Máistir Nádúraí: Autumn Equinox!

9.22.2017

Autumn Equinox!

"The moon does not fight. It attacks no one. It does not worry. It does not try to crush others. It keeps to its course, but by its very nature, it gently influences. What other body could pull an entire ocean from shore to shore? The moon is faithful to its nature and its power is never diminished."

― Ming-Dao Deng

The Autumn Equinox in Northern Hemisphere will be at 3:02 PM today. In Wisconsin it presently feels more like July. We'll likely beat a heat record set in 1937 with a foretasted high of 90 degrees Fahrenheit with a heat index approaching 100. Steady southeast winds have somewhat stalled bird migration, so I haven't been birding before or after work the past several days.

The above image is a young moon I photographed late last evening as it set in the west. While looking through the viewfinder I could see small flocks of American Robins flying south. This weekend's weather is going to be unseasonably warm, but I'll try to collecting something to blog about. This will probably be the last weekend I scour the creek corridor for migratory warblers, vireos, and flycatchers, as sparrows are beginning to arrive at the prairie.

And then winter.

© 2017 Mike McDowell

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.