Paula Smith Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 (edited) Hello - I saw a pair of birds that I've never seen before, flitting around my Mountain Ash tree and coming in to my black sunflower feeder. I live near Hastings, MN (southeast MN) The birds were smaller than a goldfinch and sparrow. The head and much of the body was a darker grey, except for some faint orange feathers on the breast (of the female?) The head was very smooth and the bill was sharp and long. The (male?) was also a darker grey but had distinctive yellow parts on it's body, most noticeable when in flight - two bright yellow markings on the back feathers of the spread wings. Quick flyers. Pretty birds. I cannot find anything like it in my Nat'l Geographic backyard birds of North America guide. Sorry, no pictures. Anyone? Edited September 3, 2018 by Paula Smith add'l info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bird Nuts Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 Hmmm.... American Redstarts? https://ebird.org/media/catalog?taxonCode=amered&mediaType=p&q=American%20Redstart%20-%20Setophaga%20ruticilla Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akiley Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 45 minutes ago, The Bird Nuts said: Hmmm.... American Redstarts? https://ebird.org/media/catalog?taxonCode=amered&mediaType=p&q=American%20Redstart%20-%20Setophaga%20ruticilla She said they’re visiting her feeder, so I don’t think Redstart would be likely. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bird Nuts Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 1 minute ago, akiley said: She said they’re visiting her feeder, so I don’t think Redstart would be likely. Whoops! I guess I was reading too quickly... 😄 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paula Smith Posted September 4, 2018 Author Share Posted September 4, 2018 3 hours ago, The Bird Nuts said: Whoops! I guess I was reading too quickly... 😄 Thanks, people! After further research this afternoon, I DO believe they were grey/yellow redstarts. Thanks, everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bird Nuts Posted September 4, 2018 Share Posted September 4, 2018 3 minutes ago, Paula Smith said: Thanks, people! After further research this afternoon, I DO believe they were grey/yellow redstarts. Thanks, everyone! Oh, interesting! Are you sure they were visiting your feeder? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paula Smith Posted September 4, 2018 Author Share Posted September 4, 2018 They never landed on the feeder but were flying around with chickadees and gold finches, between the trees, deck and feeder, probably wondering what all the commotion was about. We got a very good look at them as they thought about landing on the feeder but didn’t. Thanks for the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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