"To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter... to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird's nest or a wildflower in spring—these are some of the rewards of the simple life."
― John Burroughs,
After a two-week break, I finally got my tiger beetle fix yesterday following a morning of really good birding. South winds make all the difference.
The Pheasant Branch Creek Corridor was alive with neotropical songbirds—over 20 warbler species and my first Gray-cheeked Thrush of spring. Dottie and I found a Black-throated Blue Warbler singing away about 150 yards into the northern part of the conservancy from Century Avenue. Tom Schultz, his wife Wendy, Jeff Baumann, and one other person were birding the corridor, and we agreed to let each other know if we found any really good birds. I called them about the BTBW, and they were able to track it down. Meanwhile, Dottie and I had continued northward, eventually finding a singing Mourning Warbler. My spring warbler count is at 33 species and that's good enough for 2026.
We finished up birding around 11:00 a.m. I was getting concerned about the heat with respect to Spring Green Preserve. Whatever the air temperature is, one generally can add 5 to 10 degrees when at the preserve. So, mid eighties actually translates to 90s. I made sure to bring a lot of water.
Once at the preserve, Sue and I made our way to the same spot I've found Northern Barrens for the past 3 years, and now a 4th can be added.
As I've mentioned here before, this is a species I used to travel to Necedah National Wildlife Refuge to see and photograph, but that location has a profound issue with ticks. The last time I was there, I recall finding at least 25 ticks on me—mostly wood, some deer. So, having a reliable location to find this species closer to home without the tick problem is more than ideal. Though it's a bad tick year in Wisconsin, I've only found one on me so far.
Portraits ...
I took a brief break from beetling to photograph Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium):
On the very same path, Six-spotted Tiger Beetles were also present ...
Their green coloration is a little warmer, and they lack the bold maculations of the Northern Barrens. However, you must either inspect
them with binoculars or get close enough to tell them apart.
On the way back home, we stopped at the Arena Boat Landing to check on the sandbar's status. As you may recall, it was completely underwater just a few weeks ago. It's astonishing how quickly things can return to normal, a testament to Nature's resilience.
Hairy-necked Tiger Beetles were out in force!
This species is typically found in the wet sand very close to the water's edge. I prefer to photograph there, as I think the darker sand provides a better backdrop that highlights the beetles. Perhaps I'm rusty, but it took nearly two hours to get these shots. The beetles were extremely wary and skittish, refusing to tolerate a close approach, so I was simply lucky to get these images.
Above, a male preparing to mount a female.
Although I didn't capture the exact moment, I saw her lift her antenna to touch his as they began copulating. This interaction might serve as a verification or acceptance behavior, though I could be anthropomorphizing. In any case, it was the first time I'd witnessed such behavior, which I found fascinating.
There had to be over a hundred tiger beetles on the main sandbar—most
were Hairy-necked, but there were Bronzed Tiger Beetles present as well.
The two species are similar, but the Hairy-necked's front maculation is
more G-shaped, while Bronzed is more of a compressed C-shape.
Naturally, this feature is variable as you can see in these photographs,
but all are Cicindela hirticollis.
The May birding post is still in the works!
All images © 2026 Mike McDowell