Birds Archives - Page 4 of 5 - Heartland Safari

Red Tail Hawk in full flight, carrying a gray rat in its talons

The Hawkeye State: Red-Tailed Hawk

Updated March 30, 2023

On a bright sunny day, a red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) sits surveying his domain from the top of the cupola on the barn. We see them everywhere—on top of utility poles, high up in trees, sitting on fence posts, even sitting on the cable barriers that run down the median on the interstate. They hunt […]

Birds

Northern cardinals have a short, stout bill, adapted for cracking seeds. This species is the only bright red bird with a crest.

Solo Duet: Northern Cardinal

Updated March 23, 2023

All winter, northern cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) have been brightening the landscape with their red plumage and their upward-rising whit-whit-whit calls followed by that descending pfew, Pfew call. Three or four pairs of them have been frequenting the bird feeder, lording it over the finches and chickadees. On this cold March morning, one is sitting on […]

Birds

On the Move: Canada Geese

Updated March 2, 2023

Spring must be coming. The Canada geese are on the move. We’re out for the morning walk. Dave is distracted. He stands riveted—big floppy lab ears cocked, nose pointing to the south—he hears the season’s first gaggle of Canada geese (Branta canadensis) flying overhead. They may have been wintering south of here, and if so, […]

Birds

An olive drab song bird with black wing margins mottled with white, sits on a bird feeder in winter. Eastern Goldfinch.

Iowa State Bird: Eastern Goldfinch

Updated February 23, 2023

We put up a bird feeder station this year, and the Eastern Goldfinches (Spinus tristis) have decided it’s an easier way to get that 100% of their body weight serving of seeds than foraging for them in the fence rows and woods. A mixed flock of a couple dozen birds flits about, snacking, perching, fluttering […]

Birds

Large grey brown bird with yellow eyes perches on a bare electric wire. Great Horned Owl sporting ear-like feather tufts on top of his head

Ruler of the Night: Great Horned Owl

Updated January 26, 2023

It was 1:30 in the morning. Bryan woke me with “Listen.” Through the fuzz of sleep, I heard it—a pair of great horned owls singing their love songs to each other. They were somewhere in the woods on the northwest corner of Owl Acres. His voice was lower in pitch than hers, and their hoots […]

Birds

Sailing into the Wind

Updated January 12, 2023

We put a new mix of seed in the bird feeder this week. It has more corn and peanuts in it than the last batch. This morning seeds are scattered on the ground beneath the feeder. Here’s a chipmunk stuffing his cheek pouches with it. He runs away toward his burrow, then comes back empty-cheeked […]

Birds

Bald eagle stands on a bare snag, wings and tail spread in iconic pose. Black body, white head and tail, yellow beak against a white sky

America’s Bird: The Bald Eagle

Updated December 29, 2022

A huge bird just flew in over Owl Acres. Its wings stretch to eight feet as it flies, and its dark brown body and wings contrast with its stark white head and tail. It lands in the big elm near the driveway. Clearly, it is a living representative of America’s symbol of strength, courage, and […]

Birds

Black capped chickadee perches at bird feeder in winter

Winter Strategies: Black-Capped Chickadee

Updated December 26, 2022

The weather is harsh today. Snow covers the ground. Wind is expected around 30mph from the northwest, driving temps below zero where they’ll stay for several days. The trees in the woods to the north and west of the house moan and creak as they sway bare branches in the wind. The wind chimes on […]

Birds

Fat songbird, dark above, light below. Dark-eyed junco with round black eye stands in a patch of grass

Wintering in Iowa: Dark-Eyed Junco

Updated December 15, 2022

She’s lying in my hand, still, but whole. A beautiful little creature, expired for no obvious reason. Her wings are folded; her feathers are exquisitely soft. Her half-ounce weighs nothing in my palm. Her little round, acorn-size head with its cone-shaped beak lies against my finger. Her legs are like little twigs, thin and bare. […]

Birds

Light-bellied songbird hangs head down, eyeyng a nearby bird feeder

A Tidy Housekeeper

Updated November 28, 2022

Throughout the year, I’ve heard a distinctive bird call that sounds like a loud, nasal “yank” repeated several times in a row. This tells me that at least one pair of white-breasted nuthatches (Sitta carolinensis) live on Owl Acres year-round. They have mated for life, and have established a territory in the woods. We’ll hear […]

Birds