Whoopsie!

Now I am no longer a member of any birding organization.

July Ends!

"I like this place and could willingly waste my time in it."

― William Shakespeare


Spring Green Preserve

That's a wrap for July! I was still feeling a bit fatigued from the illness I had a few weeks ago, so I took it easy on Saturday. On Sunday, I went to Spring Green Preserve with Mark and Dottie Johnson. We were hoping to find the previously reported Blue Grosbeak, but didn't encounter it during our outing at the preserve. We still found a fairly decent assortment of birds given the breeding season is drawing to a close. Some birds have already dispersed and won't be back until next spring. Meanwhile, before fall migration really kicks in ... it's still bug season!


Punctured Tiger Beetle Cicindela punctulata




Big Sand Tiger Beetle Cicindela formosa


Rober Fly Proctacanthella cacopiliga




Prickly-pear Cactus Opuntia humifusa

Mark found this cool jumping spider ...


Jumping Spider Phidippus whitmani 



Just a few of the preserve's wildflowers ...


Dotted Horsemint Monarda punctata




Prairie Cottonweed Froelichia floridana 


St. John's Wort Hypericum perforatum 




Orange Sulphur Colias eurytheme


Chickweed Geometer Haematopis grataria

Just off of Highway 14, Kahl Road was on the way there and back. Plus, Dottie really wanted to see the Juniper Hairstreaks. We hit it on the way out but didn't find the little green butterflies. We were much more fortunate when we stopped to check the spot again on the way home. I decided to take photographs since they were so accommodating.


Juniper Hairstreak Callophrys gryneus







Not a single outing to Pheasant Branch during July. So much for breeding season data!

Spring Green Preserve, Sauk, Wisconsin, US
Jul 29, 2018 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
35 species

Turkey Vulture
Red-tailed Hawk
Sandhill Crane
Mourning Dove
Black-billed Cuckoo
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
American Kestrel
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Eastern Kingbird
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Tree Swallow
Bank Swallow
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
House Wren
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
Brown Thrasher
Cedar Waxwing
Grasshopper Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Eastern Towhee
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Eastern Meadowlark
Orchard Oriole
American Goldfinch

All images © 2018 Mike McDowell

Getting it right the first time!

Not believing I could best the photographs I got last year of the Juniper Hairstreaks on Kahl Road east of Black Earth, I decided to stay home. They were good then, and they're twice as good today. I had heard then they were discovered by a "master naturalist." Turns out, a butterfly enthusiast knew long before.

© 2018 Mike McDowell

Macro Workout!

"You were sick, but now you're well again, and there's work to do."

― Kurt Vonnegut


Compass Plant Silphium laciniatum

Still short of full-strength, I stayed close to home over the weekend and checked out a few spots in Middleton for macro photography subjects. That's one of the beautiful things about macro photography―it can be accomplished just about anywhere. Checking my gear, I encountered a setback when my Nikon FT-1 adapter malfunctioned with a lens error. I took it apart, cleaned it, put it back together, but it didn't solve the problem. In a last-ditch effort, I thwacked it a couple of times with a hammer ... and PRESTO! It started working. I decided to order a new one just incase it fatally fails, which I suspect it will do so. The FT-1 is the adapter that converts my mirrorless Nikon V1 mount to a regular Nikon F-Mount and is necessary for my digiscoping rig and macro lens. Back in business, I headed out to explore the summer jungles of Middleton! Oh, that sound so exotic!

So, let's begin! We'll start with a dragonfly. There were lots of these around the pond...


Blue Dasher Pachydiplax longipennis



A super close-up of its compound eyes...



My first hopper insects of the summer season...


Planthopper Acanalonia conica




Buffalo Treehopper Ceresa taurina

A gnarly Gnat Ogre with prey...


Robber Fly "Gnat Ogre" Holcocephala abdominalis

A leaf beetle I've never encountered before...


Grape Rootworm Leaf Beetle Fidia viticida

Wildflower close-ups...


Wild Bergamot Monarda fistulosa


Purple Coneflower Echinacea angustifolia

There were Punctured Tiger Beetles hunting the gravel trail...


Punctured Tiger Beetle Cicindelidia punctulata



And a gorgeous Red-spotted Purple using its proboscis to suck up nutrients...


Red-spotted Purple Limenitis arthemis

Bird-wise, there was an annoying immature Red-tailed Hawk screeching nearly the entire time I was photographing insects. It kind of stressed me out. Adding to the clamor, American Robins and other songbirds were mobbing the raptor trying to get it to leave. I wish they had been successful. Anyway, my otherwise highly-tuned BIRDAR ears shut down. I only recall hearing repeated call notes of an Eastern Phoebe and singy Song Sparrow. Actually, now that I think back, there were Northern Cardinals, American Goldfinches, a Mourning Dove, Chimney Swifts, Hairy Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, and a Ruby-throated Hummingbird. I guess I was paying closer attention than I thought!

All images © 2018 Mike McDowell

Quick Update!

Blue Grosbeak

I had a work obligation last weekend and then I came down with a nasty virus this week, so I haven't been out and about since the trip to Horicon NWR. I had a sustained body temperature of 102.5 for two days, so I was pretty uncomfortable. I'm mostly recovered, but I might stick close to home this weekend to rest up. Perhaps I'll photograph insects and wildflowers along Deer Creek in my neighborhood. The forecast is calling for rain on Saturday, but Sunday's weather looks decent. I have to say, I'd really like to get out somewhere because I'm rather tired of my apartment!

In local birding news, Jim Frank found a Blue Grosbeak at Spring Green Preserve on July 4th. Since then several other birders have relocated the bird, most recently reported on the 15th. Apparently, there are two! (Where were they during the TNC field trip!?) The photograph above was taken at the preserve several years ago, which I think perfectly captures is essence. I got good spotting scope views of this species last year at the preserve, but it was a bit too far to digiscope.

That's all for now!

Blue Grosbeak © 2018 Mike McDowell

Horicon NWR!

"Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and friends can exist one day without any one of us, and if our egos permit us to confess, they could exist eternally in our absence. Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for. Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us."

― Maya Angelou


Horicon National Wildlife Refuge

And with my one day away, a trip to Horicon National Wildlife Refuge was an ideal destination! It had been a few years since my last visit to the ginormous marsh―I'm not even sure when it was. Fortunately, not much has changed unlike many other natural areas I visit. Though water levels were a little on the low side, it was all very green and lush. Fortunately, there lots of birds and not many biting insects.



Despite staggering numbers of Marsh Wrens singing throughout the morning and afternoon, not one of them perched out in the open. Well, not that I noticed. Ah well. I wasn't all that eager to digiscope difficult birds. For the moment I concentrated on photographing scenery and water plants. The weather was perfect for a long hike, but I ran out of water along Old Marsh Road and that's about the time it began to feel a bit warmer. Once back to my car, a quick break at nearby Waupun for lunch and water was in order!


Common Duckweed Lemna gibba


Broad-leaf Arrowhead Sagittaria latifolia 


Common Bladderwort Utricularia macrorhiza

And frogs ...


Northern Leopard Frog Lithobates pipiens

However, a handsomely perched Great Egret prompted me to mount my camera to my spotting scope for a few digiscoped images.


Great Egret Ardea alba



American White Pelicans flew in formation throughout the day. They made no sound as they graced the blue skies; simply feathered perfection watching them bank, glide, and flap almost always in unison.


American White Pelicans Pelecanus erythrorhynchos

And when it comes to feeding, they're pretty synchronized with that, too!







There were swallows and Purple Martins everywhere. The only one missing was Cliff Swallow, but I didn't bird every bird when it came to the adroit aerialists and it could have been easily missed.


Tree Swallows Tachycineta bicolor

One mudflat was filled with foraging shorebirds. In addition to two families of Black-necked Stilts, there were Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Pectoral Sandpipers, over a hundred Least Sandpipers, a few Spotted Sandpipers, and a single Stilt Sandpiper. Many of these species were my first fall southbound avian migrants, with the exception of a Tennessee Warbler I spotted in my yard over the weekend.


Black-necked Stilts Himantopus mexicanus


Least Sandpiper Calidris minutilla

Though cliché, all good things must come to an end, but it was an especially memorable outing at the big marsh. It's been a long time since I've seen a Least Bittern. Though this one was observed flying over the trail, it was still an exciting moment. Curiously, no Black-crowned Night Herons were detected, which I don't think I've ever missed on any previous July excursions to Horicon.


Swamp Milkweed Asclepias incarnata

Comical to me was this huge Woolly Mammoth sculpture at one of the visitor centers. Apparently, it was installed in 2015, which is an indication how infrequently I visit this amazing natural area. I used to lead annual spring field trips for the Horicon Marsh Birding Club at nearby Indermuhle Island. Anyone out there remember that?


Woolly Mammoth!

Horicon NWR Dodge, Wisconsin, US
Jul 10, 2018 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
76 species

Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Blue-winged Teal
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Ruddy Duck
Pied-billed Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
American White Pelican
American Bittern
Least Bittern
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Turkey Vulture
Virginia Rail
Sora
Common Gallinule
American Coot
Sandhill Crane
Black-necked Stilt
Killdeer
Stilt Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Wilson's Phalarope
Spotted Sandpiper
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Ring-billed Gull
Black Tern
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Kingbird
Yellow-throated Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Bank Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
House Wren
Sedge Wren
Marsh Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Cedar Waxwing
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Henslow's Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Eastern Towhee
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Dickcissel
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Bobolink
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Common Grackle
American Goldfinch

All images © 2018 Mike McDowell