Pheasant Branch Conservancy
I've been in bed with a nasty cold virus since Wednesday night. I think it's been raining almost the entire time. The pattering of droplets against my window was almost constant, but this morning it was finally silent. Still feeling under par, I hesitated opening my window blinds. I wasn't so sure I wanted to see what was out there. In a way, I was hoping for a continuation of dreary weather so I would have an excuse to stay in bed. But I opened the blinds and saw the sunlight hitting rows of orange and yellow trees across the courtyard; gulls, geese, and songbirds were flying against a brilliant sky of azure. Drat! I didn't want to miss this. I wanted to be outside, participating. Though it was getting late (for me), I slogged out of bed, put on some clothes, ate a bit of breakfast, grabbed my birding gear and headed out the door.
Crossing the first bridge.
The forest floor is covered with leaves.
I hate being cooped up in my apartment and felt rejuvenated the moment I set foot at Pheasant Branch. It was the correct decision. It was a good thing I remembered to grab a handful of tissues for my runny nose – I needed every one of them. It's late evening as I'm writing this blog. I have a congestion headache and feel like I'm at a perpetual verge of a sneeze. I like looking at the photographs I've taken – it's the art of what I do. I entered my bird sightings into eBird, which is the science of what I do. Science and art are complementary approaches to understanding nature, though I'm not always sure where one boundary ends and the other begins or if it's even important right now. I'm just grateful for the time I was there.
White-throated Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
In a way, every photographic exposure is an experiment with light and every picture is data. This outing was my first run of the complete digiscoping rig using the Nikon FT-1 mount. What a huge difference it makes shooting in Aperture Priority with the TLS APO. What do you think of the results? From the viewer's perspective, probably not too different from when I was stuck using Manual mode. I wish I could have stayed outside all day, but I began getting a little fatigued after a couple of hours of hiking and headed home. I'm too tired to write any more, so enjoy the images!
American Tree Sparrow - there will be more!
Pheasant Branch, Dane, US-WI
Oct 20, 2012 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
42 species
Canada Goose
Ring-necked Pheasant
Red-tailed Hawk
Sandhill Crane
Ring-billed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Winter Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
European Starling
American Pipit
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Eastern Towhee
American Tree Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
House Finch
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
All images © 2012 Mike McDowell