Birds Archives - Heartland Safari

A showy, chicken-size bird struts in a tallgrass prairie. Ring-neck pheasant has a ring of white feathers encircling his neck. His long, tapering tail feathers are half again the length of his stout body.

Asian Beauties: Ring-Neck Pheasants

Updated March 25, 2024

A couple of years ago, in early spring, I heard a cock pheasant crowing as he walked across the driveway on Owl Acres. He was probably on his way to find some mates. His call was a harsh squawk which the ladies apparently find attractive. If he was lucky, he put together an entire harem […]

Birds

White and black bird with a crimson head, round, black eye and slender beak, looks over its shoulder as it clings to a tree trunk. Red Headed Woodpecker

Flashy Feathers: Red-Headed Woodpecker

Updated March 18, 2024

Several species of woodpeckers live on Owl Acres. In the winter, we see the downy woodpeckers and hairy woodpeckers at the bird feeder. Once in a while a red-bellied woodpecker visits the feeder as well. Northern flickers live in the woods, and a red-headed woodpecker was seen climbing a tree outside the dining room window […]

Birds

A Red-Wing Blackbird sits on a twig and yells at the neighbors. Black songbird with crimson epaulets at the shoulders.

Conkeree: Red-Wing Blackbird

Updated March 11, 2024

It’s hard to get an exact set of syllables that mimic or illustrate a bird song. We attach words like the robin’s “cheerily cheerily cheer up cheer up” or the white-throated sparrow’s “O Canada Canada,” but it’s not exact. We keep trying to get it just right. One of the most familiar and recognizable birdsongs […]

Birds

Common House Finch perches amid small branches in a tree. Brown body, and a brown-red head and neck, and a short, cone shaped beak.

Charming Invasives: House Finches

Updated March 4, 2024

Several fairly aggressive little songbirds tend to dominate the bird feeder, giving the house sparrows a run for their money. Like the sparrows, these little birds are not native to Owl Acres but have moved in to stay. Their story is similar to that of their rivals the house sparrows, but took place nearly a […]

Birds

Head shot of a small raptor. Sharp-shinned hawk is blue-grey on top and white-tan underneath. Round head, red eye faintly ringed in yellow. Short, hooked beak.

Little Raptor: Sharp-Shinned Hawk

Updated January 22, 2024

On a winter day just after a blizzard, Bryan was cleaning the snow off the bird feeder when a small hawk swooped past him. At only three feet above the ground, the little raptor skimmed between the house and the bird feeder and glided up to perch in one of the elms in the north […]

Birds

A flock of fat birds of both sexes sits amid the dense foliage of a prickly hedge. House Sparrow.

Shakespeare again: House Sparrows

Updated January 8, 2024

One of the most familiar sounds on Owl Acres any time of the year is the scolding of house sparrows. They seem to have a lot to say even when it’s really cold out. We hear them as Dave, Clancy and I head off for our morning walk. In the spring and summer, their noisy […]

Birds

Family Life: American Crow

Updated December 28, 2023

As we start our daily walk, Dave and Clancy and I hear a crow calling from a tree in the woods. Its harsh and easily recognized caw-caw occurs throughout the year, including through the winter. I don’t think we have any crows staking out territory on Owl Acres. We do have visitors quite often, though. […]

Birds

Hard to choose between gruesome roadside dining or sublime, soaring magnificence. But, here’s the magnificence. Large bird with small red head, black body and arms, and broad-spread wings with white trailing edges, soars in a blue sky. Sunlight edges its wings in gold. Turkey Vulture.

The Clean-Up Crew: Turkey Vulture

Updated December 18, 2023

One day recently we were driving along a gravel road near Owl Acres when a wild turkey flew out of the ditch and hit the car, breaking off the mirror and killing the bird. Almost before the dead turkey hit the ground, a big dark bird with a naked red head plummeted from the sky, […]

Birds

Bird with bright blue wings and a feather crest perches atop a feeder attached to a tree trunk. Black-edged, light grey face with round black eye. The blue jay grips a seed in its black beak.

A Trick of the Light: Blue Jays

Updated December 4, 2023

Blue. A primary color. One of the most beloved colors. And, speaking of Owl Acres, a rare color indeed, if you don’t count the sky and the blue jays. The sky is blue. But not really. That is, it looks blue because of the way the air molecules in the atmosphere scatter the short blue […]

Birds

A small, grey song bird with a feathery crest sits on a twig, staring down a pretender. Tufted titmouse.

Peter-Peter-Peter: Tufted Titmouse

Updated November 30, 2023

Some 25 songbirds overwinter here on Owl Acres and surroundings. Sturdy little fellows that they are, they have figured out how to find food and survive in subzero temperatures. One food source that gets their attention is backyard bird feeders like the one we enjoy on Owl Acres. These little birds tend to flock together […]

Birds