"Spring is made of solid, fourteen-karat gratitude, the reward for the long wait. Every religious tradition from the northern hemisphere honors some form of April hallelujah, for this is the season of exquisite redemption, a slam-bang return to joy after a season of cold second thoughts."
― Barbara Kingsolver
Pretty paltry Parulidae pickings perhaps, but at least there were newly arrived Palm Warblers over the weekend. There was a discernible uptick in the number of Yellow-rumped Warblers and a few more Pines. Northwest winds are to blame! Normally ... wait, there is no normal any longer. Anyway, with warmer weather in store for next week, there will be more northbound avian arrivals moving into southern Wisconsin. For warblers, I'm guessing Yellow, Nashville, Black-throated Green Black-and-white, and perhaps Northern Parula. A Prothonotary would be preferred. We shall soon see!
I've been spending weekend mornings birding my beloved Pheasant Branch Creek Corridor. It's best to get there early before it becomes besieged by the myriad joggers, dog walkers, bicyclists, and the other forms of mugglery that pervades the peaceful path. Your average muggle will not pay note to tree cavities that serve as dens and homes to the corridor's critters, like this adorable red morph Eastern Screech Owl.
But most will notice wildflowers, especially the Virginia Bluebells and now ubiquitous Common Blue Violets (Viola sororia), but did they spot the somewhat more concealed White Trillium?
While today's weather (Sunday) was a bit too cool for tiger beetles, I did get up to the Wisconsin River by Sauk on Saturday and found them scurrying about the beach. But before that, I enjoyed photographing a row of preening American White Pelicans:
And back to tiger beetles ...
I found just a single Big Sand Tiger Beetle at the Sauk City Canoe Launch. Over the course of their comparatively short lifespans, their elytra (hardened outer wings) will get pretty banged up and worn, so it's nice to see a rather fresh one in perfect condition. There also were numerous Festives and Bronzed, but that's about all that's expected until Hairy-necked and Sandy Stream emerge in a few months. Plus, at the nearby sandlot there were several Oblique-lined Tiger Beetles.
A few wildflower photographs from a midday hike at Indian Lake Park ...
On my way home from Indian Lake Park, I stopped at the large flooded field (or is it a veritable pond now?) at the end of Black Earth Creek to check for swallow species. There were four of five present: Tree, Barn, Cliff, and Northern Rough-winged. Missing was Bank, but I'm sure there will be some there by next weekend. This particular Northern Rough-winged Swallow exhibited a preference for this particular perch near where I parked. It was so close I had to take a few steps back in order to bring it to the minimum close focus of my digiscoping rig.
Pheasant Branch Conservancy (general), Dane, Wisconsin, US
Apr 24, 2021 7:00 AM - 10:00 AM
50 species
Canada Goose 4
Wood Duck 6
Blue-winged Teal 6
Northern Shoveler 4
Mallard 8
Green-winged Teal 2
Ring-necked Duck 2
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 2
Mourning Dove 4
Sandhill Crane 3
Killdeer 3
Ring-billed Gull 4
Herring Gull 2
Turkey Vulture 1
Eastern Screech-Owl 1
Belted Kingfisher 2
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Downy Woodpecker 3
Hairy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker 4
Eastern Phoebe 2
Blue Jay 1
American Crow 2
Black-capped Chickadee 8
Tufted Titmouse 2
Tree Swallow 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 10
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
White-breasted Nuthatch 4
Carolina Wren 1
European Starling 2
Hermit Thrush 1
American Robin 5
Cedar Waxwing 7
House Finch 3
Purple Finch 1
Pine Siskin 1
American Goldfinch 4
Chipping Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow 4
Eastern Towhee 1
Red-winged Blackbird 5
Brown-headed Cowbird 10
Rusty Blackbird 1
Common Grackle 4
Palm Warbler 4
Pine Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler 20
Northern Cardinal 5
All images © 2021 Mike McDowell