggest birds in the world, are the only birds known to release the two substances separately.
 “What gnaws on deer sheds?” Deer shed their antlers annually in late winter or early spring, and the dropped antlers are called sheds. Sheds are a valuable food source, a tool for teeth maintenance and a source of calcium and minerals for various animals, including squirrels, mice, chipmunks, raccoons, opossums, bears, foxes, coyotes, porcupines, rabbits, dogs, groundhogs, otters, beaver and deer chew on antlers.
 “Why are spiders in my shower?” They are there because they enjoy a dark, secluded environment that offers moisture and dampness, shelter, prey availability and the opportunity to see naked humans. I enjoy the company of spiders. Maybe it’s because I read “Charlotte‘s Web” by E. B. White at an early age, long before I saw the movie “Annie Hall,” wherein Annie Hall called the film’s protagonist Alvy (Woody Allen) at 3 a.m. because of a spider in her bathroom. Alvy arrived and admonished, “I told you a thousand times you should always keep a lotta insect spray. You never know who's gonna crawl over.” Alvy called it a major spider the size of Buick and demolished the bathroom with a tennis racket and might have hit the spider. An Entomology Today study found peppermint oil and chestnuts showed apparent repellent effects on some spider species. Lemon oil didn’t have a significant impact on any of the species tested. The test didn’t include all spider species. 
 “Why do geese fly in a V-formation?” It’s because the lead goose is usually a veteran female named Verna, Velma or Virginia. Occasionally, a male named Virgil gets to fly at the front just to shut him up. Scientists have determined that the V-shaped formation conserves energy. Each bird flies slightly above the bird in front of them, resulting in a reduction of wind resistance. The birds take turns being in the front, falling back when they tire from acting as a windbreak. This allows the geese to fly long distances before they must stop for rest. A V-formation aids the communication and coordination within the group. Fighter pilots often fly in a V-formation for aerodynamic efficiency and tactical advantages. This configuration allows maneuverability, enhanced visibility, and a potential for reduced fuel consumption. Plus, it looks cool.

Thanks for stopping by

 “Birds are little miracles.”—Amy Tan.
 “Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing.”—Wernher von Braun.
 Do good.

©Al Batt 2025

American goldfinches molt twice a year. The brilliant yellow the males change into each spring brings a flying gold mine. Goldfinches are dimorphic, meaning males and females differ in appearance. They don’t nest until late June or early July when milkweed, thistle and other plants have seeds, which goldfinches incorporate into their nests and feed to nestlings. Until then, they wander in search of food. Photo by Al Batt.

Why is it called a murmuration?

 Naturally

 The bear went over the mountain, to see what he could see.
 I walked over the yard to see what I could see and hear.
 It had been a day of the black-capped chickadee’s whistling “Spring’s here,” an abundance of boxelder bugs and dandelion plants showing green.
 The shadows were bending in the afternoon under the weight of the sun when I heard the dark-eyed juncos making toy ray gun sounds. Pew, pew, pew! The gray birds with white bellies and outer tail feathers are called snowbirds because they usher in the snow. The junco, looking like a gray bird that landed in a can of white paint, is a common spring and fall migrant throughout Minnesota, and a common winter visitor in the southern part of the state. The junco’s eyes are dark and the bill a light pink. Females are a lighter gray. I see more of the darker-colored males than the females in the winter. Females are more common in the southern states, overwintering as far as northern Mexico. The males risk harsh winters in the north in order to get a head start on the spring journey back to their breeding territories in northeastern Minnesota and Canada. They’re sometimes accompanied by American tree sparrows that appear to be wearing tie tacks without neckties. It’s a good look and one I may emulate. This sparrow breeds across northern Canada and Alaska, and despite having "tree" in its name, it’s a ground bird. It forages and nests on the ground.

Q&A

 “Why do birds look fatter in the winter than in summer?” Humans look heavier in the winter, too, but it’s because we wear puffy coats in winter. Birds can’t wear puffy coats because that would interfere with their ability to fly. A farmer friend says he puts on winter weight in case the winter proves to be a harsh one and he can’t afford to buy an egg. This pronouncement causes his wife’s eyes to roll all the way around in her head. That’s a remarkable feat, but so is what feathers can do. Some birds grow more feathers for insulation. They learned how to do that by watching humans put on long underwear. Birds fluff their feathers to trap the air between the feathers and the skin. A bird’s body heat warms the trapped air, which keeps the bird warm. The average body temperature of a bird is 105 degrees. The fluffed feathers give birds a profile that makes them look plumper. They aren’t fat, they’re fluffy.
 “Why is a flock of starlings called a murmuration?” A murmuration of starlings is a shapeshifting cloud of swirling birds that alternately grows larger and shrinks. The elegant movement of a flock of starlings welcomes contemplation and creates stunning art in the sky. The movement of the flock is choreographed collectively by all members of the flock. The fluidity of motion results when one starling changes direction or speed, and each of the other birds in the flock responds to the change nearly simultaneously, as the group responds as one. I reckon the collective noun “murmuration,” derives from the sounds made by the wingbeats of many birds in flight. I’ve had a flock of starlings swoop low over my head with a loud whoosh before twirling away. The wing song made me duck. Maybe it should be called a whoosh of starlings?
 “Where do male goldfinches first show spring colors?” Uffdah! That’s a tough question about a wild canary that refuses to answer questions. This is a wild guess, but I’m going to say in Dublin, Georgia. Yeah, that’s it, Dublin, Georgia. I’ll bet yellow feathers abound there. Oh, wait a second. My sweet wife, The Queen B, just told me that this was a plumage question and not a geographical question. I told her I knew that. Please don’t tell her anything different. It’ll be our little secret. There are many colors on a bird’s palette. The first signs of a male American goldfinch’s molt into a breeding plumage show around the head. The pale edges of the wing feathers wear and fade, and the bill color begins changing to a pale orange. This progresses with more yellow and black feathers around the head and more yellow on the body. It creates expectations, and I welcome the sight of the tiny birds that have become flying dandelions. 

Thanks for stopping by

  “Nature is my church. The wind in the trees and the bugs and the frogs. All those things are comfort to me.”—Sissy Spacek. 
 “We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. It's easy to say ‘It's not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem.’ Then there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those people my heroes.”—Fred Rogers.
Do good.

©️Al Batt 2025

Starlings develop yellow bills during the breeding season, with the base of lower mandible blue in males, pink in females. Robert Louis Stevenson wrote, “A birdie with a yellow bill Hopped upon my window sill, Cocked his shining eye and said: ‘Ain't you 'shamed, you sleepy-head!’" Clellan Card played Axel Torgeson on “Axel and His Dog,” a popular kid’s show and said, “A birdie with a yellow bill Hopped upon my window sill, Cocked his shining eye and said, ‘What’s that in the road…ahead?’”  Photo by Al Batt.

Each bird is a rare bird

Naturally

 Chipmunks scurried about as if they had misplaced their lists of things to do today. Perhaps their behavior was a result of the time and place creating a birder’s paradise, as that combination does every day of the year.
 I stared at each bird as if it were a rare bird, because each bird is.
 Woodpeckers drummed. They banged out love notes in Morse code or a woodpecker code on resonant limbs. Wild strawberry leaves were lovely to see. The leaves stay green over the winter. 
  I poured water into a small basin for the birds. Does that make it a beaker?
 Winter is over. Meteorological winter is December, January and February. Meteorological spring is March, April and June. Welcome to spring. Astronomical spring begins later. The spring equinox (also called the vernal equinox) marks one of the two instances each year when our sun and the Earth's equator align. The spring equinox falls on March 20 or 21 (and occasionally on March 19 in a leap year). In 2025, the day is Thursday, March 20. That means we get two springs. Yay us. Life is good. 
 Robins are singing, and red-winged blackbirds are flocking together, which is a wing-wing situation and a win–win situation. Red-winged blackbird males return before the females show up here. They hurry back to compete for choice territories. They must be aware to survive, so they travel in flocks, which offer more eyes to spot predators and food. Their arrival is a harbinger of spring. Arguably, the red-winged blackbird could be the most commonly seen bird in the Gopher State. The females, with streaky brown plumages, don’t need to rush as they know there will be males to welcome their triumphant arrival. The males sing “Look-at-me” at full throttle.
 I keep an ear out and hear sandhill cranes give voice to the call that stirs the soul. Aldo Leopold wrote this about that sound, “High horns, low horns, silence and finally a pandemonium of trumpets, rattles, croaks and cries that almost shakes the bog with its nearness.”
 Male goldfinches begin molting from their muted, drab plumage into their vibrant mating colors in mid-March. Keep an eye on that state bird of Iowa, and you’ll see some splotchy feathers on goldfinches during the in-between stages of a molt.
 Canada geese pairs, on territory, honk belligerently at perceived intruders. They’re like callers to sports talk shows—always yelling angrily about something. Smile when you hear one, and be thankful for all that free fertilizer you’re getting.
 Pussy willows are budding. This native willow grows 8 to 15 feet tall and thrives in wet areas. They're an important food source for early-spring pollinators, including several bee species. The plant is host to the viceroy butterfly, whose caterpillar feeds on it.
 Squirrel and rabbit chases take place as part of the courting process. Gray squirrels mate twice a year, typically from December to February and June through August. Fox squirrels mate twice a year, generally from December to February and June through July. The eastern cottontail rabbit breeding season runs from March to September.
 For most of Minnesota, December is typically the snowiest month of the year. January is second, February third and March is the fourth snowiest month, but you never know.

Q&A

 “What do robins eat at this time of year?” There is fruit available. They eat crabapples, mountain ash berries, haws from hawthorns, winterberries, rose hips and hackberries, among other things. They likely become adventurous eaters when they first return. This species (American robin) was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1766 as Turdus migratorius, which derives from two Latin words: turdus, "thrush," and migratorius, "to migrate." The name robin has been used in North America since at least 1703.
 “When is the breeding season for opossums?” Opossums mate between January and May. The young aren’t fully developed at birth. The babies climb up the mother's belly and into her pouch. They remain there for 60 to 70 days. For a month after that, the young opossums climb in and out of the pouch, never straying far. When mouse-sized, they climb aboard their mother's back, where they spend their time until becoming independent.
 “What bird calls “Ricky”?” I don’t know if I know of one. I’d guess it might be a cardinal. Many ears hear it as “Birdie, birdie, birdie” and it wouldn’t be a stretch for it to be heard as “Ricky, Ricky, Ricky.” The ruby-crowned kinglet is often called “Little Ricky,” not because of its call, but because its four-letter bird banding code is RCKI.

Thanks for stopping by

 “A quiet and modest life brings more joy than a pursuit of success bound with constant unrest.”—Albert Einstein.
 “If you want light to come into your life, you need to stand where it is shining.”—Guy Finley.
 Do good.

©Al Batt 2025

I love March, when the trees turn into red-winged blackbirds. Harbingers of spring, the redwings are among the earliest spring migrants, with the males arriving before the females to establish territories and engage in courtship displays. The males sing rowdy “Look-at-me” territorial songs and display their brilliant red epaulets to attract females.  Photo by Al Batt.

Life isn’t a Super Bowl commercial.

Naturally

  Life isn’t a Super Bowl commercial. I had a stroke.

  Now I have an excuse for not remembering someone’s name. I got up in the morning, walked to the bathroom and looked at the mirror. I smile at the mirror every morning. I figure if I can’t smile at my image, I won’t be able to smile at anyone else. A second benefit is that at least I’ll make one person smile that day. My odd reflection looked even odder than normal. One side of my smile had a serious droop to it. A trip to the ER and an ambulance ride to another hospital where I had to tell 73 healthcare professionals (each of whom was an angel) my full name (some spelling required) and birthdate, before they’d ask to see my smile. I spent a few days in the hospital (I highly recommend the aspirin suppository and the saline solution drip) and am now on the mend. The removal of the countless sticky EKG electrodes allowed me to get something off my chest—hair. I have moved from taking no prescription drugs to taking enough pills to put my piggy bank on a rapid weight-loss program. My smile has returned. I’m happy to see it.

  There was a lot of whining in the yard. No, it wasn’t all from me. It was the oft-repeated chi-call of a red-bellied woodpecker, which sounds kind of whiny. It’s a call for me to stop, look and listen.

  Acrobatic squirrels engaged in a merry chase of tag as a cardinal cranked up his spring song, a loud, whistled series of notes sounding like "cheer, cheer, cheer" or "birdie, birdie, birdie.” It’s smelling salts for the ears.

  Downy and hairy woodpeckers can be hard to tell apart. Downies are smaller and have short bills. Hairy woodpeckers have bills more like chisels. Nuthatches went around a tree trunk searching for food, as if they were stripes on a barber pole.

Q&A

  “What is estivation?” Hibernation or “winter sleep” is the state of inactivity or low metabolic process animals perform during winter. Aestivation (estivation) or “summer sleep” is the low metabolic process by animals in summer. There are reptiles and amphibians that estivate, including some tortoises, salamanders and frogs. Some land snails, insects and crabs do it.

  “Why do I see spiders in the basement one day and none the next?“ A few spiders around a home can keep away harmful pests and disease-carrying insects like ticks, fleas and cockroaches. Spiders provide free Halloween decorations for homes. In our houses during the winter, spiders move around searching for prey and water. Osage oranges (hedgeballs or hedge apples) aren’t effective and their use isn’t recommended to repel spiders.

  “Do birds have teeth?” Birds don’t have teeth, that’s why you’ve never seen one in your dentist’s office, and it’s not because they don’t floss. They may have ridges on their bills that help them grip food. Many birds swallow their food whole, and their powerful gizzards (a muscular part of their stomachs) grind up the food so they can digest it. Scoters and eiders swallow clams and mussels whole, letting their gizzards pulverize the shells. Bird beaks can sip nectar from flowers, filter food from water, tear flesh from bones, crack nuts, and pluck insects from the air. Mandibles in some species have evolved to look and act like teeth to help them handle food more easily. Mergansers and other fish-eating birds have saw-like serrations that help them grip slippery fish, while seed-eating birds have bill ridges, which help them cut through a seed’s outer husk. Some shrikes and birds of prey have a ‘tomial tooth’ on the upper mandible, which they use to sever a prey’s spinal cord. The double-toothed kite’s name comes from the two pointed tooth-like notches on its upper mandible, but those aren’t teeth in the true sense of the word. Baby birds have an “egg tooth” a small, sharp structure on the end of their beaks that they use to aid in hatching. A bird uses its egg tooth to pierce the air sac between the membrane and the eggshell giving them a few hours of air during the time they repeatedly force the egg tooth through the shell until they have made a hole big enough for them to leave the egg.

  “How fast can deer run?” White-tailed deer can run 30 to 40 mph, never once qualifying for a NASCAR event. They can leap up to 8 feet high.

Thanks for stopping by

  “Birds are wherever we are. They are our companions. Birds are mediators between heaven and earth.”—Terry Tempest Williams.

  “Birdwatching is something that we do for enjoyment, so if you enjoy it, you are already a good birder. If you enjoy it a lot, you are a great birder.”—Kenn Kaufman.

  I wish you good health. Do good.

©️Al Batt 2025

It’s not a rodent. It’s North America’s only marsupial. The Virginia opossum is the size of a house cat (4 to 12 pounds). It’s resistant to rattlesnake venom, is rarely rabid and can have 6 to 20 babies (joeys) twice a year. Granny Moses on “The Beverly Hillbillies” enjoyed possum stew.  Photo by Al Batt.

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NATURE’S LUMBERJACKS

Naturally

 February is a short month. Cold weather makes it seem longer. Everyone was wearing a polar ice cap. It was a good day to have a hat to hang on a peg. John Steinbeck regarded the desert as a place “to observe the cleverness and the infinite variety of techniques of survival under pitiless opposition.” I thought of his quote when I walked about on a -19 day. He could have been talking about Minnesota weather. 
 I saw a perched hawk in a faraway tree. The light allowed no color to be seen. How did I know it was a hawk and not a crow? In general, perching raptors sit upright, whereas non-raptors, such as crows, when perched, lean forward over their feet. 

Q&A

 “I saw geese that weren’t flying high in a typical V-formation. They were flying in a single file. What was going on?” It was a fire drill.
 Jim Mujyres of Mankato wrote, “I am trying to figure out where vultures nest in Southern Minnesota. Where would they build their nests? Can they be seen flying dead critters to their young ones?” Turkey vultures typically nest in a variety of sheltered locations, including abandoned buildings, rock crevices, caves, hollow trees, cliffs, burrows, fallen trees, old hawk or heron nests, on the ground and in thickets, often near river valleys. They don't build elaborate nests, preferring to lay their eggs on debris or the flat bottom of a nest site. Both parents feed the young by the regurgitation of carrion, either directly into a begging nestling's gaping mouth or on the ground next to the nestling. I’ve found nests in dilapidated barns. Vultures eat a lot of roadkill because it’s difficult to eat healthy when you’re on the road.
 “Why do beavers cut down trees?” Beavers need to stay busy because they are known for being as busy as beavers. They cut trees for food. These herbivores eat leaves, twigs, woody stems, new tree growth on branches and trunks, and aquatic plants. Beavers are second only to humans in their ability to change the environment they live in, according to National Geographic. Adult beavers weigh between 35 and 55 pounds, although they can be as heavy as 90 pounds. In the spring and summer, they eat clover, leaves, ferns, buds, fruit, marsh grass, roots from aquatic plants and berries. Beavers can remain submerged for as long as 20 minutes. In fall and winter, they eat cuttings from trees stored beneath the water. When a beaver cuts down a tree, it eats the inner, soft cambium layer just under the outer bark. This is the same layer that rabbits, deer, porcupines and moose eat. The cambium is a thin layer of tissue in a tree that produces new wood and bark. Once the bark is eaten from a branch, beavers use the sticks as building materials for lodges and dams. Beavers are nature’s lumberjacks, cutting down trees and using their excellent engineering skills to build dams and lodges out of them. 
 “Why don’t I see dead birds?” You rarely see dead birds because scavengers like other birds, insects and mammals usually devour them. When most birds are nearing the end of their lives, they tend to die in hidden locations, further reducing the chances of you seeing a carcass. As you walk around, you might spot a dead mouse or squirrel. On the highway, you regularly see road-killed raccoons, opossums, skunks and deer. Birds weigh little, are covered with feathers and most have hollow bones. If a dead bird is on the ground, tiny decomposers—bacteria and insects—quickly invade its body. A small bird decomposes and disappears in a few days, while a small mammal might exist in recognizable form for much longer. Raccoons, foxes, coyotes, vultures, crows or opossums will eat much of a bird but leave the inedible parts—the bones and feathers. Rodents consume the bones for the calcium, and beetles ingest the feathers, which are mostly protein.
 “Do we have walkingsticks in Minnesota?” Walkingsticks are long, skinny insects resembling sticks capable of walking. This type of camouflage is called crypsis. Minnesota has two species of walkingsticks: northern walkingsticks are found in the forested region and prairie walkingsticks in the prairie region. Northern walkingsticks feed on basswood, white oak and American hazelnut leaves.

Thanks for stopping by

 “Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other.”—Walter Elliot.
 “Birds are important because they keep systems in balance: they pollinate plants, disperse seeds, scavenge carcasses and recycle nutrients back into the earth. But they also feed our spirits, marking for us the passage of the seasons, moving us to create art and poetry, inspiring us to flight and reminding us that we are not only on, but of, this earth.”—Melanie Driscoll.
 Do good.

©Al Batt 2025

A female collects pebbles, clods, corncobs and dung, and places them beside her nest on open ground to form a paved area. Why? Ask a horned lark. No one else knows for sure. If you squint and have a good imagination, it resembles a walkway. It likely prevents nesting material from blowing away. Photo of horned lark by Al Batt.