This morning everything under the sun was bejeweled with sparkling ice crystals. I couldn't wait to get out there. But before counting the birds at Pheasant Branch Conservancy a final time for the year, I went to the prairie parcel to take a few scenic shots of the frost covered trees and plants.
During my count, I located a couple of White-throated Sparrows at the expected spot near the conservancy condos. I didn't find them the past two times I checked this area, but they were likely someplace nearby. Like the sparrows, several Northern Cardinals were quiet and still as they used the sun to keep warm in the frigid wintery air.
Pheasant Branch, Dane, US-WI
Dec 30, 2012 7:30 AM - 10:30 AM
30 species
Canada Goose
Mallard
Cooper's Hawk
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
Wilson's Snipe
Mourning Dove
Great Horned Owl
Barred Owl
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
American Robin
American Tree Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
House Finch
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
All images © 2012 Mike McDowell