Tiger Beetles of Minnesota Wisconsin & Michigan!

A couple months ago my friend, Mathew L. Brust, told me his new book on tiger beetles would soon be published. This long-awaited book relevant to Wisconsin naturalists and tiger beetle enthusiasts has arrived! Tiger Beetles of Minnesota Wisconsin & Michigan is now available! It's hot off the presses to make your holiday wish-list! More information about content and ordering can be found by clicking here.

Lake Michigan Gales, November 4, 2018

Last weekend Peter and I joined our good friend Aaron for our annual lakeshore birding trip along the western shore of Lake Michigan. The route we have been running the past few years is a bit truncated compared to the trip Aaron led for years for Madison Audubon. In recent times we've birded essentially from South Shore Yacht Club in Milwaukee to the Sheboygan waterfront. I can remember past years starting as far south as Oak Creek or even Wind Point. But with the closing of South Metro Pier and no rarities to chase further south we've been sticking to the Milwaukee to Sheboygan route.

Milwaukee Breakwater Lighthouse, Milwaukee, WI 

This year the weather forecast was shitty with rain, gale force winds in the 20-30 mph range and 7-11 foot waves predicted. Lake Michigan delivered on that promise with winds in the 25-40 mph and phenomenal waves cresting along the lakeshore.

McKinley Beach overlook, Milwaukee, WI

Sometimes brutal weather can result in incredible birding. So I had my hopes up that our sacrifice to the weather would pay off with some extreme rarity. Nope. It was a struggle to focus and locate distant waterbirds between the giant waves. Rain on our optics further challenged our visibility.

McKinley Beach overlook engulfed in waves, Milwaukee, WI

Despite "deteriorating conditions" (there's an inside joke in there), we managed to see all three scoter species, a lone Long-tailed duck and a couple of interesting gulls. But overall the bird was underwhelming with us dipping on the Harlequin Duck and Eared Grebe reported the day before in Sheboygan.

Iceland Gull(they are all Iceland now), Lakeshore State Park, Milwaukee, WI (before the rain)

Lesser Black-backed Gull, Lakeshore State Park, Milwaukee, WI (before the rain)

However, I was still happy to have braved the weather to witness the might of Lake Michigan. Her power was reminiscent of the greatest of the Great Lakes, Lake Superior. And yes, my feet were submerged in about a foot of water in the video below captured in Milwaukee at McKinley Marina (first clip) and Port Washington (second clip). Truly incredible!

Crushing into Winter

And just like we have arrived at November. Winter is just around the corner. The snowbirds continue to enter Wisconsin and I have already crushed hard on my favorite winter bird, the Northern Shrike.

Northern Shrike, Governor Nelson State Park, Dane Co, WI 29Oct2018 

If ever there was a bird that could perch upon my soul-less soul this would be it. Not even a sleepy Northern Saw-whet or Boreal Owl can elevate my spirit out of winter's dismal chill like a Northern Shrike can. Afterall, for the most part owls just sleep whereas the Northern Shrike flies buoyantly perch to perch, hunting the landscape. And February through early March hold the promise and hope of hearing one sing again.

Northern Shrike, Governor Nelson State Park, Dane Co, 29Oct2018

During the third week of October, the Northern Shrikes arrived in tandem with one of their prey, American Tree Sparrows. Around this same time, most of the remaining Ruby-throated Hummingbirds left the state for warmer climes. My last Ruby-throated departed my yard the morning of October 23rd.

The last of my Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, Bittersweet home, Dane Co, 19Oct2018

I feel utterly spoiled to have already observed a Northern Shrike at Governor Nelson State Park on multiple occasions during the past week. I have also seen one at the west end of Dorn Creek Wildlife Area just a little over a mile away. I tend to think these shrikes are one in the same. Certainly last year I assumed the bird I encountered at the eastmost end of Dorn Creek was the same shrike as the one present across the highway at Governor Nelson. However, the other day after observing one at the west end of Dorn Creek, within 10 minutes of my sighting, my friend Dale messaged he had a shrike over a mile away at Governor Nelson State Park. Same bird? Two birds? Tough to say.

Governor Nelson State Park, Dane Co, 29Oct2018

Governor Nelson State Park, located on the west short of Lake Mendota, was good to me during October. After not having added a year patch bird since late May, I finally added five more in October... and NONE were sparrows! No Nelson's. No Le Conte's. No Harris's. The five new species? Drum roll...White-winged Scoter, Black Scoter, Long-tailed Duck, American White Pelican and Surf Scoter. Yeah, I know, American White Pelican, wtf? I should have seen a migrating flock in the spring. For whatever reason I did not and pelican became a patch nemesis that I had forgotten about until I spied a lone bird on one of my many trips to Governor Nelson.

Worst American White Pelican ever, Governor Nelson State Park, Dane Co, WI 30Oct2018

Where are the scoter and Long-tailed Duck photos you ask? They are even worse than the above pelican photo...

Full moon, Governor Nelson State Park, Dane Co, WI 24Oct2018

I've been spending many a late afternoon and early evening watching waterbirds and some spectacular moon rises and sunsets at Governor Nelson. The evenings leading up to and including the full moon on October 24th were breathtaking to witness. That enormous glowing orb cast in shades of sunset orange as it breached the the visible sky was something to behold. No photo I captured even comes close to accurately rendering Nature's perfection and grace. I pretty much floundered in my digiscoping efforts above leaving me to wonder, is it my camera, my vision or both?

Full moon sitting in a barren tree, Governor Nelson SP, Dane Co, WI 24Oct2018

Is this natural? Hell no!

This glowing blue-green sludge atop the water was a common sight as I birded around the northern end of Lake Mendota last Sunday. The worst of it was at the beach at Governor Nelson State Park. The high winds on Sunday moved this nasty stew of chemicals toward the western shore. It wreaked of the blue chemical my dad put in our camper toilet back in the 70s. I suspect that's precisely what it was, some type of sewer treatment stew. Though the water clarity has improved since Sunday, I noticed water quality signs posted at the beach today warning of E. Coli. It's only how many days later and these signs are finally posted? Good thing it's not really swimming weather in Wisconsin. Though who in their right mind would ever climb into such disgust? Is it the result of the August floods? Whatever the case might be, the condition of the water is disheartening.

Back to more pleasant topics, like the hike I took today. The birds were few, the wind calm. Most of the leaves have fallen from the trees leaving a void where their rustle used to be. I was left with the deafening silence of my thoughts and a muted landscape of majestic oaks, rock outcroppings and an occasional splash of color to ignite my vision.

Bittersweet, Secret location, Dane Co, 2November2018

I mused about the secret life of trees, the beautiful fretwork-like patterns of intercrown spacing and the seemingly lack thereof in Wisconsin trees. Wisconsin trees seem to have no boundaries. I harnessed the zen of the moment. I controlled my impulse to admonish the single off leash dog owner I encountered. I let it go for today. The aggravation wasn't worth it. 

October

We have passed the middle of October. October in all its melancholy, perhaps the most melancholy month of all.

Yellow-rumped Warbler, Mendota Park, Dane Co, WI 15October2018

October, the month of many dismal rainy days and the first killing frost.

"The Gorge", Dane Co, WI 2October2018

A month of fading light, vitamin D deficiencies above 37° north and the annual rebirth of the Impossible Task.

Aster species, Goose Lake Conservation Area, 5October2018

October, the month of green and amber crimson senescence. Of temporary and permanent goodbyes. Of stolen lives and the Hunter's moon.

Merrill Springs Park, 13October2018

Half empty or half full? Full of sparrows and vagrants, Rufous hummingbirds and adrenaline.

Song Sparrow, Fitchburg, Dane Co, 14October2018.
With the crappy lighting, this is one of the few reasonable sparrow photos I've been able to muster this month

Ah the orange sparrows. I have missed you this month and maybe will forgo your delight this year. The time for Nelson's is nearly past. The window for Le Conte's will be closing soon as well. I have made a few half-hearted attempts to find these orange beauties.

Asters against a dismal October 5th sky...and no orange sparrows. Goose Lake Conservation Area, Dane Co

But life carries me in other directions and I would rather bird sans the agenda of a target species, sans the angst and sense of failure when those targets do not come to fruition. Nature's gifts are abundant and far more soothing if I let go of  attempting to will things into happening.

Looking for sparrows in all the wrong places...Dane Co, WI 9October2018

Wisconsin's resident Ruby-throated hummingbirds will soon be gone. They have already hit the eBird filter as seasonally rare. However as I write this, I have one hatch-year male persisting in my yard. The past few years have seen more ruby-throats lingering in Wisconsin later into October. Climate change? Nah, IT'S A HOAX! (Insert sarcasm)

HY male Ruby-throated Hummingbird, yard, 16Oct2018

Per eBird, Dane County is seeing its share of seasonally late migrants. Over the weekend I encountered a late Northern Waterthrush at Kettle Pond. And just yesterday, I found a late Bay-breasted Warbler in my yard. It was the first warbler to christen my newly installed water feature. No photo of the Bay-breasted. But here are some other birds who recently discovered the fruits of my labor.

Do-it-yourself water feature, Madison, Dane Co, WI 14October2018

White-throated Sparrow, my backyard water feature, Dane Co, WI 17October2018

Late last Friday night into early Saturday morning marked our first killing frost in Madison. With that frost came a significant leaf drop including from my highbush cranberry where a Marbled Orbweaver had been making its home.

Marbled Orbweaver, yard, Dane Co, WI 5Oct2018

Over the past week, each day seems to bring more White-crowned and White-throated Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos and both kinglets into Wisconsin. In suitable habitat especially along the lakes, Yellow-rumped and Palm Warblers are common as well.

Palm Warbler, Fitchburg, Dane Co, WI 14October2018

The incessant rain has brought out the fungus. I'm not much of a mushroom person, but occasionally I am struck by the brilliant colors or whimsy of them. This patch was bursting with candy for my eyes.

Fungus, Kettle Pond, Dane Co, WI 13October2018

Perhaps one of the finer silver-linings of October are the islands of warmth among the bitter winds that howl, "winter is on its way." October 9th saw temperatures rise to nearly 80 degrees. With that blip of warm weather came that last push of butterflies. I saw multiple Monarchs and Orange Sulphurs flying that day while out during one of my feeble orange sparrow quests.

Monarch, Dorn Creek Wildlife Area, Dane Co, WI 9October2018 

Even finer are the sunsets of those golden days when the sun wins the war against the clouds. Or does it? Or could it be those magical sunsets are the symphony of compromise between the sun and clouds? You be the judge.

Governor Nelson State Park, Dane Co, 13October2018

Either way, per the words of an old musician friend, "sun is best when it sits in a barren tree..." I'd have to agree.

Early Spring Nugget

After hitting it hard on the birding front this spring, my time spent birding dramatically fell off during the summer all the way through this fall migration. 

Being my first full green season in my new home, much of my "free" time was occupied with cultivating my yard to be more enticing to birds and pollinators. The other portions of my "free" time gravitated toward orchids, butterflies and insects. All in all I have to say, birding mostly in my backyard for last 4 months has had the benefit of adding several bird and insect species to my yard list.But I'll save that for another post...

When I look back on the incredible spring birding I witnessed this year, these owls take gold as the best birding patch nugget of spring and likely all of 2018. Any day I see an owl is a damn good day.

What was thought to be one, turned out to be three!

Ah the owls. Relatively uncommon owls. Fortunately it seems these owls escaped the circus that can often ensue around such captivating birds.

Most of the images I captured were digiscoped including this video of the owls preening. For the most part, they appeared oblivious to my presence.

Well except for this stink-eye... 

Here's lookin' at ya!

Winter is coming...but not before fall vagrant season is upon us! There's nothing like a juicy vagrant to fire up the birding adrenaline!

Soul Soothing

I can think of nothing more soul-soothing than the enveloping rays of the sun bidding farewell at the end of a satisfying hike through a desert, marsh or bog.

Spring Green SNA, Sauk Co, WI 12Sept2018

Being more of a night owl than an early bird, I often find myself in these moments....Among the din of crickets and frogs. Cleansed. Harnessing that ephemeral inner peace. Fleeting, but magical nonetheless.

Spring Green SNA, Sauk Co, WI 12Sept2018

September 12th I found myself at Spring Green State Natural Area for my second and likely final trip of the year. Strange yet sensible to have found myself here for only two visits for 2018.

One trip for Prairie Fame-flower...

Prairie Fame-flower, Spring Green SNA (west), Sauk Co, WI 5Aug2018

...and most recently, this second trip to witness September's Splendid Tiger Beetles.

Spring Green SNA bluff Splendid Tiger Beetle habitat, 12Sept2018

Undoubtedly the Splendids are something I look forward to each September, an exquisite reward for a moderately strenuous climb to the top of the bluff.

Splendid Tiger Beetle 12Sept2018

The journey to the top reliably yielded nuggets of Nature's goodness along the way. Oblique Tiger Beetles were numerous along the sand path en route to bluff. This species seems quite prolific in early September whether it be the desert of Spring Green or sandy terrain of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Oblique Tiger Beetle 12Sept2018

Few plants were flowering which is to be expected during this season of senescence. A smattering of Rough Blazing Star and Asters dotted landscape.

Rough Blazing Star, 12Sept2018

Aster species, 12Sept2018

They provided islands of nectar for a small array of butterflies including Eastern Tailed-blue, a species that was present on both my visits to the desert prairie this year.

Eastern Tailed-blue, 12Sept2018

Eventually to the top of the bluff I climbed. Inevitably as I approached my destination, a niggling angst of dipping invaded the serenity of my cognition. However my fears were quickly allayed when my peripheral vision detected the frenetic flight of a Splendid along the path. As I walked slow and methodical I spied another, and another, hooking me into the moment.

Splendid Tiger Beetle 12Sept2018

"Hello grasshopper!" ~Splendid Tiger Beetle 12Sept2018

These metallic nuggets of eye-candy endeared me for a good part of nearly an hour at which point I nudged myself to begin my descent back to the desert prairie and my car.

Splendid Tiger Beetle 12Sept2018

Splendid Tiger Beetle 12Sept2018

Surprisingly, as glorious as the Splendid Tiger Beetles were, the Virginia Big-headed Tiger Beetles I found in the desert below were the pinnacle insect for the trip.

Virginia Big-headed Tiger Beetle, 12Sept2018

Having only seen this species once before, I was elated to find several that cooperated for photos. This species is known for being crepuscular. So I had hopes when I set out for Spring Green in the late afternoon that I might reap the reward of witnessing these buggers scurrying along the path near dusk. I could not have wished for more, or four to be exact.

Virginia Big-headed Tiger Beetle, 12Sept2018

Brimming with Nature's goodness, I hiked the remaining southern stretch of the trail in near darkness. Intermittently I found my thoughts being deafened by a crescendo of crickets. However, through the din of Nature's sometimes shrill accompaniment, I heard a distant and unseasonable call of a Whip-poor-will from the bluff. And as darkness continued to eclipse me, with the rising crescent moon by my side, my soul felt blanketed in the soothing near absence of light, in the stillness of the moment.

Peace had settled into my viscera along with a salient sense of satisfaction. Farewell to my dearest desert prairie. Until next year...