Fifty Common Birds of the Upper Midwest

Introduction

Whenever we think we have nothing more to learn about the black-capped chickadee, it surprises us with a new acrobatic trick. A blue jay fixes its eyes on the vertical peanut butter log, tries several times to land on it, and finally succeeds in exhibiting a new skill. A cardinal, whose behaviors we think we know well, astonishes us when he pokes food down the throat of a young chipping sparrow. Fifty Common Birds of the Upper Midwest is a celebration of these and other birds, whose ubiquitous presence offers good opportunities for intimate observation, which makes them a joy to watch no matter how often we see them. Inspiration for this book came from the realization that artist Dana Gardner and I have had the opportunity to observe the avian world through circumstances that are not available to many people and that we might have a different sort of perspective to offer. We have coexisted with birds, heard their songs from within our houses, felt their feathery touches when bringing them food, been among them by merely stepping out of our doors or walking through the woods and fields that surrounded us. Our purpose is not to tell you all there is to know about a particular species but to present a sketch of each bird that will give you a feeling for its personality and the way it lives its life. For this purpose, we use personal anecdotes and information drawn from our own research, supplemented by other people’s stories and data gathered from books to portray each species as it goes from nestling to fledgling, to adult and breeding bird; from its habitat, food, and foraging methods to its migration patterns and distribution; from the sounds it makes to the way it looks when perched and in flight. Conservation status and causes for declining or increasing populations are also discussed. Our stories and paintings may reflect your own impressions, tell you something new, encourage closer looks, or provide insights to the lives of less common birds. We hope they will inspire interest in habitat preservation. • • • Dana’s life among the birds began at the age of seven, when he and his family moved to the village of Lanesboro in southeast Minnesota. He remembers sneaking up on ruffed grouse that were drumming behind his house and listening to the barred owls that frequented his yard. His birdwatching hobby coincided with the development of his artistic abilities. As a child, he constructed elaborate zoos filled with birds and other animals he made from modeling clay. Later, he painted the birds he saw in the woods and limestone bluffs along the South Branch of the Root River, which runs through Lanesboro. xi INTRODUCTION xii After studying biology at the University of Minnesota, Dana was drafted into the army and stationed in the Panama Canal Zone, where he turned his talents to painting tropical birds. There he met the American ornithologist Alexander Skutch, who invited him to his home in Costa Rica and eventually asked him to illustrate his books. A close friendship ensued that lasted until Skutch’s death in 2004, just before his one hundredth birthday. We have dedicated our book to Skutch as a tribute to this friendship and in memory of the man, who lived gently on the land and whose contributions to ornithology are recognized worldwide. My interest in birds began when I moved with my husband to the Big Woods, an area south of Lanesboro reputed for its Ozarks-like culture and abundant wildlife. The birds around my new home quickly captured my attention. Before long, I began taking a notebook on my daily walks to record my observations, a practice that has continued for more than twenty years. I have also explored much of Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin with Carol Schumacher and Fred Lesher, who are known all over the Midwest for their birdwatching skills, popular field trips, and conservation efforts. Carol has participated in breeding bird surveys throughout Minnesota and no one surpasses Fred’s familiarity with the Upper Mississippi River country. Both friends have enriched my experience in the field. Someone who not only provided me with an exceptional opportunity to learn about birdlife at the turn of the last century but was also an important resource for this book is Johan C. Hvoslef, a Lanesboro naturalist, whose journals I transcribed for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. His daily accounts of the species he saw from 1881 to 1918...