American Tree Sparrow (Spizelloides arborea)

The shadows were growing long and our attention spans were waning as we neared the end of the day of our Christmas Bird Count, 2021, Tom and I had been at it for seven hours, but before we called it a day, there was one more road to drive down—315th Street, less than...

Our 46th Christmas Bird Count

Forty-three species seen!The Wild River Audubon Chapter had 28 people counting birds in our area on December 18th during our 46th annual Christmas Bird Count, CBC.  Eleven people counted birds coming to their bird feeders, while the others travelled within the 15-mile...

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)

In 1936, Dr. T. S. Roberts and his assistant, Walter Breckenridge, were driving on the road between Minneapolis and Madison, Wisconsin, heading to the American Ornithologists Union annual meeting in Pittsburgh, when they beheld a magnificent sight. A large flock of...

How to Clean a Bird Feeder

The days grow cooler, the nights are longer and folks begin to think about refilling their bird feeders that they might have let sit empty during the summer. Before you fill you feeders with fresh seed from Wild River Audubon’s birdseed sale, though, take a few...

Eastern Bluebirds in Wild River State Park

Last spring thousands of bluebirds were lost when they encountered wet, freezing weather while migrating north through the central states. As the monitor of the bluebird trail in Wild River State Park, I wondered how many of “my” bluebirds would return to the park’s...

Great Blue Heron (Ardea Herodias)

Leggy and elegant, the stately Great Blue Heron cuts a striking figure on Minnesota’s bird scene. We often see great blue herons wading in water on the edge of a pond, rapt and motionless, poised, it would seem, for a kill. Or they appear in the sky, necks drawn into...