Tree buds opened virtually overnight, decorating branches with every shade of green imaginable. It was a veritable warbler bonanza on Saturday, but things were a little slower today and most of the White-throated Sparrows apparently moved out of the conservancy for destinations further north. I'll miss their sweet melancholy songs early in the morning.
White-throated Sparrow
Dutchman's Breeches
Dutchman's Breeches
Trout Lily
More spring ephemeral wildflowers have blossomed. I thought about heading up to Baxter's Hollow to photograph more, but I stayed at Pheasant Branch to digiscope warblers. Somehow I missed seeing Dutchman's Breeches at the conservancy in past years, but there they were right along the creek corridor trail. There's also a nice Mayapple patch near the east entrance that's coming up nicely.
The warblers were plentiful and cooperative. Though we experienced warmer weather this weekend, the birds were still foraging close to the ground. My hunch is that there haven't been adequate insect hatchings to lure them back up to the canopy. Warblers favor Hackberry trees for foraging. Perhaps they're finding juicy spiders or midges hiding in bark crevices.
And now for the birds!
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Yellow Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Palm Warbler
Palm Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
The above bird photographs were taken with a Swarovski ATX 85 spotting scope, Nikon 1 V1 & 18.5mm f/1.8 lens, and Swarovski DCBII adapter. This combination renders less magnification compared to the Swarovski TLS APO, but it provides faster shutter speeds and makes framing fast-moving songbirds considerably easier. Once I managed to get a bird in the frame, I would increase the eyepiece magnification from 25x to as high as 40x depending on the composition I was going for.
Pheasant Branch, Dane, US-WI
May 4, 2013 6:00 AM - 6:00 PM
89 species
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Green-winged Teal
Lesser Scaup
Pied-billed Grebe
Great Blue Heron
Cooper's Hawk
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
Sandhill Crane
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper
Ring-billed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Great Horned Owl
Barred Owl
Belted Kingfisher
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
American Kestrel
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Kingbird
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
House Wren
Carolina Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Eastern Bluebird
Veery
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
European Starling
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Golden-winged Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Cape May Warbler
Northern Parula
Magnolia Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Palm Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Chipping Sparrow
Clay-colored Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Baltimore Oriole
Purple Finch
House Finch
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
All images © 2013 Mike McDowell