Wisconsin - Part 7

Getting rained out in the search of the Kirtland's Warbler, Chris and I decided to head to Necedah Wildlife Refuge which was not far from Adams County.  Yes, we also had to deal with some rain in this location as well, but we also had many various roads to travel and some of the birding could be done within the confines of the vehicle.  This place was also a high priority spot because it is one of the best places to find the endangered Whooping Crane.  

This bird's population had dwindled to a mere 21 wild and 2 captive birds in 1941.  Through major conservation efforts the numbers of this bird have rebounded to over 400 in the wild and another 150+ in captivity.  At Necedah, there are a few breeding pairs and they are very cautiously monitored.  A quick stop at the Visitor's Center and we quickly got some location information as to where they have been seen most frequently.  So away we went with our target bird in mind and the location imprinted in our minds.  As we followed the roads in the rain, we finally arrived at our destination and quickly discovered, not one, but two, Whooping Cranes.  They were fairly close to the road and since it was still raining, we opted to get photos from the vehicle.  We stayed dry and the cranes were not stressed with people standing nearby.  What a treat to add this endangered bird to my life list within a couple of hours after hearing another threatened bird, the Kirtland's Warbler.  (If you look closely at these photos, you can see the raindrops around the cranes.)

 Whooping Crane

This last photo was taken later in the day, when we made another visit to the original spot.  Appears to be nesting, but cannot be sure.

Whooping Cranes were not the only birds we encountered at this location.  Near the Visitor's Center, we were graced with Red-headed Woodpeckers, which is one of the most dramatic looking woodpeckers in the United States.  One can easily see how it got its name.

 Red-headed Woodpecker

Finally got a decent photo of an Eastern Towhee after seeing many along the way in less than perfect settings for photos.

 Eastern Towhee

House Wren

Near the Visitor's Center we were greeted by a Least Flycatcher; another lifer and another one of those birds from the Empidonax family.  Once again the call notes were the key to identification.

 Least Flycatcher

And finally after hearing the Yellow-throated Vireo just about everywhere we visited, we finally had one that gave us great views.  Of course it had to at the tops of the trees, which allowed for mediocre photos.

 Yellow-throated Vireo

An American Bittern also flushed near us when we were on the boardwalk near the Visitor's Center.

 American Bittern

The butterflies were numerous and very colorful.  Took a while to identify some of them since I am not a butterfly expert and some of these are not found in Arizona.

 American Copper Butterfly

 Common Buckeye Butterfly

 Common Ringlet Butterfly

 Harris's Checkerspot

Red Squirrel

Young White-tailed Deer

Will attempt to wrap up the last of my Wisconsin trip in one more post.  

Wisconsin - Part 2

The next day of my trip, I met up with Chris and we did not waste anytime in getting out to search for birds.  We started with some local spots, Molash Creek and Woodland Dunes, and found the deep, dark, and shady trails were swarming with birds.  But alas, they were also swarming with some much smaller critters, known as mosquitoes.  But that was to be expected and we did not let it stop us in our hunt for those birds.

I quickly discovered how common Red-eyed Vireos were in Wisconsin.  I had seen this bird once before at High Island, Texas, but it was just a brief glimpse and of course I was not able to capture any photos that time.  This time was different, since they were very common and singing just about everywhere we visited, one of them in Molash Creek gave us great view and some much needed photos.  (To bad the birds cannot communicate to other birds to let them know that we mean them no harm, and just want to see them and take a couple of photos!)

 Red-eyed Vireo

Another bird that was abundant just about everywhere was the American Redstart.  Yes, we do see a few of these birds yearly in the winter in Arizona, but they are rarely very vocal when we get them in AZ.  But in Wisconsin, they were very vocal and active.

 American Redstart

One of my new life birds that I added on this day was the Eastern Towhee.  The Spotted Towhee is very common in Arizona and one that I am very familiar with.  At one time in the past, the Eastern Towhee and the Spotted Towhee were considered one species; the Rufous-sided Towhee.  But the Rufous-sided Towhee was split into Eastern Towhee and Spotted Towhee some years ago and after seeing and hearing the Eastern Towhee, they are definitely different in my opinion.  While the photos are not what I would have liked on this first sighting, I was able to see more during my stay and got a better photo at a later date. 

 Eastern Towhee

Other cool birds in the forest that were not life birds but still awesome to see and hear were Black-throated Green Warbler, Ovenbird, and a fledgling White-breasted Nuthatch.  We would have not seen the nuthatch had it not been for a parent bird coming in to offer some food tidbits.

 Black-throated Green Warbler

 Ovenbird

 White-breasted Nuthatch - Fledgling

Next stop was Woodland Dunes in Two Rivers which is another wonderful spot.  I picked up 3 new life birds at this spot; Alder Flycatcher, Wood Thrush, and Sedge Wren.  The only bird of these 3 that I was able to photograph was Alder Flycatcher; the other 2 proved to be very elusive.

Alder Flycatcher

But there were plenty of other birds at this location that very cooperative for photos including some Chimney Swifts, which I had never photographed before.

 Chimney Swift

 American Goldfinch - Male

 American Goldfinch - Female

 Cedar Waxwing

 Swanp Sparrow

 Yellow Warbler

From here we ventured a short distance to the Manitowoc Impoundment on the shores of Lake Michigan. Naturally this was a complete different habitat that resulted in all new species.

 Caspian Tern

Common Grackle

Later that evening Chris and I headed to the home of his brother who claimed they had a pair of nesting Merlins near their back yard.  While we were not able to see the nest itself, the Merlins were definitely there and one of them even landed on a pole in their back yard.

 Merlin

And as usual, at the end of the post are some other photos that were interesting to me along the way.

 Painted Turtle

Definitely a full day of birding and by this time, I had picked up 7 new life birds so far.  I have many more to come and will be mentioning several on some future posts.