Vol. 3 // A great horned owl cam, a birdwatching record breaker, and brilliantly colored ducks

Found in East Asia and Western Europe

In the fall of 2018, a bird known as the “Hot Duck” took New York City by storm. Central Park had a rare visitor that thousands flocked to see: a migrating Mandarin Duck. The dazzling male duck—with a colorful, brilliantly patterned head, bright orange “sail fins,” and a pink bill—is a rare visitor to the United States (he likely escaped or was released from captivity), and he paddled around the park for weeks, gathering fans and headlines across the world. 

Fun fact: The Mandarin Duck population is quite healthy in its native East Asia, and has established populations in Western Europe, so maybe take a trip to go see one rather than waiting for the next one to pop up in Manhattan.

Give a Hoot

Three birding bits you should know about this week.

👀 On the lookout
Texas woman sets bird-watching record, spots 726 species in 2021
Thirty-five year old Tiffany Kersten traversed 48 states to spot over 700 bird species in her very Big Year.

🔥 Things are heating up
New study weighs whether climate change or habitat loss influences birds more
Spoiler alert: both are pretty bad for birds. A study looks at the data gathered from 90 years of the Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count, which first began in 1900.

🦉 Babies on the brain
The Great Horned Owl nest live cam
A Great Horned Owl laid eggs in this nest near Savannah, Georgia on January 17, and they should hatch for your viewing pleasure in a couple of weeks! (There have already been some particularly dramatic mama moments.)

A Product We Love

Unique and worthy products from the wide world of birding you might enjoy.

Saw-whet Owl corduroy hat from Bird Collective. You can also find hats depicting the Golden Eagle, Chickadee, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, and more. Bird Collective donates a portion of the profits of this collection to nonprofit HawkWatch International and other bird conservation groups. $35

Your Shot

An amazing bird photo taken by one of our community members. Submit yours to hello@flyingcolors.co to be considered for an upcoming edition!

No brigadier throughout the year

So civic as the jay.

A neighbor and a warrior too,

With shrill felicity

Pursuing winds that censure us

A February day,

The brother of the universe

Was never blown away.

– “The Blue Jay”
by Emily Dickinson

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Questions? Ideas? Epic bird photos? Reach out at hello@flyingcolors.co

About Us

Flying Colors makes premium organic wild bird food, offering ethically sourced, toxin-free seeds and nuts of the highest quality to nourish wild birds of all types and inspire birders of all ages. Each specialty blend and single origin creation is rigorously sourced & researched, and every jar is produced with love & packaged by hand in small batches in New York's Hudson Valley and tested in our own backyards.