Owls are birds that both birders and non birders are captivated by. While seeing an owl can certainly be a magical experience, finding one can be incredibly difficult if you don’t know how to do it. There is a lot of information out there about how to locate these amazing creatures, but a lot of them don’t really paint a true picture. In this video I’m going to tell you the truth about how to find owls in the wild.

When it boils down to it there are really five ways to find an owl in the wild and to be honest, these are the things that most people won’t tell you. Here it goes.

Number 1: It’s better to be lucky than good

There are a lot of people that aren’t even birders that get to see owls. That’s because it really just boils down to luck sometimes. There have been a lot of times I was out birding and owls weren’t even on my radar when suddenly, a notice one near the base of a tree or I hear one vocalizing from somewhere. This also happens when I’m not even birding. There have been so many times I’ve just been walking around my neighborhood, especially in the winter when it gets dark earlier and boom the neighborhood great horned owls start hooting back and forth. So luck does play a huge role in finding owls, but there are things you can do to stack the deck in your favor.

Number Two: It pays to get familiar with the species

You can help yourself out a lot by knowing about the species of owl you’re looking for. Like all birds, owls can be very habitat specific and won’t readily be found outside of their habitat preference. For example, if you’re hoping to find a Snowy Owl, you shouldn’t spend time looking in the forest, you should scour open fields. However, if you want to find a screech owl, then looking for open tree cavities in the forest would absolutely give you a great chance of success. Additionally, you will want to know what time of year the owls are in the area you’re looking in or if they’re in that region at all. You can spend as much time searching the right area as you want but if its the wrong time of year then you’re just spinning your wheels. Some other things to know are when the birds you’re looking for is most active, what they usually eat, what specific trees they prefer to roost in. What I’m saying is you will greatly improve your odds of finding an owl if you become familiar with the specific species you’re looking for.

Number 3: Re-finding known birds gives you a huge edge

While it’s really fun and rewarding to find an owl on your own, you’ll greatly increase your chances if you take advantage of the fact that other people are out there trying to find them too, a lot of people. There are many groups in which information on bird sightings are shared; state specific groups on facebook, discord servers, telegram, and more. WHile you can get great information from these sources, my favorite is ebird. EBird has searchable information from every report submitted and allows you to search based on species. You can also set alerts for birds you need on your year list, lifelist, or that are rare for the state. If you want to learn more about how to use it, you can take a look at our video about how to find any bird you want using ebird, i’ll put a link in the description below.  

Number 4: New technology is basically cheating

Some amazing technology has come out to aid birders and one of them is the thermal monocular. Thermal monoculars help to see heat signatures and are a game changer when trying to spot a well camouflaged living creature concealed by branches. They’re also useful at night when you otherwise wouldn’t have a way to see the birds around you. If you’re a big nocturnal bird person then thermal technology might be right for you.

Number 5: There is an in crowd and you need to be part of it

The truth about refinding owls is that people can often be tight-lipped about where to go to see owls, especially certain species that are rare or sensitive.As much as it would be nice if everyone in the birding community had access to information about owl locations that’s simply just not the case. A lot of times, when people find owls, they will simply not share that sighting or share the sighting without the location. This happens for two reasons, the first is that since owls are a desirable species to see, yet also sensitive to human intrusion, the person wants to protect them. The other is simply that they want to keep that bird location to themselves so they can go back and photograph it day after day. That being said, people out there know where to find owls and if you get intel from the in crowd, you’ll see a lot of owls. I wish it wasn’t the case but sadly it is.

As I said, there are a lot of things out there telling you how to find these beautiful birds but these 5 truths are really everything you need to know. If you liked this video, take a look at another one of our videos about owls and as always, thanks for watching, we’ll see you next time on Badgerland Birding.

In k-Pop Demon Hunters, Sussie is depicted as a creature that can go between the human world and the demon world, always spending time with a goofy looking blue tiger. This pairing while it may seem strange is actually an homage to traditional Korean political art in which the tiger was drawn as a dopey looking animal representative of political leaders while the magpie was representative of the people, intelligent and cunning. In some of these depictions, the tiger is wearing a hat, which in k-pop demon hunters, is taken and worn by sussie the magpie instead.

Now that we know sussie is a magpie, what is it about magpies that make them such cool birds. For starters, they don’t just live in Eurasia but all the way across the ocean in North America too..

If you live in the US but still want to see a magpie like sussie, I have good news for you! There are two species of magpies that live in the United States, the Yellow-billed Magpie that can only be found in California and the Black billed Magpie that lives year round throughout much of the western United states and looks extremely similar to the Asian Magpie. There are also several other magpie species that live all over the world, so if you want to see sussie in real life, you can certainly go out and find a magpie in real life.

Additionally, magpies are very smart and have found ways to live in areas inhabited by humans, often feeding on scraps of food left behind by people. In fact, for people in the western US, these birds are probably a familiar sight around farms, and other areas where they can get free food.

Overall, k-pop Demon hunters did a solid job of depicting the magpie both getting the general appearance fairly accurate, but also by understanding its traditional importance to Korea both in art, and mythology.

If you haven’t seen it yet, go check it out and let us know what you think in the comments below. 

If you liked this video, take a look at one of our other videos about birds, and as always, thanks for watching, we’ll see you next time on Badgerland Birding.

The Mourning Dove is a classic North American bird species known for its presence around backyard bird feeders and nostalgic coo. While many people are fans of these pinkish gray birds, I was surprised to learn that there are people out there that actively dislike this species. I’ve always found Mourning Doves to actually be an extremely likable species and these are the reasons that I really like mourning doves, and you should too!

They are very Common

There is an expression that goes something like this, “familiarity breeds contempt.” In this case, familiarity breeds attachment. Mourning Doves are certainly familiar to most people. They are year-round residents of most states in the US, a large part of Mexico, the Caribbean Islands, and even some parts of southern Canada. They do migrate a little farther south in the winter and a little farther north in the summer. Not only are these birds easily findable due to their vast range in the continental US, but also because of the places they choose to spend their time. Mourning doves tend to do very well in places inhabited by humans. In cities and towns they can be seen perching on wires and in trees, often in pairs or multiples. Of course, Mourning Doves are among the most well-known feeder birds in the country, taking advantage of seeds that have fallen to the ground or feeding off of platforms big enough to hold them. I appreciate the fact that the familiar wild companion that is the Mourning Dove can often be found in backyards or feeding stations all across the country. 

They have a Cool Looking Appearance

Mourning Doves sometimes get a bit of a bad rap for their appearance. They are medium sized and generally puffy looking. When at a bird feeder they are larger than many other common backyard birds leading people to call them things like fat, lazy, and greedy. In reality, Mourning Doves are actually incredibly fast and streamlined flyers, resembling a falcon when in the air. When not in the air they are actually probably underrated in terms of their beauty as they are tan to gray in color with a pinkish hue. Their wings are slightly darker in color than their body and they have some dark gray to black colored markings on the wings as well as the neck right by the face. Males can show more pink coloration on their chest as well as a blueish gray top of their head. Both males and females have a dark circular eye with light blue skin around it. Overall, Mourning Doves are actually quite nice looking birds and appear incredibly cute when sitting there all fluffed up.

They make some iconic noises

Certain bird noises can evoke strong feelings related to childhood memories or simply just a a pleasant time in life. Out of all North American bird species, it’s possible that the noises made by the mourning Dove are the most nostalgic. They make a classic dove coo-ing noise which sounds a bit somber as rises and falls

This is actually where these birds get their names from due to the noise sounding a bit sad, as if the bird is in mourning. In addition to their actual vocals, Mourning Doves have another signature noise that they don’t even make intentionally. When Mourning Doves take off or land, air is pushed through their wings causing parts of the feathers to vibrate and making a loud whistling sound.

This sound is appropriately referred to as  wing whistles and are thought to be a sort of natural alarm system, warning other doves that one of the birds has detected a threat and left the area.It is also possible that the noise could startle potential predators, allowing the doves to escape before the predator even knows what happened. Both of these noises made by the Mourning Dove can be heard around neighborhoods and backyards in many areas, meaning they provide a nice trip down memory lane when heard as an adult. They also provide a lovely ambiance when in the background of daily life.

They’re generally peaceful

Doves are typically viewed as symbols of peace. Mourning Doves are not always perfectly peaceful. Males will defend their favorite perches from other males and they may get a bit snippy from time to time with other birds around the feeder, but most of the time they coexist pretty well with each other and other species around the feeder. For this reason, they are a great bird to have around the backyard bird ecosystem. Additionally, unlike some other more aggressive species such as House Sparrows, Mourning Doves generally do not fight other species for nesting sites. This is in large part to the fact that mourning doves are not cavity nesters but rather nest builders. A quick side note, mourning Doves are actually terrible at creating nests and do some of the most suspect work of any species I’ve seen but I digress. In all, Mourning doves are relatively peaceful, and in spite of some people criticising them of being bullies around the feeder or even worse, Fat, they actually do get along with other birds for the most part.

They are Adaptable

One of the reasons mourning doves are so well known by even nonbirders is because they have adapted to both human habitation as well as other less hospitable natural environments. Of course, these birds have learned to take advantage of bird feeders, but they have also learned to take advantage of cultivated grain, meaning they can survive in even more areas. In regards to some of the habitats they survive in, this common bird in urban places, also survives in the deserts of the US thanks in large part to their unique ability to drink somewhat salinated water. In fact, they have been known to drink water with a salinity nearly half that of seawater, a pretty crazy adaptation for what is typically thought of as a pretty basic species. This adaptability makes the mourning dove not only a likeable and familiar companion, but a hardy survivor.

In all, even though some people overlook the Mourning Dove, they are a cool and entertaining species. Their cuteness, their adaptability, and tendency to put us at ease with their nostalgic cooing all makes them a bird that is totally worth appreciation frm both birders and feeder watchers alike. What do you think about Mourning Doves, let us know in the comments below, and if you liked this video, take a look at one of these and as always, thanks for reading, we’ll see you next time, on Badgerland Birding.

For many people, parrots are thought of as birds that can only be found in the most tropical parts of the world. It may be surprising then to hear that there are actually many different kinds of parrots that live wild in the United States. Even more interesting is how these parrots got here in the first place, and how they continue to survive in a place they aren’t originally from. Here is everything that you need to know about five parrot species that you can find in the United States

Yellow-chevroned Parakeet

Yellow-chevroned parakeets are bright green with shades of darker and lighter greens mixed in. Their signature marking is thor namesake yellow chevron on each of their wings visible when at rest. These birds are native to the tropical parts of South America including Brazil, northern Argentina, and Paraguay. Although they live in tropical places, they aren’t usually found deep in the jungle but rather in more disturbed or cleared forests such as those inhabited by humans. They tend to like edge habitat with tree cover yet plenty of open spaces as well. This habitat preference has helped them thrive in places that don’t seem like they would live in, including where they make their homes in the United States. If you want to find Yellow-chevroned parakeets without leaving the US the two states you’ll need to travel to are California and Florida. In particular, the cities of Los Angeles and Miami. Both places known for celebrities, warm weather, and glamorous lifestyles are also strongholds for nonnative bird species including these small green and yellow parrots. If you’re interested in seeing them, you’ll need to track them based on recent reports on ebird or get lucky hearing them in and around the area parks and neighborhoods.

Rosy-faced Lovebird

Rosy-faced Lovebirds, als known as peach-faced lovebirds have a green back, wings, and underside, they have blue on their rumps and of course, a namesake reddish pink colored face. The native range of these adorable birds is actually southwestern Africa, Namibia and Angola to be precise. The habitat in this part of the world is dry, arid, and hot, which mirrors the part of the United States where they have taken up residence. One of the hottest cities in the country, Phoenix Arizona. While they also live in the surrounding areas, the parks and buildings around Phoenix have become some of the best places in the country. Interestingly, Rosy-faced Lovebirds have found ways to handle the heat of Arizona, in large part thanks to their ability to adapt to human civilization. In cities and towns, water features and leaky air conditioners serve as ways to cool off when temperatures soar. So how did African parrots end up in Phoenix in the first place? As is the story with so many non native birds, the pet trade was the culprit. As one of the more common species of captive they have actually turned up in many different states including Texas, Florida, and California but Phoenix is really the only one where they have taken hold, survived, and grown in numbers to the point where the population is self-sustaining. Now, going to particular parks in Arizona can yield fairly high numbers of Rosy-faced Lovebirds roosting in trees and sometimes even cacti.

Green Parakeet

South Texas is a place with many different bird species that can’t be found anywhere else in the country. In addition to native birds there are others that may not originally have lived in the region, but now are naturalized to the point where their populations are stable and in some cases even growing. One such bird is the Green Parakeet. Green Parakeets, also known as green conures are as one would expect, green in color with their wings and head generally being darker green than their undersides. They have yellow tail feathers and red speckles on their cheeks. Green Parakeets can be found in different parts of Mexico but they can also be found in parts of the United States. One place to find them is the bastion for parrots that is the Miami area in Florida where they flock in relatively small numbers compared to the best place to find them; the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas. The south Texas population is interesting for a variety of reasons. The first reason is just how many of them live in the region, in and around the cities and neighborhoods flocks of these green birds can be seen feeding on fruit trees and even spending time in very urban places such as parking lots with power lines and tall trees for roosting. The second very interesting thing about them is that people still don’t exactly know how they got there. They are close enough to the native population in Mexico that it’s possible that they are actually naturally occurring in the most southern parts of texas. It’s also possible that like many other parrot species in the United States they were once pets that either escaped or were set free. Either way, Green Parakeets are now naturalized in parts of Texas and a popular species to see for visiting birders

Red-crowned Amazon

Red-crowned Amazons, also known as Red-crowned Parrots, are among the most populous parrots in the United States. They’re also the quintessential parrot in terms of how they look; with green bodies, red on their heads near their bill, and blue behind their eyes. They also have red on their wings visible when at rest but even more striking in flight. The natural range of the Red-crowned amazon is northeastern Mexico where they are actually endangered and at serious risk of disappearing from the region without intervention. The primary cause for this is taking the parrots to sell in the pet trade. The same reason for these birds declining in Mexico is why they are proliferating in the United States, or at least, that’s what started the trend. Captive birds either escaped or were set free and thrived in some of the US states and territories including Florida, California, Puerto Rico, and Hawaii. One of the other places they are most common is in South Texas, but the origins of those populations are still up for debate. The Texas population is close enough in distance to the native population in Mexico that it’s possible that they were once actually part of it and are simply native to the region. However, no one knows for sure if this is the case or if like the other populations in the country, they are descendants of escaped pets. Either way, with their native populations in Mexico doing so poorly, the parrots living in the United State are useful as a backup population in case they ever do disappear. In addition to being safety net against extinction, they are also a source of ecotourism for some of the cities and regions that they reside in. South Texas in particular, which already plays host to many birders every year, is a premier spot to go looking for Red-crowned Amazons. In certain parks and neighborhoods, large flocks of Red-crowned Amazons flock together to prepare for the night. These flocks sometimes include other species of parrots as well and are extremely noisy as they gather and find a roosting site. These events are fascinating spectacles and definitely worth it if you’re visiting the area.

Monk Parakeet

Out of all of the parrot species living in the US, the one that has been able to spread across the country the most is the Monk Parakeet. Monk Parakeets have a gray face, neck and underside, and a green back and wings. They have vibrant blue on their wingtips and blue feathers mixed in with their otherwise green tail. The native range of these small parrots is the south central part of South America. They are more common in grasslands and savannas than more tropical habitats as they are well equipped to survive temperate climates. In the United States their story is the same as many other parrots. Pet birds either escaped or were freed and then found the habitat to be suitable enough to survive and even self-sustain populations. What makes the Monk Parakeet different, is that they thrived in cities and states much farther north than other bird species. A large part of their survival in colder areas is because of two key adaptations. The first is that they not only eat fruits and nuts, but also seeds and crops. This means that even in the winter they can still find food, including bird feeders. The other adaptation is their massive stick nests that they build. These nests provide insulation from the bitter cold and allow for colonies of these birds to live in New York and Chicago where their large nests can be seen in urban areas. Funny enough, places like tall bridges and electrical plants are likely places to find this species in the United States. It is worth noting that they also live in the typical United States parrot locations such as Florida, Texas, and Southern California.

Parrots are fascinating birds that certainly have an association with the most tropical parts of the world, but as it turns out, they can also live in parts of the world you wouldn’t expect, and may be closer to you than you think. In the United States, these species that originated from all over the world, have found a way to survive, and don;t look to be going anywhere any time soon. If you liked this video, take a look at one of these videos going more in depth on certain parrot species, and as always, thanks for reading, we’ll see you next time, on Badgerland Birding.

The world is filled with incredible birds that inspire people to create art, make music, and travel countless miles to see them. Then, there are others that make people feel completely the opposite about. What they feel is pure, unbridled hatred. You may think i’m exaggerating, but trust, me, the proof is in the comment section. People hate these species for a variety of reasons, with some of them being a perception that the bird is a bully, the fact that the bird is nonnative to a region they inhabit, or even for some other more personal reason. Before getting into it, remember that everyone has a different opinion and some people may love these birds, it’s just a generalization about some species that many people strongly dislike or maybe that just need a better PR team. With that in mind, let’s get started talking about five birds that everyone hates.

Feral Pigeon

Just about everyone is familiar with the plump and gregarious Pigeon. Originating from the Rock Dove, a species native to parts of Asia, Europe, and Africa, pigeons were brought to the United States and were actually extremely important to the progression of civilization as they were used both as a source of food and even as message carriers during wars. Over time, these once valuable birds escaped or were released and set up shop in cities all over the world and in particular in the United States. As the new range of the pigeon expanded their favorability among humans declined. Over time, populations of pigeons absolutely exploded in cities where food was plentiful and high rise buildings were more than suitable replacements for the cliffs that their ancestors nested in. 

As pigeons became more and more of a fixture in places that humans live, people became more and more annoyed by them. One of the reasons has to do with the large amounts of pigeon excrement on statues, sidewalks, and even hitting people passing below. Another has to do with the perception that pigeons carry diseases and are overall dirty animals. Some people have even expressed unhappiness with pigeons visiting their bird feeders, stating that their ability to eat large amounts of seeds quickly along with their large size for backyard birds makes them appear as greedy or bullies. This is all of course actually mostly perception, and in reality, pigeons aren’t any dirtier than any other bird species. The biggest difference is that pigeons live in places that we don’t think nature should be in and instead of being impressed with their resilience, we as humans deem them to be separate from nature and therefore, vermin to be dealt with rather than a beautiful natural animal.

European Starling

The next bird on the list is another species that originally didn’t live in the United States. European Starlings were brought to the United States in the acclimatization era in which people thought it was a good idea to introduce european birds into North America. The Starling was a species that did extremely well in its new environment and quickly spread across the continent. As Starlings expanded their range, disdain for them increased as large flocks of them gathered to feed on lawns, swarmed bird feeders, and pushed out native cavity nesting birds. Over time, starlings became firmly entrenched as a North American species and now exists in such high numbers that getting rid of them would be a nearly impossible task that would involve collateral damage for other species and the environment as a whole. 

In present times, opinions on European Starlings are mixed. In their original range, they are a beloved species known for their intelligence and beauty. In their expanded nonnative range, some people feel that way, but many others see them as a nuisance and a species certainly warranting hatred.

Canada Goose

The Canada Goose is perhaps one of the most interesting cases of a hated bird species. Unlike most others on this list, Canada Geese are native to North America. Not only that though, but they are actually a bird that is linked with the changes of the seasons in many people’s minds, since their V-shaped flocks move north and south each year during peak times for waterfowl to migrate. That is however, not the case. People seem to generally have a very negative view of these large brown bodied birds because of how unpleasant interactions with them can be. There are many species of geese and ducks that are skittish and spend their time in secluded marshes and wetlands; this is not the case for the Canada Goose that chooses instead to oftentimes live in places frequented by humans such as public parks, athletic fields, school campus, and random sidewalks. When these interactions happen, Canada Geese can be bold and opt for confrontation rather than flying away. They’ve been known to hiss at people passing by, and sometimes even get a little more aggressive than that. Additionally, they leave large droppings all over the place which people looking to use parks and greenspaces find gross. So how bad is the Canada Goose hate? Bad enough that some places actually deem them to be public nuisances and kill them. 

While they can certainly be majestic and wild, their pension for living in public spaces makes them an enemy for many people.

Brown-headed Cowbird

The second native North American bird on the list, the Brown-headed Cowbird is despised more for its biological adaptations than anything else. These birds are brood parasites, meaning they lay their eggs in the nests of other birds. Brood parasitism is actually a great strategy for cowbirds since it puts the cost of defending a nest, and feeding young on an entirely different species, freeing up the cowbird to focus on producing more eggs and thus growing the population even more. It’s thought that this strategy made sense for the species since they are known for following herds of Buffalo moving across the plains and picking off insects kicked up by the large animals. Not having to be tied down to a specific location or using energy feeding young worked well for their somewhat nomadic lifestyle. 

This was all well and good as the Brown-headed Cowbirds stuck to a pretty specific region and habitat; but that changed when humans arrived on the scene and started altering the landscape. Cutting down trees and fragmenting forest created more habitat for the Brown-headed Cowbird, and bird feeders provided a consistent food source, meaning they didn’t even have to move locations, they could just stay in the same area for the entirety of a breeding season. The fact that humans happened to create the perfect habitat for cowbirds helped them spread all across the country and unleashed them on new bird species that had never had to fight against brood parasitism before. Some at risk species have been pushed closer to the edge due to Cowbirds such the Kirtlands Warbler. It makes sense why people would dislike the cowbird especially because of the damage that they can do to other bird species, but it’s important to remember that humans played a massive role in creating the problem.

House Sparrow

It’s quite possible that out of all North American bird species, there is none more polarizing than the House Sparrow. Originally native to Eurasia and Northern Africa, these small but hardy birds were brought to the United States in an attempt to make the new world feel more like home to European settlers along with the hope that they would eat insect pests that were damaging crops. Of course, the House Sparrows found their new home more than suitable and quickly spread across the continent. There are plenty of nonnative species that have taken up residence in North America such as the Eurasian Collared Dove, the Western Cattle Egret, and even many different parrot species, so why does the House Sparrow get so much more hate? Part of it is simply just how successful they have been. House Sparrows now occupy every continent with the exception of Antarctica and are a common site in cities and at backyard bird feeders where they can come in droves and push out other more timid species. The other massive reason House Sparrows are so hated has to do with their darker side. These seemingly harmless birds are fierce and aggressive when it comes to vying for nesting sites. It’s well-known that House Sparrows attack and kill other cavity nesting birds including Tree Swallows and Bluebirds. While this fact is tough for people that like House Sparrows to believe, it is certainly one of the reasons people have such a disdain for them. All that being said, the House Sparrow is a complicated bird species. They are hardy survivalists that can’t necessarily be blamed for their ways, especially since it was humans who brought them to the new world. Additionally, they have actually seen declines in their native range where they are very much still loved.

Overall, each of these birds has a different reason as to why so many people dislike them. On the other hand, each has a lot of people out in the world that don’t hate them and even have an affinity for them. The truth about animals and how humans relate to them and feel about them is always somewhere in the middle of the extreme opinions. After all, they are just animals trying to survive in a world that every day continues in the direction of human progress and these birds are just doing their best to adapt. What do you think of these birds on our list? Are their others that you would add? Let us know in the comments below, and if you liked this video take a look at one of these. As always, we’ll see you next time, on Badgerland Birding.