Oh, and one other thing ...

 

Ooops! 😜

All images © 2021 Mike McDowell

2021: That's a Wrap!

"For last year's words belong to last year's language and next year's words await another voice."

― T.S. Eliot

Happy New Year!

Here we are at the end of another year of Nature Blogging at Máistir Nádúraí. The pandemic continues to rage on with Delta and Omicron variants, and they will not be the last. More than ever, I believe it's important for people to engage with the natural world for respite, balance, and understanding. In this final post of 2021 I'm simply going to share a very small selection of my favorite photographs taken over the course of the year passing. 

The wintery scene above was taken from the newly acquired 160-acre parcel of land that formerly belonged to the Acker family. In the far background you can see the snow-covered drumlin of Pheasant Branch where I've spent an inordinate amount of my outdoor time over the years. On this particular day the clouds were low and moving quickly over the landscape ― I like that I was able to capture the sun through a small opening. Earlier on this day I found Snowy Owl and a Peregrine Falcon. There were also dramatic sun dogs. For scenic beauty, memories, composition, and simplicity, this is my favorite photograph taken in 2021. 

This dapper and energetic White-throated Sparrow is my favorite avian photograph of the year, and the White-crowned below is a very close runner-up. Ah! Sparrows ― I do so adore them. As I've mentioned on this blog before, anyone who knows me well is keenly aware that sparrows are my favorite birds. The fancy warblers are great and all and everybody loves owls, but there's just something about our native sparrows I'm really quite fond of. I think part of it has to do with the fact they're often relegated to Little Brown Jobs (LBJs). But upon close study and inspection they're just as dramatically plumaged and fun to watch as any group of spritely songbirds. Sparrows! Who knew?

Beyond any doubt, the nature highlight of 2021 was traveling north to see Cow Path Tiger Beetles with Lori Widmann and Mark Johnson. Though I did get some nice photographs of that species, this Sandy Stream Tiger Beetle (below) taken at an undisclosed location is my favorite insect photograph of the year. The Six-spotted Tiger Beetle further down is a close second. I was so thrilled over this Sandy Stream portrait I stood up and shouted after I got the shot. They're one of the rarest, most skittish and difficult to photograph of Wisconsin's 16 tiger beetle species ― I was absolutely over the moon.

What I like about this Six-spotted photograph is the stark contrast between its uniformly drab rock environment and the brilliant iridescent green of the beetle. Evolutionarily speaking, one can understand why many of the tan and brown colored tiger beetles are often found in sandy habitat, but how does this bright green color figure into that ecology? In Nature such colors generally mean trouble for a potential predator, but they're not poisonous to eat as far as I'm aware. 

I had planned to write a rather lengthy post about the year in tiger beetles, but I didn't get around to finishing it. At 14 species it was the closest I've ever come to observing all 16 that can be found in Wisconsin, missing only Northern Barrens and Boreal Long-lipped. Northern Barrens would have been easy to get had I not been a bit too late with my visit to Necedah NWR. Ah well, it doesn't matter. Plus it's nice to have something to look forward to in 2022 for another Boreal Long-lipped adventure. One of the coolest tiger beetle excursions of the year was observing several Bronzed Tiger Beetles scavenging a deceased carp that had washed up on the shore at the Sauk City Canoe Launch.

This very cooperative Harvester Butterfly provided an opportunity to obtain a super-nice portrait. Again, it's the simplicity of the composition that I like in this shot. Just below we have some ants procuring pollen from a Prairie Fame Flower, one of my favorite wildflowers. While sitting among them and waiting for them to open late afternoon, I'm always astonished how quickly insects waste no time getting to work; it's as if they've been waiting on the ground just below. Perhaps it's merely opportunity, but something tells me they might be instinctively aware and work on a timed schedule. 

I sneaked my macro lens through the leaves and snapped this Gray Tree Frog (below) without disturbing it. It's important for me to cause as little disruption as possible while doing nature photography. To be sure, one's presense is always noticed, but it's all in the fluidity of one's movements that can reward the patient photographer. There's a style and methodology for all the different things I choose to photograph: For birds the secret is tremendous focal length, but for tiger beetles it's the smooth physicality of yoga-like positioning for the perfect portrait. The longer I do this, the better I get and I still enter the field each time believing I have not yet taken my finest nature photograph. 

And there you have it! I might go birding in the morning and get that 2022 list going. Naturally, Dane County's most reliable birders will be hard at it as well. Perhaps I'll bump into a few of them. A half-hearted effort might render 20 to 30 species, but it's possible to get over 50 by checking several haunts instead of just Pheasant Branch. There are no resolutions, just more of the same. Every year brings new discoveries, new knowledge, further enhancing my views of our place in Nature's realm. 

All images © 2021 Mike McDowell

We have December SNOW!

"With luck, it might even snow for us."

― Haruki Murakami

We're not going to have a snowy Christmas, but there are many Snowy Owls around. I photographed the above owl before lunchtime today just north of Middleton along Pheasant Branch Road. Was it luck? Not at all. I've been following sightings on eBird. This particular area north of Middleton seems to be a regular spot for them during Snowy Owl irruptions; Pheasant Branch and Fisher Roads. Or maybe it's just that there are so many around and they recognize good habitat when they find it. Have a look at the following map ― these are SNOW (that's their 4-letter banding code, by the way) sightings for just the month of December 2021:

Incredible, isn't it? Even around the Madison area there have been quite a few sightings:

Most Snowy Owls I've come across are usually perched atop telephone poles or other manmade structures. But here's one of my better quality Snowy Owl portraits from around a decade ago situated in a more natural setting:

Naturally, with any boreal owl irruption comes the photog paparazzi and owling ethics conflicts/debates. Egads, I'm so grateful not to be on public birding forums any longer. However, last winter I did shout at some bonehead who trespassed onto private property to get a photograph of a Snowy Owl ― WI license plate [813 TBE], red Toyota. Do you know him? Tell him I said "Bonehead!"

All images © 2021 Mike McDowell

Happy Winter Solstice!

 

Bird City? Please!

"Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it."

― Laurence J. Peter

Though this is somewhat old business, how many of you are aware that the City of Middleton plopped down a solar array over southern Wisconsin's largest concentration of Bobolink nesting habitat at Morey Field? It's true. One may argue the case that we really do need alternate forms of energy, but the reason this was installed probably wasn't a case of Middleton being conservation-minded ― no, it was likely to prevent future airport expansion. Thus, perhaps the parcel was doomed anyway. 

But knowing Richard Morey, he knew Curt Caslavka and I began leading field trips over a decade ago on this parcel of land, and actually encouraged us to keep doing so. He knew what was there. Former Public Lands Manager Penni Klein knew the Bobolinks were there, but I can't speak to what the current one does or doesn't know. I suspect any expansion would have likely been in the eastern part of the field where the Bobolinks wouldn't have been impacted. Did the City of Middleton conduct any environmental or wildlife impact studies? I'm unaware of any. Anyway, it's a solar array ― yay! We're all so very green! 

This is simply yet another sad example of how imperiled grassland birds keep losing ground. I would have thought a veritable Wisconsin Bird City would have been a bit more sensitive to the plight of Bobolinks and other prairie species, but I guess scoring political points is more important than avian conservation. 

What is a Wisconsin Bird City supposed to do?

"Bird City Wisconsin provides highly visible public recognition to municipalities that understand that healthy communities are the sum of many parts, including birds. We support our communities in their efforts to protect and manage green space, educate their citizens, build and erect nesting structures, landscape with native plants, reduce threats to birds like collisions and outdoor cats, and generally make urban areas both friendlier for birds and places where people want to live and work."

Middleton doesn't deserve this recognition. Naturally, there's nothing that can be done about it now. The Bobolink colony has already been dramatically reduced in numbers ― those birds that may have found suitable habitat elsewhere would be extremely fortunate. However, given the nature of high nesting site fidelity, the chances are against that positive outcome. Because of Middleton's dimwitted deeds, Curt and I will no longer lead this field trip.

Want to write someone and tell them how empty-headed and contradictory this was to the mission of Wisconsin Bird Cities?

Mayor Gurdip Brar:  mayor@cityofmiddleton.us 

Photographs taken when Bobolinks had a better situation at Morey Field. 

All images © 2021 Mike McDowell

Gibraltar Rock!

"Hiking is not escapism; it’s realism. The people who choose to spend time outdoors are not running away from anything; we are returning to where we belong."

― Jennifer Pharr Davis

Another excursion to find a Townsend's Solitaire ... and another dip! One was found at Gibraltar Rock State Natural Area early December, but I didn't find one a week after the report. It's a large area and it was extremely windy, so it's always possible the bird was hunkered down somewhere I didn't check. It was still a very enjoyable time spent outdoors in fantastic scenery. 

Though I don't visit this particular natural area very often (I should during spring), it is one of the most scenic spots I know of in the southern half of Wisconsin. There were some birds present, which included Black-capped Chickadees, Tufted Titmouse, Brown Creeper, White-breasted Nuthatches, and Red-breasted Nuthatches. There were also a few raptors riding the strong gusts: American Kestrels, Red-tailed Hawks, a lone Cooper's Hawk, and a few adult Bald Eagles. The Red-breasted Nuthatches were not thrilled when the Cooper's flew through and began emphatically broadcasting alert calls ― the very rapid form of yenk-yenk-yenk-yenk.

Whether I'm hiking Devil's Lake or other locales in southern Wisconsin, I often come upon trail markers for the Ice Age National Scene Trail bearing a Woolly Mammoth ― I have yet to see one in the wild. Certainly, there's a connection between mammoths and the ice age, but I don't know the story why it was chosen as the marker for its 1,200 miles of trails. But who knows? Certain loopy scientists want to bring back  mammoths using genomic biotechnology, so perhaps the notion isn't too far fetched! Do I think it's a good idea? Nope ― I do not. Regardless of the cause of their extinction, the costs and efforts associated with this endeavor best be directed at conserving and protecting what we have left. 

Beyond a doubt, this modest snow covering melted away just a few days after my visit ― midweek we had temperatures almost reaching the 70s, shattering Wisconsin's previous December record high. And just a few days after that the seasonably cold weather returned. But there's no snow on the ground. I have a craving to do some snowshoeing after a mighty blizzard, especially if I can be first on the trail in the virgin snow.

There hasn't been much to blog about lately, but I hope you've enjoyed the Beach House songs. I have tickets to see them in February, but I have a feeling it'll end up getting canceled on account of the Omicron variant hitting the states right now. I am working on a 2021 Tiger Beetle Season blog and I'll probably do an end of year recap as well. And then it starts again with outdoor adventures for a fresh year. This blog celebrates its anniversary in February ― 17 years. There was the 350-day blogging break, though. Coming back to it felt like a burst of creativity, so perhaps taking an extended break now and then would be a good idea. 

All images © 2021 Mike McDowell

Woo!

[drum machine]

[heavy synthesizers]

[strange sound]

[melodic guitar riff]

I want it all 

But I can't have it 

Images fly by 

I cannot say much 

But I want it all 

And I want it all 

Woo!

I want it all 

But I can't have it 

Images fly by 

I cannot say much 

But I want it all 

And I want it all 

When she closes her eyes [ding dong]

Looks inside 

Never knowing 

Shooting for the stars [ding dong]

It's gone too far 

And you know it 

[melodic guitar riff]

I can't keep you there 

You will braid your hair 

Throw it everywhere 

You're everywhere 

You don't give a fuck 

Swimming pools 

Forever glowing 

You break all the rules 

It's a trick of the eye 

You will braid your hair 

Throw it everywhere 

It passes me by 

In a swimming pool 

You break all the rules 

Keeps on going 

Backseat, give a fuck 

(laughter)

(talking)

(laughter)

(talking)

I want it all 

But I can't have it 

Images fly by 

I cannot say much 

But I want it all 

YES!

And I want it all 

Woo!

You're my trick of the eye 

I want it all 

That passes me by 

But I can't have it 

Keeps on going 

I can't keep you there 

You will braid your hair 

Throw it everywhere 

Images fly by 

Or everywhere 

You don't give a fuck 

Swimming pools 

I cannot say much 

Forever glowing 

You break all the rules 

You're my trick of the eye 

You will braid your hair 

Throw it everywhere 

But I want it all 

That passes me by 

In a swimming pool 

You break all the rules 

And I want it all 

Keeps on going 

Backseat, give a fuck

Woo!

[strange sound]

© Beach House