The Colors of May!

"May—the very word makes the heart leap. Birds, Buds, Blossoms, Beauty! Break away from every bondage of circumstance or low spirits and go out into the sunshine. Answer back the bird-note in your heart, kiss your finger tips to every new blossom, and be a part of the spring."

 

— Eva Kellogg

Well, I've reached my 200-species target for the year and I'm done. Connecticut Warbler, Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Philadelphia Vireo—they can all wait for another season's efforts. Naturally, the list chasers and competitive birders will keep gunning for that 300-species milestone, a number I've never actually hit despite attempting a Wisconsin Big Year back in 2004 when I landed 293. That was a nightmare of chasing RBA reports and dropping everything at a moment's notice. I haven't attempted one since. From this point forward, any new birds on my annual list will be incidental discoveries while out bug hunting.

 

Here are 'The Reliables' of Dane County who'll keep right on going: 

Gas prices and environmental consequences be damned—the higher the count, the better the birder. Despite pronouncements from some being done listing and chasing, they keep right on doing it year after year.

 

Hey, that's their right. 

 

With gasoline prices approaching $5.00 per gallon, competitive birding becomes an activity filtered through economic privilege. When a serious birder needs to chase rare species across a region, the fuel costs alone can be substantial. 

 

I can afford it, but screw that. 

All of these bird portraits were taken at Pheasant Branch last week when things finally began to pick up. In truth, I no longer enjoy carrying my digiscoping rig around; my back and neck simply can't handle prolonged hikes with that weight anymore. It feels less like I'm aging and more like the warranty on my body is starting to expire. 

Though it was a slow start, my vacation was timed perfectly to catch warbler migration's peak. Those consecutive +20-warbler species days seem to be a thing of the past, but landing just one is still a very gratifying experience. 

Here's Tennessee Warbler bathing, then preened at a perch.

This particular Magnolia Warbler had an odd song that was reminiscent of a White-eyed Vireo ...

I watched him sing, and he was indeed the culprit! I've never heard one quite like it before. Observations like this prompt me to wonder if, during its song development, it was near some other influence—perhaps mimicking a neighbor or an unusual sound that became permanently woven into its repertoire. Or perhaps it's something they just do that I've never noticed before. 

Who doesn't love a Baltimore Oriole?

Or Scarlet Tanager?

A real stunner!

This was fun ...

Fresh from its recent bath, this Common Yellowthroat devoted nearly ten minutes to the fastidious ritual of preening. With meticulous precision, it worked its bill through each feather, methodically checking every covert and flight feather before moving on to the intricate details of its wing edges and tail. The bird twisted and contorted, ensuring not a single feather remained out of place, until its distinctive black mask was set against perfectly groomed olive-yellow plumage.

The colors of May paint a vivid portrait of spring's peak vibrancy, dominated by fresh greens and a diverse palette of blooming flowers. Green stands as May's signature color, symbolizing growth, rebirth, and Nature at its most expressive. This verdant backdrop serves as the perfect stage for the month's spectacular floral display: Woodland Phlox, Wild Geranium, Trillium, Columbine, and Shooting Star.

Alas, there will be new bird portraits, but expect more bugs in the near future!

 

All images © 2026 Mike McDowell

Re-engaging with Tiger Beetles!

"To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter... to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird's nest or a wildflower in spring—these are some of the rewards of the simple life."

― John Burroughs,

After a two-week break, I finally got my tiger beetle fix yesterday following a morning of really good birding. South winds make all the difference. 

 

The Pheasant Branch Creek Corridor was alive with neotropical songbirds—over 20 warbler species and my first Gray-cheeked Thrush of spring. Dottie and I found a Black-throated Blue Warbler singing away about 150 yards into the northern part of the conservancy from Century Avenue. Tom Schultz, his wife Wendy, Jeff Baumann, and one other person were birding the corridor, and we agreed to let each other know if we found any really good birds. I called them about the BTBW, and they were able to track it down. Meanwhile, Dottie and I had continued northward, eventually finding a singing Mourning Warbler. My spring warbler count is at 33 species and that's good enough for 2026.

 

We finished up birding around 11:00 a.m. I was getting concerned about the heat with respect to Spring Green Preserve. Whatever the air temperature is, one generally can add 5 to 10 degrees when at the preserve. So, mid eighties actually translates to 90s. I made sure to bring a lot of water.

Once at the preserve, Sue and I made our way to the same spot I've found Northern Barrens for the past 3 years, and now a 4th can be added. 

As I've mentioned here before, this is a species I used to travel to Necedah National Wildlife Refuge to see and photograph, but that location has a profound issue with ticks. The last time I was there, I recall finding at least 25 ticks on me—mostly wood, some deer. So, having a reliable location to find this species closer to home without the tick problem is more than ideal. Though it's a bad tick year in Wisconsin, I've only found one on me so far.

 

Portraits ... 

I took a brief break from beetling to photograph Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium):

On the very same path, Six-spotted Tiger Beetles were also present ...

Their green coloration is a little warmer, and they lack the bold maculations of the Northern Barrens. However, you must either inspect them with binoculars or get close enough to tell them apart. 

On the way back home, we stopped at the Arena Boat Landing to check on the sandbar's status. As you may recall, it was completely underwater just a few weeks ago. It's astonishing how quickly things can return to normal, a testament to Nature's resilience.

Hairy-necked Tiger Beetles were out in force!

This species is typically found in the wet sand very close to the water's edge. I prefer to photograph there, as I think the darker sand provides a better backdrop that highlights the beetles. Perhaps I'm rusty, but it took nearly two hours to get these shots. The beetles were extremely wary and skittish, refusing to tolerate a close approach, so I was simply lucky to get these images.

Above, a male preparing to mount a female.

Although I didn't capture the exact moment, I saw her lift her antenna to touch his as they began copulating. This interaction might serve as a verification or acceptance behavior, though I could be anthropomorphizing. In any case, it was the first time I'd witnessed such behavior, which I found fascinating.

There had to be over a hundred tiger beetles on the main sandbar—most were Hairy-necked, but there were Bronzed Tiger Beetles present as well. The two species are similar, but the Hairy-necked's front maculation is more G-shaped, while Bronzed is more of a compressed C-shape. Naturally, this feature is variable as you can see in these photographs, but all are Cicindela hirticollis.

 

Next up: Ghost, Punctured, and Sandy Stream.

 

The May birding post is still in the works!

 

All images © 2026 Mike McDowell

Baxter's LOWA!

"We all need a technological detox; we need to throw away our phones and computers instead of using them as our pseudo-defence system for anything that comes our way. We need to be bored and not have anything to use to shield the boredom away from us. We need to be lonely and see what it is we really feel when we are."

― Evan Sutter

Part I: Merlin in 2026

 

This spring the Merlin app seems more ubiquitous than ever, bringing with it a grating new phenomenon I'm dubbing "The Narrator." There you are, fully immersed in the moment and tuned into the subtle chips and trills of the woods, only to have the peace shattered by someone announcing every digital hit their phone registers. Phrases like "Merlin is picking up a Summer Tanager!" become a live commentary that competes with the birds themselves. It's distracting enough that I find myself walking away just to reclaim the canopy's choir. Naturally, this tends to occur more so when birding popular hot spots during peak migration. 

 

The main issue remains that Merlin, while somewhat impressive, is far from perfect. I've watched it misidentify American Goldfinch chatter as Indigo Bunting or report species that simply aren't present (some of which are being reported to eBird without confirmation). Because of those frequent hallucinations, a Merlin announcement puts you on the spot—do you stop what you're doing to search for a bird that might just be a digital glitch? 

 

Part II: Baxter's Hollow

 

On Wednesday, Sue, Mark, Dottie, and I spent part of the day at Baxter's Hollow in the Baraboo Hills checking for warblers on territory. We had great luck with Hooded and Cerulean Warblers, Ovenbirds, and Louisiana Waterthrushes. No sign of Acadian Flycatchers or Scarlet Tanagers quite yet—but it won't be long. My impression is that it’s been a strong spring for Golden-winged Warbler, Northern Parula, and Magnolia and Chestnut-sided Warblers. My 2026 warbler count is currently at 31 species, which is right on track for mid-May. It probably won't be a repeat of 2020's 37, but that's perfectly fine.

 

Baxter's Hollow remains an amazing retreat from the crowds, located just a half hour away from home.

The birding highlight was two male Louisiana Waterthrushes, locked in a fierce territorial battle. They zipped up and down Otter Creek like angry darts. There was no clear victor by the time we left, but I imagine they'll have it sorted out in a few days.

Though the song is diagnostic, here we can observe salient field marks: 

• Clean throat
• Bolder/longer supercilium (brow)
• Pink/orange legs
• Buffy flanks
• Short tail projection

As I've written here before, no single field mark is necessarily definitive for identification; both Louisiana and Northern Waterthrushes can exhibit individual variability—when not singing, one should build a case to separate these two extremely similar species with multiple plumage features. 

Yellow Lady-slippers (Cypripedium parviflorum) were open ...

And Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum), too ...

Between migration's peak and a string of cooler days, my attention has shifted primarily to birding. The tiger beetle season has been on a weather-induced hiatus, but I expect Six-spotted, Northern Barrens, and Hairy-necked to be the next to find. Summer species—Ghost, Punctured, and Sandy Stream—aren't expected until at least late June. Until then, birds will take center stage as the early summer and fall beetle cohorts emerge. 

 

A more extensive May songbird post is in the works!

 

All images © 2026 Mike McDowell