Wisconsin Trip Recap
Sunday 13 July 2014
80 °F
Hello everyone,
This is the post for the past three days, which I have spent on the peaceful Madeline Island in Lake Superior. Yesterday and Friday were rather uneventful, I spent those days practicing, relaxing, and taking in the beauty of the island.
Today, before my mom and I had to leave, I went birding in the morning.
First, I found this ALDER FLYCATCHER, which was a lifer just a few days ago. It finally posed for a photograph!
Next, I spied a GREAT BLUE HERON hunting in the marsh:
But wait, on further inspection of that photo, you will notice that my lifer AMERICAN BITTERN is a brownish patch in the reeds on the right side of the photo!
Here is a close-up image of the bittern. I believe it is a juvenile:
Male COMMON YELLOWTHROAT:
I spied this LEAST FLYCATCHER from afar:
Then, a gigantic, grayish-brown hawk in the "accipiter" genus swooped quickly in front of me and darted out of sight, into the thick boreal forest. It was unmistakable--my lifer NORTHERN GOSHAWK! Sadly, it moved too quickly for photos.
The final bird photo from this journey is of a beautiful male MAGNOLIA WARBLER:
It was a bit over a nine-hour commute back to Chicago, but I'm home safely now, so that's all that matters!
This was one of the best trips, with regards to birding, of my entire life! I gained 7 life birds on this journey to Wisconsin (the last two of them from today): Black Tern, Louisiana Waterthrush, Whooping Crane, Alder Flycatcher, Spruce Grouse, American Bittern, and Northern Goshawk!
I am back home in Chicago now and I will stay here for the remainder of July, but that doesn't mean that I don't have more phenomenal birding trips lined up for the very near future! Then, in August, my family and I will take our annual two-week vacation to Sun Valley, Idaho. I have a fun, bird-filled rest of the summer ahead of me!
Full list for today is attached below my signature.
Stay tuned, and good birding!
Henry
World Life List: 676 Species (2 life birds: American Bittern and Northern Goshawk)
63 species today:
Canada Goose
COMMON LOON (heard yodeling)
Double-crested Cormorant
AMERICAN BITTERN (LIFE BIRD!)
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
NORTHERN GOSHAWK (LIFE BIRD!)
Cooper's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
Alder Flycatcher
Least Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
Great Crested Flycatcher
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
PURPLE MARTIN
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
House Wren
Winter Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Ovenbird
Black-and-White Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
MOURNING WARBLER
Common Yellowthroat
American Redstart
Magnolia Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Pine Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Chipping Sparrow
CLAY-COLORED SPARROW
FOX SPARROW
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Indigo Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
House Sparrow
PURPLE FINCH (FOY)
American Goldfinch
