A Winter Hermit!

"Go out in the woods, go out. If you don't go out in the woods nothing will ever happen and your life will never begin."

― Clarissa Pinkola Estés

Though not rare during southern Wisconsin's winters, I was a little surprised to turn up a Hermit Thrush on my first outing of the year to the Pheasant Branch Creek Corridor. It was a gloomy, overcast day, but bird activity was solid. American Robins, Cedar Waxwings, and Northern Cardinals were present in high numbers. Cardinal males will soon begin singing, which is one of the earliest avian phenological changes of the new year. I also found more than a dozen White-throated Sparrows, a species that's always fun to encounter.

 

Canada Goose  
Mallard  
Wild Turkey  
Mourning Dove  
Cooper's Hawk  
Red-tailed Hawk  
Belted Kingfisher  
Red-bellied Woodpecker  
Downy Woodpecker  
Hairy Woodpecker  
Northern Flicker  
American Kestrel  
Blue Jay  
American Crow  
Black-capped Chickadee  
Tufted Titmouse  
White-breasted Nuthatch  
Brown Creeper  
European Starling  
Hermit Thrush  
American Robin  
Cedar Waxwing  
House Sparrow  
House Finch  
American Goldfinch  
American Tree Sparrow  
Dark-eyed Junco  
White-throated Sparrow  
Northern Cardinal  

As you can see, gloomy, but still a decent outing. 

On the way home, I took the northern route around Middleton, adding Northern Harrier and Rough-legged Hawk, though not a single Horned Lark showed itself. Just like that, I've logged roughly a quarter of the species I'll see this year. Even in winter, roughly a hundred bird species can be found here, a fact that often surprises non-birders from Wisconsin. There have been a few commute and courtyard birds as well, but nothing I would have submitted to eBird—that is, if I were an eBird birder. Birding without a scoreboard, that’s the way.

 

All images © 2026 Mike McDowell