Wild Side: Migrating birds welcome friends in the south

• Eloy Cuevas of Belize

Our friend Eloy Cuevas of Monkey River, Belize, with a Blackburnian Warbler on his cap. Blackburnian Warblers breed in northern Wisconsin. Submitted photo.

Talk about it

The Audubon Society has sponsored a Christmas bird count for 112 years. Christmas Bird Count data from all over the country has revealed a northward trend in winter distribution for a number of bird species associated with the general warming of winter in North America over the last several decades.

We have noticed increasing numbers of Mourning Doves at our bird feeder during the winter over the last 30 years. They used to be rare in the winter but now we have at least a dozen in residence all winter. They take shelter in the evergreens near the bird feeder and warm up on the south side of our shop on sunny days.

I’ve seen flocks of Mallard Ducks flying around all this winter. They roost at night on Lake George on the Kinnickinnic River in downtown River Falls along with the many Canada Geese. Like the geese, the Mallards fly out in the evening to feed on waste grain in farm fields. There also resident flocks of Mallards on the St. Croix River at the mouth of the Kinni, and at the upper end of Lake Mallalieu in Hudson where springs keep the water open.

Diving ducks like Bluebills (Lesser Scaup) and Goldeneyes are winter residents in Prescott where the St. Croix meets the Mississippi River. There they can feast on small fish and zebra mussels. Most bluebills migrate to spend the winter in Columbia, Central America and the West Indies in the Caribbean. Most Goldeneyes migrate to the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts to spend the winter.

A flock of more than 700 Tundra Swans stays on the Mississippi River where the Monticello Nuclear Power Plant keeps the water open in winter. Most Tundra Swans breed in Alaska and migrate to spend the winter on estuaries along the East Coast.

Bald Eagles have been scattered around our neighborhood all winter, perched in trees near dead deer or other carcasses. They have had easy pickings most of the winter due to the sparse snow cover. Bald eagles usually winter farther south in protected areas along the big rivers where there’s open water and dead fish to eat.

Most of the Wisconsin State Birds migrate south for the winter toward the Redneck Riviera along the Gulf Coast, Louisiana, Texas and Mexico. An increasing number of American Robins are staying home for the winter mostly along river bottoms where they are sheltered from weather and have an abundance of berries to eat. Carol and I have seen flocks of robins in winter in the Kinnickinnic River floodplain in River Falls and in Willow River State Park. After skiing down some steep drops through the oak woods we would suddenly be surrounded by robins in the Willow River floodplain.

Most of the birds we see in the summer migrate south from their breeding areas in the north to spend the winter where it’s warmer and food is more abundant. They trade off the danger and caloric expense of migration for the easy living conditions during winter down south. Many of us do the same, shelling out for airline tickets to spend some time in the warm trade wind breezes under the palm trees. We catch up with many of our summer bird friends who flew there before us on their own.

Please send any comments and suggestions for this column to me at rfjsports@rivertowns.netr.

Tags: dan wilcox, outdoors, travel