These are things I notice during my walks. I look up, down, and all around. I like to see the way light and shadows work with nature's structures. It's always my goal to present nature at its best, whether it's the sky, a bug, a plant, or an animal. These are positive things and even if I never shared them, capturing them in images helps make me feel productive and good. I've often thought about photographing some of the negative things I encounter during my walks, and that would be easy to do. On this particular morning I found two bags with dog waste on the trail that some irresponsible pet owner left behind. I mean, why? There were also a couple of plastic bottles and an aluminum beer can. I picked up the litter and put it in the garbage can at the parking lot. Years ago I would dedicate an entire day in March to pick up all the litter I could find along the creek corridor. I easily filled three or four garbage bags. Pheasant Branch Conservancy is a special place full of awe and beauty. Dare I say it's almost spiritual and consider it sacrilege to mistreat it. All of these photographs were taken at the conservancy on Sunday. They're just a tiny sampling of what can be found there on any given day. It doesn't matter what time of year; the beauty is always there waiting to be discovered.
White-crowned Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Two-spotted Treehopper
Pheasant Branch, Dane, US-WI
Oct 27, 2013 7:30 AM - 11:30 AM
44 species
Canada Goose
Mallard
Ring-necked Pheasant
Cooper's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Sandhill Crane
Ring-billed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Carolina Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Eastern Bluebird
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
European Starling
American Pipit
American Tree Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
All images © 2013 Mike McDowell