Wood Duck
Like the Green Herons, hatch-year Wood Ducks have been making their way down the creek corridor from the confluence ponds. I find them far less skittish than adults, making them ideal bird photography subjects. I've never seen so many of this species at one location up until this summer. There must be a few dozen or more at the ponds west of Deming Road right now. This particular bird was basking in early morning sunlight at an open area just beyond the last bridge along the west trail.
Broad-winged Hawk
On a different outing without my spotting scope, I captured this photograph of a cooperative young Broad-winged Hawk by hand-holding my Nikon Coolpix 4500 up to my Swarovski binoculars. It was such a clumsy operation that I imagined the hawk laughing at my lack of progress. I finally used a log on the ground to prop up my binoculars toward the perched hawk and snapped off a few images. Given the limitation of aperture and magnification compared to my regular digiscoping rig, I was surprised how well it turned out.
Partridge Pea
Allegheny Monkeyflower
I still like to use the aforementioned Coolpix 4500 for its incredible macro capability. It's especially useful for photographing wildflowers and insects. Apparently common throughout Wisconsin, this is the first summer I've noticed Partridge Pea along the Creek corridor. Allegheny Monkeyflower is another wildflower I'm noticing at the corridor for the first time, but I think I could have easily missed it before, as they are not especially showy from a distance. However, I love the bright pale yellow of Evening Primrose. They look like tiny yellow beacons in the understory.
Evening Primrose
There are still a few Dogbane Leaf beetles feeding on Indian hemp, but they're getting more difficult to find. If you're into killing the invasive Japanese beetle, make sure you can tell the difference between these two similar looking insects!
Dogbane Leaf beetle
Pheasant Branch Conservancy
Aug 18 & 19, 2012
Total # of Species: 65
Wood Duck
Mallard
Great Blue Heron
Green Heron
Cooper's Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Sora
Sandhill Crane
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper
Ring-billed Gull
Mourning Dove
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
House Wren
Marsh Wren
Carolina Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Swainson's Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Northern Waterthrush
Blue-winged Warbler
Golden-winged Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Magnolia Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Wilson's Warbler
Chipping Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Baltimore Oriole
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
All images © 2012 Mike McDowell