Máistir Nádúraí: Off to Jaeger Country...

9.21.2006

Off to Jaeger Country...

© USF&WS

I'll be on my way to Superior/Wisconsin Point later this afternoon and won't return until late Sunday. Tom Prestby posted a field trip preview to the Wisconsin Birding Network last night and if we can stay dry (rain is in the forecast for Friday and Saturday), it should be a great time as it has been each year I've gone on this field trip. The following birds have been reported from Duluth/Superior the last few days by Minnesota and Wisconsin birders on MOU net:

A total of 6 or more jaegers including a Pomarine and a couple Parasitics
Sabine's Gull
Arctic Tern
3-4 Little Gulls
Lesser Black-backed Gull

The WSO Wisconsin Point field trip is one of the birding highlights of the year. Still, I don't know which is more fun...looking for/observing rare birds or listening to the ID debates!

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 rifles. Once a gigging musician, collecting Fender Stratocasters is a recently revived interest—most prized being a 1957 Vintage Custom Shop 'Mary Kaye' White Blonde. A former IT Professional, he's spent the last 24 years employed in the sport optics industry.