September Ends

"Is not this a true autumn day? Just the still melancholy that I love―that makes life and nature harmonise. The birds are consulting about their migrations, the trees are putting on the hectic or the pallid hues of decay, and begin to strew the ground, that one's very footsteps may not disturb the repose of earth and air, while they give us a scent that is a perfect anodyne to the restless spirit. Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns."

― George Eliot


Pheasant Branch Prairie & Oak Savanna

Sunday was a foggy and rainy day, but yesterday's weather was perfect for a hike and some nature photography. Arriving before sunrise, I noted that Earth's rotation had put the waning gibbous moon in the darkest part of the sky. The prairie's plants were covered with a sparkling frost, but it didn't last for long. The thin coat of ice crystals quickly turned to droplets once the sun's rays touched the leaves and blades of grass. With the warm-toned light covering the field, I was ready to begin photographing birds and other subjects. Best of all, the frost had taken a toll on the mosquito population!


Saturday morning's Moon


A bit of frost!


Palm Warbler


Song Sparrow




White-crowned Sparrow


Eastern Bluebird

A highlight of the morning was watching a small flock Eastern Bluebirds chasing each other and perching around an old dead tree―it almost looked like a game of tag. Quite amusing to me was how one perched lower would look up at a rival perched on a higher part of the tree. This went on for quite some time and I was more than happy to watch and photograph them.





This bluebird was enjoying his sunny perch...



But then came trouble...


Northern Flicker

Replaced!



The victory call...



And a feather check.




Eastern Bluebird

We'll close September with the brilliant colors of the Autumn prairie...


Smooth Aster


Stiff Gentian




Compass Plant

Pheasant Branch, Dane, Wisconsin, US
Sep 29, 2018 6:30 AM - 10:15 AM
62 species

Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Blue-winged Teal
Mallard
Ring-necked Pheasant
Mourning Dove
Sandhill Crane
Killdeer
Ring-billed Gull
Great Blue Heron
Cooper's Hawk
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Great Horned Owl
Belted Kingfisher
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Phoebe
Blue Jay
American Crow
Horned Lark
Tree Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
House Wren
Sedge Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Eastern Bluebird
Swainson's Thrush
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
House Finch
American Goldfinch
Chipping Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
White-crowned Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Eastern Towhee
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Tennessee Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Magnolia Warbler
Palm Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Northern Cardinal
Indigo Bunting
House Sparrow

© 2018 Mike McDowell