"Measure your health by your sympathy with morning and spring. If there is no response in you to the awakening of nature―if the prospect of an early morning walk does not banish sleep, if the warble of the first bluebird does not thrill you―know that the morning and spring of your life are past. Thus may you feel your pulse."
― Henry David Thoreau
I've observed Eastern Bluebirds during winter at Rowan Creek in the past, so I was only a little surprised to find one there today ― likely an overwintering bird and not a fresh migrant. Another first-of-year species was a Song Sparrow and some Trumpeter Swans on the drive up from Middleton. I was hoping to find Greater White-fronted Geese, but none were seen during the outing. Actually, there weren't even many Canada Geese around, except for the hundred or so at the Pheasant Branch Confluence Pond.
This was my first visit to Rowan Creek in over a decade. It's one of those places I think would be great to bird during spring migration but never return during April or May. Just try dragging my birding posse away from the Pheasant Branch creek corridor during migration's peak ... impossible!
Rowan Creek's Pine Island is a very peaceful place. Footprints in the mud and snow show regular use, but one typically only encounters another hiker or two. It was a breezy day and I love the sound of wind blowing through the coniferous canopy. I kept my eye open for owls, but only found a pellet with fragment rodent bones. Other birds of the pine forest were Blue Jays, Brown Creeper, Black-capped Chickadees, White-breasted Nuthatches, Tufted Titmouse, and three woodpecker species.
There were Brown Trout in the creek!
Ye diminutive but amazing Song Sparrow!
By next weekend we'll basically wrap up February, and then comes March when migratory birds will begin to pour into southern Wisconsin once again ― Red-winged Blackbirds and other icterids, Eastern Meadowlarks, more Song Sparrows, Eastern Phoebes, and lots of waterfowl. Provided we have warmer weather during late March, tiger beetles will begin to emerge.
So much to look forward to!
All images © 2023 Mike McDowell