Day 4: Last Full Day in Western Wisconsin
Saturday 5 July 2014
80 °F
Today was my last full day spent with my aunt and uncle in the La Crosse area of western Wisconsin.
I went birding with my uncle at Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge and other nearby places from 10:30am-2:45pm and we saw some neat birds, 68 species in total.
We spent the bulk of our time at Trempealeau attempting to photograph Black Terns from a narrow isthmus that separates two large lakes, both which are major feeding areas for the terns, in the Mississippi River Valley. Photographing these terns is an easier-said-than-done feat because they are birds about the size of doves that move erratically through the air a few feet above the water at super high speeds. You will just have to read on to see if I did manage to photograph them at all.
While patiently (?) waiting to get a good photo of the Black Terns, we saw some other neat birds, including the ones pictured below:
AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN:
Singing male ORCHARD ORIOLE:
Pair of AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES:
Just as we were about to head back to the car, woefully accepting that these terns were just too darn fast to photograph, I spotted one BLACK TERN from a good distance away...and it was flying towards me! I hurriedly turned on my camera, focused in on the bird, and with a lot a bit of luck, I captured this half-decent shot: 
The rest of our birding for the day was relatively quiet although we added a few species to our day list, which is attached below my signature.
Bird-of-the-day to the obliging (for this species at least) BLACK TERN that finally tolerated getting its picture taken.
Stay tuned, because tomorrow my mom will pick me up and we will drive to the remote and beautiful Madeline Island in Lake Superior north of Wisconsin, where the diverse array of interesting boreal bird species awaits me!
Good birding,
Henry
World Life List: 674 Species (no life birds today)
68 species:
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
American White Pelican
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle
Cooper's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Ring-billed Gull
BLACK TERN
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
RED-HEADED WOODPECKER
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Yellow-throated Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Bank Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
BROWN CREEPER
House Wren
Eastern Bluebird
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Yellow Warbler
Scarlet Tanager
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
Baltimore Oriole
House Sparrow
House Finch
American Goldfinch
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
