― Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Pheasant Branch Creek Corridor pre-flood
The above photograph was the last one I took of the Pheasant Branch Creek Corridor prior to the Great Flood of 2018. Contract workers continue to cleanup the fallen trees and sand, but it's still going to take a long time before we recognize it again. Sometimes I wonder if it'll ever look anything like it did during my lifetime.
Dottie Johnson and I got permission from Middleton to conduct a bird survey along the closed creek corridor trail on Sunday. It required us to sign a volunteer liability waiver. We tallied 45 species, but failed to find our target bird. After an hour or so, we decided to hit Frautschi Point in Madison once again for a chance at a Black-throated Blue Warbler. Hiking the circuitous trail system, we came to a low and dark bowl of habitat that piqued my birding senses. I said to Dottie: "This is exactly the kind of habitat one would expect to find a Black-throated Blue." And just a few seconds later, one popped right out into the open about a dozen feet from us. Not encountering one in the spring, we were elated that we didn't get skunked by the male of this species. You may recall that I did find a female a few weeks ago at the creek corridor. Anyway, success! Dottie did the birding happy dance.
Black-throated Blue Warbler
UW Lakeshore Nature Preserve--Frautschi Point, Dane, Wisconsin, US
Sep 16, 2018 9:00 AM - 11:30 AM
44 species
Wild Turkey
Mourning Dove
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Ring-billed Gull
Great Blue Heron
Cooper's Hawk
Great Horned Owl
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Eastern Phoebe
Blue-headed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
House Wren
Swainson's Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
House Finch
American Goldfinch
Song Sparrow
Ovenbird
Black-and-white Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Northern Parula
Magnolia Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler (male) Yay!
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Splendid Tiger Beetle
On Saturday I led a tiger beetle and birding field trip at Spring Green Preserve for the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin. Again, because of where we're at in the migratory season, and also on account of southwest winds, birds were rather scarce. This field trip is pitched as more of an insect excursion, anyway. To that end, we found 4 tiger beetle species: Big Sand, Festive, Oblique-lined, and Splendid. I was hoping for Virginia Metallic, but none were found. The Splendid Tiger Beetles were at the top of the bluff, which meant an arduous hike through the forested parcel of the property, and that meant mosquitoes. They were so awful that four people turned around and went back down to the prairie. However, twenty or so participants made it all the way to the top and were rewarded by witnessing the shiny and scurrying little predators at work!
Practicing at Winnequah Gun Club
At long last, I'm going to write about something some of you have already seen on my Facebook newsfeed. Most of you probably know that Eagle Optics is gone. I helped close down the business last December along with Laura, Parker, Katie, and Adrian. It really was a tough thing to do, but it was necessary and time to let it go. Though I remain very much the birder and naturalist, I opted to join the Consumer Sales Team of Vortex Optics. After 17 years of selling optics to birders, I was ready for change and wanted to learn and do something new. Seemingly a lifetime ago, the high school I attended offered marksmanship courses; I took them for a year and also earned my Hunter's Safety Certificate. Though I've never actually hunted, I do enjoy precision rifle shooting with riflescopes. Thus, a new vocation and avocation with a bit of history behind the challenge.
This is my setup at our 100 indoor range at Vortex Optics:
It's a Bergara B14 HMR in 6.5 Creedmoor with a Vortex Razor HD Gen II 4.5-27x56 (MRAD) riflescope. From amateur astronomy and astorophotography to birding and digiscoping, knowing how gear works has been an essential part of my job. This new challenge is really no different. Today, the overwhelming majority of people I help with optical gear are hunters, law enforcement officers, and members of the military. I do help out with the majority of digiscoping questions, but it's still a small percentage of what I do at work now.
Tight grouping at 100 yards
To become more proficient at my job, a few weeks ago I attended a Precision Rifle course at The Site in Illinois along with two of my colleagues. Our instructor was the legendary Jim Kauber, former US Navy SEAL Master Chief and all-around interesting guy. The course was tons of fun and highly educational. I challenge anyone not to smile when hitting a steel target the size of a shoebox from 600 yards away. OK, so maybe that's really not you.
All I intend to shoot is paper and steel targets at the range. A hunter? I suppose it's a possibility. Say what you will, but without hunting there would be a profound deficit in conservation dollars in the United States. Through hunting fees and licenses, nearly $800 million a year goes to conservation programs, habitat, research, and wildlife law enforcement―paid for by hunters. And a decline in hunters might threaten how we pay for conservation in the future. But this shouldn't be thought of justification, for I really do enjoy target shooting.
Done!
Sticking with Vortex Optics was the best choice for me. There's no other game in town that deals with sport optics, and I am never going back to computer programming or information technology. Plus, I'm still working with many of the same people I have for the past two decades. Starting over at age 52 with another company would have been a foolish career move. For the near future, I'll continue this blog with its usual bird, bugs, and blooms material. I might throw in something about precision rifle here and there, but expect little to change overall.
All images © 2018 Mike McDowell