David Byrne!

"Music drives you. Your wings to soar, your charms to flee & your soul to reveal. Melody mirrors you in those quiet moments when ‘you and me’ attempt to stay."

― Shaa Zainol 

In keeping with our shared goal of seeing more live shows, Sue and I headed to Milwaukee yesterday to catch David Byrne's Who Is the Sky Tour at the Miller High Life Theatre. It was absolutely stunning—crystal-clear sound paired with mesmerizing, visually captivating performances. I didn't expect the musicians to be wireless, which let them move freely and fully lean into the show's tight, well-choreographed numbers. For that, I'm grateful I didn't spoil the surprise by watching performances of previous tour stops on YouTube. 

Setlist:

 

Heaven
Everybody Laughs
And She Was
Strange Overtones
Houses in Motion
T Shirt
(Nothing but) Flowers
This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)
What Is the Reason for It?
Like Humans Do
When We Are Singing
Independence Day
Slippery People
Moisturizing Thing
My Apartment Is My Friend
Air
Psycho Killer
Life During Wartime
Once in a Lifetime

Encore:

Everybody's Coming to My House
Burning Down the House

I've been a Talking Heads fan since the early 1980s, but I also enjoy Byrne's solo projects, especially Everything that Happens will Happen Today with Brian Eno. Strange Overtones is my favorite song from that album. 

 

The backdrop videos were clever. One showed close-ups of the actual singers' mouths, previously recorded, singing along with the song being performed live.

For Like Humans Do, stage performers copied the movements of those (wearing animal masks) in the video. It wasn't perfect, but it was very effective. 

Such a strange variety of visuals—one of the best concerts I've ever been to.

The photos don't do it justice. The videos were perfectly selected to pull the audience into the performance. At times, I felt like I was moving on some kind of ride.

Finishing the song Heaven, Byrne said, "There she is—our heaven, the only one we have," as he pointed to the Earth.

 

100% And that's a big part of what this blog has been all about for the past 20 years.

 

New Nature post coming soon! 

 

All images © 2026 Mike McDowell 

It's May!

"I don't care what you think unless it's about me."

― Kurt Cobain 

 

Part I: Narcissistic Supply 

 

Did you see this? 

What the actual f ...

 

One must observe, with clinical detachment, the spectacle of a man brandishing a real medical instrument as if it were a trophy from a battle he never fought. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment is, in fact, a legitimate tool—a simple test used by physicians to determine if a patient can still remember what day it is or draw a passable clock. To transform this humble diagnostic into a proof of towering genius is an act of such profound, almost artistic, self-deception that it deserves a kind of morbid admiration. It's the equivalent of a man boasting of his literacy because he can successfully identify the letter 'A' on an eye chart. 

 

We are not witnessing the confidence of a superior mind but the frantic, twitching anxiety of mediocrity haunted by the suspicion of his own inadequacy. It's the classic behavior of the con who fears exposure, whose bluster and hyperbole are not tools of persuasion but shields against the crushing reality of his own limitations. He might not believe his own lies; he needs his audience to, for their belief is the only thing that can sustain the fiction he has built of himself. 

 

Have you seen the test? Here it is ...

Honestly, I'd feel a lot better if he could get these three sneaky questions correct ...
 
1. The Bat-and-ball problem

A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total. The bat costs $1 more than the ball. How much does the ball cost?

2. The Machine problem

If it takes 5 machines 5 minutes to make 5 widgets, how long would it take 100 machines to make 100 widgets?

3. The Water lily pad problem

In a lake, there is a patch of lily pads. Every day, the patch doubles in size. If it takes 48 days for the patch to cover the entire lake, how long would it take for the patch to cover half of the lake?
 
Part II: Birding!

 

Anyway, I did go birding this morning to celebrate May.

Pheasant Branch Conservancy (general), Dane, Wisconsin, US
May 1, 2026 7:30 AM - 9:30 AM
Protocol: Traveling
3.0 mile(s)
44 species

Canada Goose  
Wood Duck  
Mallard  
Mourning Dove  
Turkey Vulture  
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker  
Red-bellied Woodpecker  
Downy Woodpecker  
Hairy Woodpecker  
Northern Flicker  
Eastern Phoebe  

Warbling Vireo  
Blue Jay  
American Crow  
Black-capped Chickadee  
Tree Swallow  
Northern Rough-winged Swallow  
Barn Swallow  
Ruby-crowned Kinglet  
White-breasted Nuthatch  
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher  
Northern House Wren  
Carolina Wren  
European Starling  
Gray Catbird  
American Robin  
House Sparrow  
House Finch  
American Goldfinch  
Chipping Sparrow  
White-throated Sparrow  
Song Sparrow  
Swamp Sparrow  
Eastern Towhee  
Orchard Oriole  
Baltimore Oriole  
Red-winged Blackbird  
Brown-headed Cowbird  
Common Grackle  
Northern Waterthrush  

Yellow Warbler  
Yellow-rumped Warbler  
Northern Cardinal  
Rose-breasted Grosbeak  

Creek Corridor © 2026 Mike McDowell

The Sora!

"I know not all that may be coming, but be it what it will, I'll go to it laughing."

― Herman Melville

Before meeting up with my birding posse at the Pheasant Branch Creek Corridor, I made a stop at the Black Earth Creek Natural Resource Area for newly arrived migrants. It had been a week since my last visit, so I figured prospects were good. There were dozens of Marsh Wrens and among the swallows I picked out a few Cliff. But the highlight was a Sora that was somewhat out in the open. 

Given swampy and tangled vegetation, it was virtually impossible to get a clear shot without some obstructing plants, but these are the best Sora shots I've captured in a long time. 

What a nifty bird!

Unfortunately, the creek corridor was surprisingly quiet on the warbler front — aside from a handful of Yellow-rumps, a Northern Waterthrush, and a Pine Warbler. We made up for the lack of variety, though, by finding singing Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, and Carolina Wrens.

 

After a few hours of birding, we called it an outing and went our separate ways. 

Sue and I had more to do, though.

 

On our way up to Sauk, we detoured to Ashton K Pond to check for shorebirds. It's not a pond per se, but an agricultural field that floods after heavy rains (we've had them, as you know). Once I got the spotting scope set up, I was thrilled to find a pair of Black-necked Stilts, followed by two more further east; since we hadn't realized they'd already been reported, it was a fantastic surprise year bird and my first sighting of the species in about eight years. I think it was Horicon NWR where I'd last seen them.

While we were scanning for other shorebirds, they all started giving alarm calls. I said "There's gotta be a raptor coming in!" Sure enough, the whole shorebird crew took off northward, and I spotted a Peregrine Falcon diving down. It skimmed right over the pond but missed the strike, then landed on the western edge about a dozen feet from the water. I got it in the spotting scope but it didn't stick around long — it took off again and we lost it heading west. 

The amusing part was all the birders who kept showing up for the Rare Bird Alert on the stilts only to find they just missed them. That's the life of the chaser, I suppose!

Sauk Prairie State Recreational Area was alive with tiger beetles!

 

I love it so. 

Within minutes, I located several Big Sand, but there were also impressive numbers of Oblique-lined and Festives. 

Here's a rather festive-colored Festive.

And some reddish Festives making more ... Festives.

Remember the flooded Wisconsin River?

It was incredible to see how much the water had receded in just a few days. With the shoreline habitat reappearing, Bronzed Tiger Beetles were out in full force — dozens of them were busy hunting and mating along the banks. While the recent flooding likely claimed some of the population, the survivors were out in impressive numbers, carrying on as if nothing had happened.

 

Nature is resilient. 

We considered heading to Baxter's Hollow in search of Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica), but ended up finding them right along Burma Road at Devil's Lake State Park instead. If you're planning a trip, keep in mind that while you can head in from Sauk Prairie Recreation Area, you'll eventually hit a gate that prevents vehicle access into the park itself. As a bonus, though, there are on-territory Pine Warblers present.

After a solid day's adventure, we grabbed dinner at Tumbled Rock Brewery & Kitchen. A couple friends had recommend it, and we can report that the food and service was fantastic. The beer was good, too! I had the Devil's Doorway Double IPA. Generally, Sue and I would hit Vintage Brewery on our way back home from our Sauk County excursions, but being right next to Devil's Lake State Park makes Tumbled Rock much more convenient place to plan around.

I highly recommend the walleye.

 

It's a busy week coming up, so I'm not sure how much birding or blogging I'll get done. There's a wedding to attend, a David Byrne concert, and work. Alas, this likely wraps up the month of April.  

 

I'll see you in May! 

 

All images © 2026 Mike McDowell

How did I miss this?

 

Incontrovertible proof that anyone can get a big life list!

Storms, Flooding, and Migration

"There's always another storm. It's the way the world works. Snowstorms, rainstorms, windstorms, sandstorms, and firestorms. Some are fierce and others are small. You have to deal with each one separately, but you need to keep an eye on whats brewing for tomorrow."

― Maria Snyder

 

Part I: Migration Update 

This past weekend's birding added two new wood warblers to my year list: Northern Waterthrush and Pine Warbler. The recent wave of migration also brought first-of-season sightings of Henslow's Sparrow, Upland Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Dunlin, and Broad-winged Hawk.

 

NEXRAD showed solid migration during the night on the 17th ...

But the next night, a massive cold front came in and kept migrating birds to the south and east ...

Again, the overlapping wind map ...

Part II: Storms

 

On Friday, this particular system rendered severe thunderstorms that spawned dozens of tornadoes and large hail ...

This is some of the largest hail I've ever seen. Although we have underground parking where I live, vehicles left in the outdoor lots were peppered with dents. Strong winds downed a few trees in my neighborhood. Ringle (Marathon County) was hit the hardest with an EF3 tornado, destroying or damaging several homes. Fortunately, nobody was severely injured or killed. 

 

Part III: Sauk County Bound 

The Wisconsin River was already running high, but the storms pushed it into dramatic flooding. These photos were taken at the Sauk City Canoe Launch—one of my favorite tiger beetle haunts. It remains to be seen whether any of the beetles will endure the flooding or return to the site once the waters recede.

Next up, Devil's Lake State Park ...

Our hike along Grottos Trail yielded little bird activity—just a Winter Wren and several woodpecker species—though the trail never fails to deliver its breathtaking view of the East Bluff. Despite the natural beauty, this particular path always stirs darker memories: I can't help but recall the tragic murder of John Craig Schmutzer, who was stabbed to death here on October 14th, 2020. The case remains unsolved. Devil's Lake has a body count, but most are from climbing accidents and drownings. 

Sue and I had never been to the park's Nature Center. Situated on the North Shore, functioning as the primary hub for the park's exhibits, naturalist programs, and visitor resources. It features animal and geology displays, hands-on natural history specimens, and historic photographs. I couldn't help notice an error on this Black-throated Green Warbler display, but didn't have the heart to tell them.

There were Dutchman's Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) in bloom near the park's main entrance ...

It's a fascinating wildflower native to eastern North America, distinguished by its unique shape that resembles upside-down pantaloons, which have evolved for specialized pollination by bumblebees capable of forcing them open. As a spring ephemeral, it employs a clever phenological strategy, completing its entire above-ground life cycle quickly before the forest canopy leafs out and blocks sunlight, relying on a symbiotic relationship with mycorrhizal fungi to efficiently absorb nutrients during this brief period. 

All parts of the plant contain toxic psychoactive compounds, including apomorphine, protoberberine, and protopine. While cattle typically avoid it, ingestion can lead to a neurological condition known as "cerebral cortical necrosis" or "craze seizures," earning the plant the rancher's nickname 'Staggerweed.' This toxic nature stood in stark contrast to the delicate image held by some of its admirers; allegedly, Victorian wildflower enthusiasts were not amused by the common name "breeches," particularly because they were aware that the singular form "breech" referred to the buttocks.

We concluded our weekend adventure by checking for Birdsfoot Violets (Viola pedata) at Spring Green Preserve, where it proved abundant.

This wildflower is host to the eggs and caterpillars of the Regal Fritillary (Speyeria idalia), which is an endangered butterfly in Wisconsin.

The cooler temperatures had me thinking the sandy trail would be devoid of tiger beetles, but we spotted one lone Festive Tiger Beetle soaking up the sun.

Just two Lark Sparrows were found, but a lot more are on the way.

In fact, a lot more of everything is on the way!

 

All images © 2026 Mike McDowell