A reader photographed this American Robin in her yard. It is a leucistic bird. If an albino, the bird would be totally white with bill, legs, and irises pink. They’re pink because the lack of pigment allows the red of the blood vessels to show through. If a partial albino, some of its features would be white. In leucism, the plumage is pale, normal pigmentation being diluted. On this bird you can see the faint glow of the red breast and the brown color on its head.

I had a very sick Common Redpoll at one of our feeders this morning, a situation being reported elsewhere as well. Cause is believed to be dirty feeders. Our damp, cold spring is part of the problem. Wet seed debris in feeder trays and spoiled seed provide places for growth of what is believed to be salmonella. Our bird sat quietly, feathers fluffed up, head tucked to the side. It allowed me to approach far closer than normal before it weakly flew into the brush. Our worst problem is with thistle seed. Much of it gets tossed into the tray by feeding birds. A little moisture and you have seed paste. I cleaned feeders last week, but the problem can return quickly. It’s a good idea to clean all of your feeders now even if you see no sick birds. Empty the feeders, soak and scrub them in soapy water. Disinfect them with a 10 percent bleach solution. Let them dry thoroughly before adding fresh seed and putting them back out. I’m going to clean ours again, and I’m taking the thistle feeder down until the redpolls and siskins move north into their summer territories. Oh: seed debris on the ground also can be a problem. I use a shop vac to remove it. The National Wildlife Health Center Web site has more information. Go to www.nwhc.usgs.gov

Chickadees are among those bird species that nest in cavities. Unlike woodpeckers, they are not equipped to chisel a hole. However, they can pick away at dead wood to open a hollow for their nest. The chickadee shown here was working on soft wood atop an apple tree stump early this morning. Two birds, the male and female I presume, were taking turns chipping small chunks of wood loose, and tossing them away. The nest will be exposed to weather, but the sitting bird will shelter the eggs and young.     

Perhaps you remember the story in the Home and Garden section last spring about a Pileated Woodpecker that chose a Wayzata power pole as its nest site. It dug one hole. The power company put a patch on it. It dug a second hole. The power company wrapped that section of the pole with wire mesh. That was that for the 2008 season. The bird has returned for another try, chiseling away Monday afternoon on a handsome nesting cavity about two feet above the wrap. Stay tuned.

Northern Flickers come in two flavors — yellow-shafted and red-shafted. The latter most often are seen west of the Great Plains. Here, we would expect to see yellow-shafted birds, like the one shown in the first two photos. It was in our backyard a couple of days ago, taking advantage of sunshine to do some grooming. The wing-feather shafts are yellow, as are the interior feathers of the wing. Tail feather shafts and the underside of the tail feathers also show yellow. You can see that in the photo taken last spring of three flickers engaged in some courtship action. The black mustache mark indicates a male bird.

In the past couple of days, birders in the metro area have reported Eastern Bluebirds, Eastern Meadowlarks (Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge), Common Grackles, Sandhill Cranes, Killdeer, Snow Geese, many species of waterfowl, including Green-winged Teal and mergansers, Great Blue Herons, Double-crested Cormorants, Brown-headed Cowbirds, Rusty Blackbirds, White-fronted Geese, Red-shouldered Hawks, Northern Harrier, Kestrel, Merlin, and Turkey Vultures. American Robins are everywhere, as are male Red-winged Blackbirds.( The males arrive first to claim breeding territories. Females will follow soon.) Pictured is a female Red-winged Blackbird carrying grass for her nest. 

Chimney Swift nesting towers are popping up in Minnesota. This is important because swift populations are not growing, and they are losing their preferred nesting sites. When Chimney Swifts were known as American Swifts the birds nested in tree snags or hollows. These birds cannot perch or stand. When not in the air they cling to a rough surface — the inside of a tree snag or the inside of a chimney. The name changed when chimneys became part of our landscape, and the swifts took advantage. The birds build a nest of sticks stuck to the side of a chimney with their saliva. A nesting tower is a construction about 14 feet high and 18 inches square. It provides a perfect nesting opportunity. The one pictured is on the west shore of Mille Lacs Lake, thanks to the local Ojibwa tribe. Another is in place at Aveda headquarters in Blaine, courtesy of that company. About half a dozen others are in the planning stages. This should be helpful for the swifts. We cut tree snags down. The design of new chimneys today makes nesting by swifts impossible. The towers are helping us keep swifts in the air here. For more information go to web address www.chimneyswifts.org.

The northwest corner of Nebraska and a bit of adjoining territory to the north in South Dakota are the only places on the continent were you have a chance to regularly see all three bluebird species — Eastern Bluebird, Western Bluebird, and Mountain Bluebird. The latter is what we are seeing the past two days in South Dakota’s Custer State Park. Pairs are establishing territories and choosing from the nest boxes set here on fence posts along the wildlife tour route. Below, a female Mountain Bluebird approaches a nest box. The male was foraging in the prairie grass nearby, where he found this grub. Eastern Bluebirds should be in Minnesota any minute now, if not already there. They are our nesting species.

 All it took was that one warm day a couple of Saturday’s ago when the temp rose above 40 to produce spring bird song. The chickadees in our neighborhood suddenly began to sing their loud fee-bee song. This can be heard throughout the year, but is more common in spring and summer. It’s sung by males to advertise territories and repel rivals. One warm day and they were thinking of girls. Cardinals here also began to tee up on tree tops and sing their availability advertisement. Yesterday’s snow did nothing to slow them up. The trigger is the increasing amount of daylight we’re receiving. In the photo is a male cardinal.

Scotts Miracle-Gro Co., the largest U.S. lawn and garden product maker, has recalled some of its five different varieties of wild bird food. They did so because of concerns that the products might contain salmonella-contaminated peanut meal. Wild birds can carry salmonella themselves, but not necessarily the strain causing the problem presently in the news. If peanut products you are feeding your birds contain that strain, they could be harmful to birds or mammals eating them. This information was received Wednesday afternoon in an email distributed on BirdChat, a national email message list. The products involved are: • Morning Song Nutty Safari Suet, 11 oz.• Morning Song Woodpecker Suet 3 pack, 1.78 lbs.• Royal Wing Raisin Suet, 11.75 oz.• Morning Melodies Variety Suet (3 count).• Morning Song Variety 15-pack suet, multi-pack with 15 suets and feeder.• Morning Song Nutty Safari Suet, 11 oz.