GRAND RAPIDS — Retired non-game wildlife biologist Pam Perry is back to talk seasonal changes.
She joined KAXE Morning Show co-hosts Heidi Holtan and John Latimer to talk about migrating birds, fall colors, and future excursions in the Northwoods.
John begins by mentioning that he’s “kissed his last flicker goodbye.” While this might sound like an FCC violation to listeners unfamiliar with the Northern Flicker (a migratory woodpecker), Pam didn’t bat an eye. Flickers are indeed still flitting around her home near Brainerd, along with Dark-eyed Juncos and White-throated Sparrows.
Similar sparrows
If you’re a particularly skilled birder, grab your binoculars and look in those backyard sparrow flocks for occasional appearances of the rarer Lincoln’s Sparrows or Harris’s Sparrows! (Then give yourself a pat on the back for being able to distinguish LBBs, or Little Brown Birds — that's a feat I’m still working to achieve.)
Luckily for my ego, Pam immediately notes sparrows are hard to identify. They tend to hang out on the ground and their color schemes are both muted and complicated. Their plumage is primarily brown, with only minute differences in facial and wing markings distinguishing the species from each other. (Seasonality, behavior and vocalizations can also help with identification.) It takes time, practice and a good pair of binoculars to tell them apart!
Bird feeder phenomena
John was thrilled when a Black-billed Magpie stopped by his feeder. These birds are relatively rare in Minnesota, though they’re becoming more common.
These incidental sightings delight John and Pam and serve as a great reminder for the rest of us to keep an eye out the window. You never know what you might see! For instance, Pam once looked outside her window and saw an odd-looking American Robin. On closer inspection, it turned out to be a Varied Thrush that had somehow strayed far out of its usual range.
“If you feed birds over a long time, you will get surprises. You will have rare birds that show up,” Pam encouraged. “ ... And it’s fun!”
Fall colors
Next, Pam and John turn to the autumn colors. In Brainerd (where Pam lives), the maples were at peak color. The aspens have also turned golden — a beautiful backdrop to her homeward drive.
The forest understory is becoming bare as the shrubs drop their leaves. Invasive buckthorn, however, remains defiantly green much later in the season than most native plants. This trait, along with the dark berries and thorns, makes it easy to spot and remove.
It takes a while to fully extirpate a population of buckthorn from an area, but consistent efforts do pay off. Pam thinks of it this way: “I may never totally get rid of it, but oh man, I’m going to set it back.” That’s the spirit!
Bird nerds assemble!
The Brainerd birding club, called the Bee-Nay-She Bird Council, had its first gathering of the season in mid-October. This club began 50 years ago and gets its name from the Ojibwe word bineshiinh, meaning “bird.” “Bee-Nay-She” is a phonetic spelling.
The speaker for the meeting was Charles Grolla, whose Native name is Ogimaagiizhig Odoodeman. A teacher from Cass Lake and Traditional Knowledge-holder, he introduced the group to his book Binesi-Dibaajimowinan: Ojibwe Bird Stories.
This book was derived from interviews with elders and stories from his grandmother, Ogimaakwe (Fanny Johns), and contains the stories of over 60 local bird species. (A plug from me, Charlie — I just got this book last week and I'm really enjoying it!)
The next Bee-Nay-She Bird Club meeting is 7 p.m. Nov. 9 at the Northland Arboretum and will feature Clinton Niehaus from the Sax Zim Bog. Meetings are open to the public.
If that isn’t enough birding for you, the local Audubon society also has a meeting Wednesday, Oct. 25, at the Northland Arboretum. Their speaker will be Elizabeth Mboutchom from the Northern Waters Land Trust, speaking about how they take a watershed approach to water quality and wildlife protection.
Still not satisfied? Good ol’ John Latimer will be joining the Bee-Nay-She Bird Council in May for a birding tour of Rice Lake. For more details as they’re announced, you can find the group’s Facebook page here. The more eyes on the skies the better!
“We may have a bit of a crowd, and if we do, we’ll just stretch out and look at everything,” Pam said. “ … People who go outside get interested in lots of different things. Everything from the dragonflies to the plants to the birds to the frogs to everything. And you never know exactly what you’re going to find!”
Building enthusiasm for the outdoors
John likens this experience of being surprised by nature to his sighting of a magpie at his birdfeeder. Over the 40-plus years he’s been feeding birds at his home, he has had just one magpie, one bluebird and one cardinal visit his feeder.
“Those moments don’t go away. They’re locked in,” John said.
To John’s delight, Pam is in the early stages of working with the Pierz schools in Morrison County. They’re on the southern edge of KAXE’s range, and Pam is hoping to involve them in our Phenology in the Classroom program. This program gets students outside and learning science, math, writing and public speaking skills through phenology observations. You can enjoy the student phenologists’ reports in our weekly Phenology Talkbacks segment.
We’ll be celebrating John’s 40 years of phenology for our Fall Membership Drive! Save the date: Nov. 18 at Klockow Brewery. (And if you or your loved ones have been affected by John’s work, get in touch with me — Charlie Mitchell — so we can make the humble ol’ dude blush with how much he and his work means to us.)
For more phenology, subscribe to our Season Watch Newsletter or visit the Season Watch Facebook page.
Funding for this project was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR).
