― Edwin Way Teale
Swainson's Thrush
In truth, it feels more like late March. It was chilly and overcast the entire weekend with drizzle and a few rain showers. Winds have been out of the north and east, keeping most migratory birds to our south. Still, a handful of hardy new arrivals defied the air currents and punched through.
Swainson's Thrush
Overcast lighting makes digiscoping a bit challenging, but I still managed to obtain some bird portraits to share. A few new birds along the creek corridor included the Swainson's Thrush pictured above and this stoic Yellow Warbler:
Yellow Warbler
A group of male Wood Ducks can be found most mornings at the duckweed pond just west of Park Street along the creek corridor trail. I've been wanting to capture this particular pose in the early morning sunlight, but I still think it's a nice portrait.
Wood Duck
Rotating the camera rendered composition that included the duck's reflection.
Wood Duck
This is the only time of year shorebirds can be found along the creek corridor. Both Solitary Sandpipers and Spotted Sandpipers work the banks in search of invertebrates to eat. During fall migration, which begins in summer, these two species stick to the ponds.
Solitary Sandpiper
On Sunday the creek corridor hosted the same bird species as the previous day, so Sylvia, Lisa, and I went to Baxter's Hollow to check out the wildflowers there. Dottie was doing the MS Walk so she wasn't able to join us.
Round-lobed Hepatica
Most wildflowers were closed on account of the cold weather, but there were still a few gems for us to admire. Bird-wise, it was quiet. There were several Louisiana Waterthrushes singing and defending territories along Otter Creek, but the only other warbler was an Ovenbird that sang a few times. We heard no Winter Wrens, which seemed strange.
Wood Violet
Marsh Marigold
Pheasant's Back
Pheasant Branch, Dane, Wisconsin, US
Apr 30, 2016 6:30 AM - 9:30 AM
62 species
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Green-winged Teal
Common Merganser
Pied-billed Grebe
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Cooper's Hawk
Sandhill Crane
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Ring-billed Gull
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
American Kestrel
Eastern Phoebe
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
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
European Starling
Northern Waterthrush
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Palm Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Chipping Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Eastern Towhee
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Baltimore Oriole
House Finch
Purple Finch
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
All images © 2016 Mike McDowell