Pheasant Branch Conservancy's prairie parcel
More American Tree Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos have found their way to the prairie over the past few days. I had a day off from work and spent a good share of the morning birding and digiscoping at the conservancy. Strong winds from the west kept sparrows concentrated on the east side of the drumlin, which was where I was able to photograph a few of them. While talking on the phone, I was alerted by another birder that a Northern Shrike had made a brief appearance. I circled the hill a few times and found a shrike perched atop one of the few trees that still has leaves, which you can see in the left of the photograph above. I got a documentation photo of the bird, but nothing I'm eager to share, especially when considering some of the great portraits of shrikes I got last year. I think this particular shot might be my favorite.
American Tree Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Pheasant Branch, Dane, US-WI
Oct 28, 2014 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM
42 species
Canada Goose
Mallard
Ring-necked Pheasant
Turkey Vulture
Cooper's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Sandhill Crane
Ring-billed Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
American Kestrel
Northern Shrike
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark
Black-capped Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
European Starling
American Pipit
Cedar Waxwing
Snow Bunting
American Tree Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
House Finch
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
All images © 2014 Mike McDowell