MIKE JACOBS
Crows predict spring, prompt speculation
Crows are pretty gregarious during the winter, often occurring in quite large flocks. I’ve seen 50 or more at a time in Grand Forks and at leasat half as many along roads in rural Grand Forks County.
February 27, 2010
ALWAYS IN SEASON: Birds of open country face winter survival challenge
Last week’s storm made conditions worse for wild birds — not Blizzard Brett, but the ice that came earlier, while Brett was only a winter storm.
Most birds are well adapted to wind and cold. It’s snow that poses the greater threat. Especially snow that doesn’t move around.
January 31, 2010
ALWAYS IN SEASON: Snowy owls make their appearance in the area
Nature is a better reporter than prognosticator, and it’s wrong to think of snowy owls as a sign of things to come. But it’s easy to understand how this bit of folklore developed. Snowy owls have been scarce all season — until last week, when I received reports of seven different sightings, all in Grand Forks County. And I saw a snowy owl myself, my first owl of the winter.
January 24, 2010
ALWAYS IN SEASON: Christmas bird counts show some surprises
Counters in Crookston found a varied thrush. In Grand Forks, counters found short-eared owls. Gray partridges and ruffed grouse were seen at Icelandic State Park and robins showed up at Devils Lake.
January 10, 2010
ALWAYS IN SEASON: Goldfinches now stay here during winter
The emergence of American goldfinches as regular winter birds is one of the big local stories of the decade in the bird world. Twenty years ago, goldfinches would have been unusual in winter.
By Mike Jacobs , January 03, 2010
ALWAYS IN SEASON: Some birds are associated with Christmas
Probably, the birds most associated with Christmas are the goose and the partridge. Both of these traditions come to us from England — and in fact are among the few authentically English Christmas traditions in the United States. Most American Christmas traditions come from the Netherlands and northern Germany — Santa Claus, for instance, who is an outgrowth of a Dutch tradition.
December 20, 2009
Ordinary Canada geese make a holiday special
Counting a crowd of geese is always difficult, but I’d guess there were 500 or so when we arrived at Fordville Dam about 10 a.m. Some of them were floating on open water, but others were settled on the ice.
By Mike Jacobs , November 29, 2009
ALWAYS IN SEASON: Last week’s birds represented every season in N.D.
Nature has been sending contradictory signals. For those eager for winter, there’s the first report of a snowy owl this season. For those hoping to hang on to fall, there were enormous flocks of migrating geese and swans and lesser numbers of lingering ducks. For those nostalgic for summertime, there were goldfinches. And for those already anticipating spring, there were robins.
By Mike Jacobs , November 22, 2009
Always in Season: Waxwings appear to feast on cedar berries
Waxwings are totem birds for me. I identify strongly with them, for several reasons. One is that they love sweet fruit, and so do I. Another is that they appear to have little attention span, and neither do I.
By Mike Jacobs , November 08, 2009
ALWAYS IN SEASON: Start now if you plan to feed birds this winter
Today is the first day of November, and just about everybody with any experience in this part of the world expects winter to arrive some time in November. Maybe not. Snow isn’t a cinch even by Christmas. But cold weather is pretty much a certainty. So, this is just about the last chance to get your winter bird-feeding operation under way.
November 01, 2009
ALWAYS IN SEASON: The word for late September birding is anticipation
Despite the relative scarcity of birds, late September does have interest for bird lovers.
By Mike Jacobs , September 27, 2009
Fall brings a concentration of red-tails
The red-tail is by far the most common of our open-country summer hawks, and its numbers swell in the fall as migrating birds join the locals, feasting on a bounty of field mice and other ground dwellers, including frogs, snakes, gophers and small birds.
By Mike Jacobs , September 19, 2009
ALWAYS IN SEASON: Fall is good time to see hummingbirds
Fall might be the worst of times for bird lovers. It might be the best of times. It would be the best of times because the great spectacle of the bird world lies in the immediate future, and we have a ringside seat. This is the annual waterfowl migration.
By Mike Jacobs , September 06, 2009
ALWAYS IN SEASON: Kingbirds conspicuous in August
Nature moves at breakneck speed, and every week seems to bring a new suite of birds. This week, the kingbirds have been most obvious at my place west of Gilby, N.D.
By Mike Jacobs , August 09, 2009
ALWAYS IN SEASON: Birds begin annual molt ahead of migration
Birds use this summertime of abundance in nature, when seeds and insects are plentiful, to build fat reserves they’ll need for energy in migration.
Most birds also are molting, changing their feathers. This accomplishes two purposes: It assures the birds strong feathers for flight in migration, and it allows them to change their plumage, most becoming plainer than they were in nesting feathers.
By Mike Jacobs , August 02, 2009
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