With spring just around the corner, the first killdeer of the season was reported on Feb. 24, according to the Minnesota Ornithologists’ Union birding hotline.
Other arriving migrants reported recently include greater white-fronted goose, great blue heron, northern harrier, sandhill crane, ring-billed gull and both rusty and red-winged blackbirds.
Resident birds and those returning to Minnesota from their southern wintering grounds will soon be ready to nest. In spring and early summer, birds, their eggs and hatchlings are vulnerable to becoming a meal for predators.
One of America’s most efficient predators is the domestic cat, which if allowed outdoors might kill birds and small mammals, even if the cat is well fed by humans.
Every year the lives of free-roaming cats are cut short when they are run over by cars, attacked by other animals, contract diseases, pick up parasites, or are poisoned or harmed by humans, according to Andrea Lee Lambrecht, of the Cats Indoors Minnesota Project.
Her organization is encouraging people to keep their cat indoors, for the cat’s safety as well as for the sake of birds and wildlife on which cats prey.
To promote the idea, a “Keep Your Cat Indoors” poster contest, open to children ages 6-12, is underway. Entries must arrive at a regional Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Nongame Wildlife offices by April 8. State winners will be announced on April 22, Earth Day.
Prizes will include bird/wildlife books, plush birds that sing and Minnesota Ornithologists’ Union bird checklists. The three top state winners will also receive Nikon binoculars. The Ornithologists’ Union and the DNR Nongame Wildlife Program are among the organizations that endorse and fund the Cats Indoors campaign.
Contest guidelines are posted on the Minnesota DNR Web site at www.dnr.state.mn.us.
Guidelines may also be obtained at regional DNR Nongame Wildlife offices located at 2115 Birchmont Beach Road NE, Bemidji, MN 56601; 1201 East Highway 2, Grand Rapids, MN 55744; 1200 Warner Road, St. Paul, MN 55106; and 261 Highway 15 South, New Ulm, MN 56073.