"We expect things to be safe and to keep on happening just the way they always have. We expect the sun to rise in the morning. We expect to get up, survive the day and finish up back in bed at the end of it, ready to start all over again the next day. But maybe that's just a trick we play on ourselves, our way of making life seem ordinary. Because the truth is, life is so extraordinary that for most of the time we can't bring ourselves to look at it. It's too bright and it hurts our eyes. The fact of the matter is that nothing is ever certain. But most people never find that out until the ground suddenly disappears from beneath their feet."
― Steve Voake
The extended pattern of northwest winds finally changed Thursday evening, rendering an impressive migratory bird parade at the Pheasant Branch Creek Corridor. There were lots of warblers, vireos, flycatchers, thrushes, sparrows, and more. Southerly winds brought warmer air from the south, which was a welcome change for the birds (and us). Following wind currents north, they arrived in impressive numbers, filling the woods with their songs and bright spring suits.
I am so exhausted from putting in ~20,000 steps each day (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) that I barely feel much inspiration to write a blog. To be sure, there were some excellent sightings: Prothonotary Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, White-eyed Vireo, and most bizarre ― an Evening Grosbeak. Yes, that's right. A birder I came upon asked me if it was possible to have an Evening Grosbeak this time of year. Being the skeptic I am I thought he might have made a mis-identification. But no. He was correct. I got it in my bins after he pointed it out, and it was indeed an Evening Grosbeak. The bird was posted on various alert forums, prompting birders to rush to the corridor to get a glimpse and/or photographs of the avian surprise of the weekend. It was Dane County lifer #301 and also a new species for Pheasant Branch.
I thought there should have been returning Black-and-white Warblers sometime mid-April, and the single bird observed on Friday was probably my latest seasonal FOY (first of year) for this species. In some ways it still seems like we're a week behind in terms of migration, but there have already been American Redstarts, Tennessee Warblers, and Blackpoll Warblers ― species I typically think of as bringing up the rear of the warbler waves. But when birds are held back for even just a week or so, the anticipated phenological order can become a bit jumbled.
Here's a Northern Parula caught mid-song: Ba-dee-ba-dee-ba-dee-dee-dee!
And a handsome Chestnut-sided Warbler ...
Least Flycatcher ...
The weekend also provided a clinic on Catharus thrushes. Though I haven't seen a Hermit Thrush since before the weekend, there were several sightings of Swainson's, Gray-cheeked, and Veery. Catharus is a genus of birds in the family Turdidae, which includes several species of thrushes. The genus name is derived from the Greek word katharos, which means clean, pure, and innocent. In Hebrew it means free from corruption, desire, and sin. Who can really say what Charles Lucien Bonaparte was thinking when he gave these thrushes their genus name back in 1850. Was it their pristine appearance? Ethereal Songs? If his surname rings a bell it's because he was the nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte.
They are rather clean and pure, aren't they?
The woods of Pheasant Branch are greening up ― the verdant color is one of my favorite qualities of spring. Sure, the summer will bring deep forest greens and lots of insects. The birder in me certainly enjoys this time of year, but I'm grateful that it comes to an end in just a few more weeks. It isn't that I'm necessarily antisocial, but I prefer my surroundings to be less crowded. Given good birding reports coming out of the creek corridor, it's a common destination for birders in and around Dane County during the month of May. Once neotropical migrants leave, the listers abandon the corridor as well. For my part, it means insects virtually all to myself.
Speaking of, I found my FOY Bronzed Tiger Beetles (Cicindela repanda) today!
Though the creek corridor received a major reconstruction and stabilization effort, some of the sandy banks were left intact, which is where I typically find this species.
The little sand demons were fully active and very difficult to approach, but with time and patience (and some swearing), I managed to come away with a few decent portraits.
As I may have mentioned before, a few of my tiger beetle pals are going for all 16 Wisconsin species this season. I could do it, I suppose. But it isn't so much the number as it is just having fun and informative experiences watching these zippy beetles do their thing on the sand. The cognitive interiority of the tiger beetle can never be known to us, but I sense a raw and aggressive determinism in their behavior that prompts me to ponder whether what they do can be considered violence. Have you ever cheered for the gazelle being chased by a cheetah in a documentary? I feel nothing for tiger beetle prey ― it's simply what must be done for survival. Tennyson's sense of Nature being red in tooth and claw is basal to their core. At the same time they possess a beauty and marvel of what life on our planet can display.
No tiger beetle mission is complete without the coveted front-side angle ...
One day this weekend I got home from birding and found several White-crowned Sparrows on the first-floor patio below my apartment. With this FOY, I've completed the Zonotrichia Trifecta for 2023. You may recall a Harris's Sparrow was found in Dane County during a few days in January, and I was fortunate to have seen that bird. Nevertheless, come fall I will likely search for Harris's at Pheasant Branch Prairie.
Middleton Area: Dane, Wisconsin, US
May 5th, 6th, and 7th
108 species
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Mallard
Green-winged Teal
Hooded Merganser
Wild Turkey
Pied-billed Grebe
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
Sora
American Coot
Sandhill Crane
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper
Ring-billed Gull
Double-crested Cormorant
American White Pelican
Great Blue Heron
Green Heron
Turkey Vulture
Cooper's Hawk
Bald Eagle
Broad-winged Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Belted Kingfisher
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Yellow-throated Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Warbling Vireo
White-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
House Wren
Marsh Wren
Carolina Wren
European Starling
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
Eastern Bluebird
Veery
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Swainson's Thrush
Wood Thrush
American Robin
Cedar Waxwing
House Sparrow
House Finch
Purple Finch
American Goldfinch
Evening Grosbeak
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Eastern Towhee
Eastern Meadowlark
Baltimore Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Common Grackle
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Golden-winged Warbler
Blue-winged Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Prothonotary Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Northern Parula
Blackburnian Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Palm Warbler
Pine Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Scarlet Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
All images © 2023 Mike McDowell