"Pale amber sunlight falls across the reddening October trees, that hardly sway before a breeze. As soft as summer: summer's loss seems little, dear! On days like these."
― Ernest Dowson
October ends and we're past the peak of fall colors and avian migration. American Tree Sparrows have arrived at the prairie and I heard the flight calls of a Lapland Longspur. Dark-eyed Juncos are all over the place in their dapper gray and white suits. Most of the White-throats have moved on, but there are still White-crowned Sparrows at a few places. I didn't find a single Lincoln's Sparrow, but there may be a few stragglers here and there. Not a single warbler was seen or heard. I didn't quite break 40 species for the outing, and in a few weeks it'll be pretty much resident and overwintering birds. Gone until spring are days of 50+ bird species. A thorough job of a winter bird hike at Pheasant Branch can render 30 to 35 species ― there are Northern Shrikes to look forward to, which are always a thrill.
As Wisconsin fall weather goes, Saturday was phenomenal. Though a tad breezy at times, the temperatures were comfortable enough to be outside all day ― and that's what I did. For the first part of my day I was joined by Mark and Dottie Johnson, who wanted to see Fox Sparrows. We eventually found a few of them in the central part of the prairie feeding on ragweed seeds, but I was slightly concerned at their astonishingly low numbers for this time of year.
While photographing White-crowned Sparrows, this Eastern Bluebird flew in to scan the ground for insects. Upon successful sorties, it would return to the same set of lookout branches. Eventually content with its feeding and meals, the bluebird took to the air and headed off into the direction of the top of the drumlin, calling the entire way.
Dark-eyed Junco ― diminutive beauty.
White-crowned Sparrow (adult)
White-crowned Sparrow (immature)
American Tree Sparrow
For the second part of my day I went on a long hike at Indian Lake to absorb fall in its final glory of the season. Though a bit past peak, there were still pockets of stunning oranges, yellows, and reds with green highlights. It wasn't the most spectacular Wisconsin fall I've witnessed, but I'm grateful I at least got this particular day to see the color before November's chilly winds knock down all the leaves.
Save for a few butterflies and grasshoppers, I didn't find much in the way of insects during my hike, though I wasn't looking all that carefully for them. On that note, an upcoming blog post will detail 2021's tiger beetle highlights, which was among my best. It was the first time I made attempts to find all 16 of Wisconsin's tiger beetle species, though I fell short by two. Still no Boreal Long-lipped, but that's something to look forward to in the spring of 2022. Apart from that, I'm not sure how much blogging I'll do for the remainder of this year.
Pheasant Branch Prairie
Oct 30, 2021 8:00 AM - 10:30 AM
39 species
Canada Goose
Mallard
Wild Turkey
Ring-necked Pheasant
Mourning Dove
Sandhill Crane
Ring-billed Gull
Northern Harrier
Cooper's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
American Kestrel
Blue Jay
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Horned Lark
Golden-crowned Kinglet
White-breasted Nuthatch
European Starling
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
Cedar Waxwing
American Pipit
House Finch
American Goldfinch
Lapland Longspur
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
American Tree Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
White-crowned Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Northern Cardinal