Naturally

Every day is a secret to be sussed out by observation and exploration, which leads to learning. It all adds up to awe.
During the night, I was an earwitness, listening to an owl. In the morning’s light, there were purple finches in the yard. I expect pine siskins before long. These beautiful birds are fondly called winter finches. Their appearances are one of the best things about winter.
Squirrels drank from the birdbath, probably because they couldn’t find any squirrel grey tea.
There were at least three Eurasian tree sparrows hanging around with a flock of house sparrows, often called English sparrows in the past. This is because the first house sparrows released in the US (Brooklyn) in 1851 were from England. In late April 1870, a shipment of European birds from Germany was released in St. Louis to provide familiar bird species for newly settled European immigrants. The shipment included Eurasian tree sparrows, which prospered. Unlike its relative, the house sparrow, it’s not a bird of the cities, preferring farms and treed residential areas.
A bald eagle flew over the yard, drumming up support to become the official national bird. It is our national symbol and emblem, but not our national bird. This country doesn’t have a national bird. The American bison is our national mammal, the rose our national flower and the oak tree our national tree. The bald eagle would be perfect as our national bird because everyone has an eagle story.

Q&A

Jennifer, Lillie and Duncan wrote, “Do we have any animals here that aren't found anywhere else?” I can’t think of any animals, but we have a plant, the dwarf trout lily, that’s endemic to Minnesota and occurs worldwide only in Rice, Goodhue and Steele counties.
“What percent of birds migrate?” At least 20 to 40% of bird species worldwide migrate in some manner. Migration covers a spectrum that wanders from a long journey to a short meander. Most migrating birds fly, but some walk or swim. In North America, about 75% of birds migrate.
“How long does it take a ruby-throated hummingbird to fly across the Gulf of Mexico?” It takes 18 hours to cross the Gulf of Mexico if the weather is good and 24 hours if the weather is bad. Hummingbirds don’t fly very high during their migration, maybe up to 500 feet or so.
“What bird flies the highest?” A Ruppell's vulture holds the record for the highest-flying bird in the world, reaching a height of 37,100 feet. The debate is whether this was a one-off or an occasional flight. Other high-flying birds include the common crane (33,000), whooper swan (29,000 feet), bar-tailed godwit, Andean condor, alpine chough, bar-headed goose, bearded vulture, black kite, greater white-fronted goose, golden eagle and mallard (21,000 feet).
“What is a rain owl and a bottom owl?” The barred owl is also known as the hoot owl, swamp owl, striped owl, eight hooter, round-headed owl, laughing owl, crazy owl, wood owl, old-folks owl and rain owl. I hear it say, "Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all?” It has at least eight known songs, calls and vocalizations, earning it the nickname of eight hooter. Why the rain owl? It’s because it calls loudly before or after a rainstorm. And every hoot brings rain—or not.
I heard a man in Yuma, Arizona, call a burrowing owl the bottom owl. It made sense, as the owl nests in underground burrows and spends most of its time on the ground or on low perches like fence posts. It hunts close to the ground by swooping down from a perch, hovering over fields or walking and running along the ground before clutching prey in its talons. I’ve also heard burrowing owls called howdy owls because of their habit of bobbing up and down in a bowing motion, a behavior that allows them various viewpoints to determine distance.
Knock, knock. "Who's there?" Owl. "Owl, who?" Owl be seeing you.
“Where do Minnesota’s mourning doves migrate to?” The mourning dove likely gets its name from its haunting, mournful "hula, hoop, hoop, hoop" call. Doves have a unique structure in their throats, which they use to produce food for their young. It’s called pigeon milk or crop milk, which resembles cheese. In winter, most mourning doves migrate south, but some can be seen year-round in Minnesota, particularly in the southern part of the state. They take their understated plumage and strong whistling flight to winter in the Gulf Coast states, and south into Mexico and Central America.

Thanks for stopping by

“You meet saints everywhere. They can be anywhere. They are people behaving decently in an indecent society.”—Kurt Vonnegut.
“If you want light to come into your life, you need to stand where it is shining.”—Guy Finley.
Do good.

©Al Batt 2024

A Eurasian tree sparrow is lower and to the left, and a house sparrow is upper and to the right in the photo. Male and female Eurasian tree sparrows look similar. The broken branch it perched upon makes it appear the male house sparrow should cut back on the junk food. Photo by Al Batt.