Máistir Nádúraí: December Birding

12.15.2006

December Birding

This morning I walked the entire length of the Pheasant Branch stream corridor and also the prairie at the north end of the conservancy. I found 30 bird species. The biggest surprise was a Great Blue Heron just south of the big springs. I have found over-wintering Great Blue Herons in Dane County before, but this is the first one I’ve seen at the conservancy in December. Luckily for the heron the springs doesn’t freeze and there are plenty of fish, so I’m not worried for it.

I found 3 Great Horned Owls but no Barred Owls. Two owls were together and most likely the same pair that’s been present at the south stream corridor for the past several years. I was able to get some nice pictures of their young from last spring. I hit the jackpot for songbirds at the dead-end path on the north stream corridor...there were White-throated Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Swamp Sparrows, Winter Wren, juncos, nuthatches, cardinals and more:

Canada Goose

Mallard

American Black Duck

Great Blue Heron

Red-tailed Hawk

Ring-billed Gull

Rock Pigeon

Mourning Dove

Great Horned Owl

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Downy Woodpecker

Hairy Woodpecker

Blue Jay

American Crow

Black-capped Chickadee

Tufted Titmouse

White-breasted Nuthatch

Brown Creeper

Winter Wren

American Robin

European Starling

American Tree Sparrow

Song Sparrow

Swamp Sparrow

White-throated Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

Northern Cardinal

House Finch

American Goldfinch

House Sparrow

Bio:

Mike McDowell has been documenting southern Wisconsin’s flora and fauna since 1987 and began leading field trips in 2002. Prolific at Pheasant Branch Conservancy, other highlighted natural areas include Pope Farm Conservancy, Spring Green Preserve, and the Baraboo Hills. His nature photography has appeared in various publications, newspapers, magazines and was even featured on a Wisconsin Endangered Resources license plate, a Capital Brewery beer label, and a National Geographic publication. He began journaling nature observations on this blog in 2005. He's the recipient of the 2012 Bronze Passenger Pigeon Award from the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology, presented to individuals who have made outstanding contributions in their local communities or state to promote the field of ornithology. He was a finalist in Swarovski’s Digiscoper of the Year photography contest several times. His other interests include insect macro-photography (especially tiger beetles, treehoppers, and robber flies), fossil collecting, amateur astronomy, botany, natural history, and marksmanship with long-range firearms. Once a gigging musician, collecting Fender Stratocasters is a recently revived interest—most prized being a 1957 Vintage Custom 'Mary Kaye' White Blonde. A former IT Professional, he's spent the last 24 years employed in the sport optics industry and has more binoculars than you.