― Shannon L. Alder
Kirtland's Warbler –– #36
This really was the most exciting spring migration I've ever experienced, so I thought I'd write a blog for the first time in over a year and a half. On account of the pandemic, I didn't think I would have a promising spring –– was I ever wrong! For the first time in 30 years of birding, I got all 37 Warblers listed on the WSO checklist during a spring season. It all began on May 2nd when my birding posse got 18 warbler species at the Pheasant Branch Creek Corridor. Later on during migration's May peak we found Black-throated Blue, Prothonotary, Cape May, three Connecticuts, and a Hooded Warbler at nearby Marshall Park.
But the fun didn't stop there ...
#34 Kentucky Warbler at Wyalusing State Park.
#35 Prairie Warbler near Monroe Center.
#36 Kirtland's Warbler near the Prairie Warbler.
Prairie Warbler –– #35
And #37? One of the Baraboo Hills Worm-eating Warblers, Pine Glen in the Devil's Shoe of Devil's Lake State Park. This was my writeup I put on Facebook from that day:
Dottie Johnson and I headed out early this morning to try for Worm-eating Warbler at Baxter's Hollow in the Baraboo Hills. During the trip up, I received better intel for the one that was being seen at Pine Glen on the southern end of Devil's Nose State Natural Area (also in the Baraboo Hills). Though the going would be a steep rocky drop into a gorge (Poison Ivy and Deer Ticks to boot), with trekking poles we were able to navigate our way down in about a half an hour.
Note: Y'all recall how I feel about poison ivy, right?
And last summer I got my first-ever Deer Tick bite:
Antibiotics served! Back to Pine Glen ...
Anyway, on the trip down the slope we heard Mourning Warbler, Acadian Flycatcher, Scarlet Tanager, as well as a couple of tantalizing trills that could either be the Worm-eating Warbler or way more common Chipping Sparrows. Just as we got to the bottom of the gorge, we were pretty sure we were in the company of the warbler. Sadly, it stopped singing, so it was impossible to relocate for about an hour. We eventually picked up the song again, followed it, but the bird went further south than we were willing to go.
Pine Glen
Instead, we sat down on some logs and waited to see if the bird might return back up the gorge. In the meantime, we were treated with a spectacular view of a Cerulean Warbler grabbing a green caterpillar off a leaf about 5 feet away from us at eye-level. Other birds while we waited included Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Veery, Red-eyed Vireo, and Louisiana Waterthrush.
Downy Rattlesnake Plantain (Goodyera pubescens)
Finally, the Worm-eating Warbler was making its way back up the gorge –– we could hear the singing getting closer and closer. Though it sang and sang from high up in the trees, we weren't able to get a glimpse of it. Suddenly, it flew like a dart to the other side of the creek fairly close to where we were standing. I got on the bird with my bins and got a positive ID (confirming it wasn't just a sneaky Chipping Sparrow). The warbler was about 15 to 20 feet away, but visible via a narrow window through the dense vegetation. Though at first Dottie didn't get on the bird right away, eventually we both got to watch it sing while perched on a branch for a couple of minutes. Prior to this one, the last Worm-eating Warbler I saw was May 2013 at the UW Arboretum's Grady Tract:
Sadly, due to the difficult hike I didn't bring my spotting scope for digiscoped images –– and I didn't think to use my macro setup until it was too late. Still, Dottie and I were absolutely thrilled to "get them all" and be rewarded with such fantastic binocular views of the Worm-eating Warbler! Though this was the spring of The Pandemic, it'll certainly go down as my most memorable warbler migration of all-time!
So, what else have I been up to? Why Tiger Beetling, of course!
Six-spotted
Oblique-lined
Festive
Hairy-necked
Big Sand
Bronzed
Splendid
Northern Barrens
And this is how it's done!
And photographing wildflowers here and there:
Pasque Flower
Skunk Cabbage
Rue Anemone
Prairie Smoke
Spring Beauty
Showy Orchis
Yellow Lady's Slipper
Pink Lady's Slipper
Wood Lily
And now that the warbler rush is over, I've been looking at nifty prairie birds:
Dickcissel
Henslow's Sparrow
See-lick!
Eastern Meadowlark
Northern Bobwhite
Lark Sparrow
York Prairie –– Marbleseed Unit
This outing was a little more interesting than I'm used to:
Well, that's all for now! Who knows? Maybe I'll get into the habit of blogging again (I doubt it). I still do a lot of nature photography and publish my work on my personal Facebook profile. I bird and do nature photography almost as much as ever, but I no longer post my observations to eBird, listservs, or any other group-forum –– neither do I belong to any birding clubs or organizations.
Oh yeah ... I've made a lot of progress at my other new hobby:
And that was done with my bad-ass Tikka:
All images © 2020 Mike McDowell