Under the Pandemic: Fall 2020

And just like that we are deep into fall 2020 and here I am plugging away at this post that I started over a month ago... 

For now, I am fast-forwarding from April to September! (What the hell?! I skipped May!?) 

LeConte's Sparrow, Biocore Prairie, Dane Co, WI 27Sept20

This first fall (hopefully the ONLY) of the pandemic has been kind to me. Nothing says that more than my last two posts about the Dane County Red Phalarope. As I write I feel an immense sense of relief in the outcome of the presidential election. However I do wonder if we will ever fully recover from the darkness of IQ45's legacy. Will any piece of our former United States and democracy be recognizable? No doubt the set-backs incurred by our nation and earth under America's first dictator will take generations to repair. I fear this country will never meet its greatness or an acceptable level of civility in my lifetime. As a consolation, at least for the time being, I do not feel compelled to flee the United States. However I suspect it's inevitable. Did I mention I am aspiring expat? But I digress...

The highlights of this fall are many.

LeConte's Sparrow, Biocore Prairie, Madison, WI 27Sept20

September brought relief to my nearly three year drought of orange sparrows. Even better, I found my own sparrows versus chasing the same few that gobs of other birders went after for their 2020 Dane County tic. The first was a Nelson's Sparrow I found at Shovelers Sink. The second was a stunning nugget of a LeConte's Sparrow I found while following up on a dubious Lark Sparrow report at the UW-Lakeshore Preserve. 

Fall 2020 was a better for warblers than I recall in recent years. The few times I made it out for the southbound passerine migration I primarily birded Marshall Park. This little gem of a bird haunt is located near the southwest corner of Lake Mendota.

Black-throated Blue Warbler, Marshall Park, Dane Co, WI 21Sept20

Black-throated Green Warbler, Marshall Park, Dane Co, WI 21Sept20

Black-throated Blue Warblers which I am lucky to see one of this species in the fall, seemed easy to come by. One of my late September outings included a high count of four males!

Black-throated Blue Warbler, Marshall Park, Madison, WI 21Sept20

Shoveler's Sink not only came through with Nelson's Sparrow in September, but I also found my FOY Black-bellied Plover here. Late in August I discovered this location was attracting a decent diversity of shorebirds. I only wish I had checked here sooner in the year. I may have gotten one or both expected phalaropes in my 7.5 MR patch had I been on top of my game.

Black-bellied Plover, Shovelers Sink, Dane Co, WI 22Sept20 

Ashton K pond which had been my go to shorebird spot the last few years, dried up quickly this year. Subsequently it was hidden by tall corn until harvest in October. When it was finally visible and flooded again in mid October, it came through with some late American Golden-plovers to add to my 2020 patch total. 

Carolina Wren, Bittersweet Home, Dane Co, WI 9No20

October began with a pair of Carolina Wrens visiting my yard. They continue to be heard and seen every few days. 

I was hoping during the hallmark "Sparrow Month" that I would find a Harris's Sparrow. Though I scoured the White-crowned Sparrows on many occasions, my efforts were not rewarded (nor have they been for the last 3 years). 

White-crowned Sparrow, Shovelers Sink, Dane Co, WI 14Oct20

White-crowned Sparrow, Shovelers Sink, Dane Co, WI 20Oct20

The highlight for sparrows during October was the addition of Eurasian Tree Sparrow to my Dane County and Wisconsin Life Lists. 

Eurasian Tree Sparrow, Mount Horeb, Dane Co, WI 31Oct20

October 28th a report of a Black-throated Gray warbler in Madison surfaced on Facebook. By early evening I was getting poor by IDable looks of the bird high in the dark canopy under fading light. It was a Dane County and Wisconsin life bird. I returned days later for better looks and photos. This bird continues as of this writing. It is the opinion of many that it will meet its demise at Turville Point where it currently resides. How is this bird much different from the Yellow-rumped Warblers that sometimes over-winter or stay late into January some winters? If we have a milder winter, perhaps the bird will survive. Perhaps it will finally move on when temperatures plummet and food is scarce. This is another rarity with crushing potential. I hear as of late it is often foraging in the leaf litter close to ground. 

Black-throated Gray Warbler, Olin-Turville Park, Madison, Dane Co, WI 2Nov20

This fall is shaping up to be good for "winter finches." The first came with in late September with my FOY Purple Finches. This was followed a week later by Pine Siskins which continue in high numbers at my backyard feeder. In recent weeks crossbills are being found in increasingly larger flocks. I found my first of the year Red Crossbills at Holy Wisdom Monastery November 5th and my first Common Redpolls a few days ago. I have yet to see or hear White-winged Crossbills. I expect to resolve that soon as they have been seen in large flocks the past two days. 

Red Crossbill, Holy Wisdom Monastery, Dane Co, WI 5Nov20

Owl reports are on the rise including Long-eared. I have yet to have the good fortune of finding one this year. Scoters have been easy to come by and seem to be more numerous on the Madison lakes than I recall in past years. 

And finally, no fall is complete without a photo or two of my yard Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. I banded a total of 15 birds in my yard between 9/17-10/8/20. My high count was 8 individuals on September 17th.  

Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Bittersweet Home, Dane Co, WI 14Sept20

These are small numbers compared to the 50-70 I often banding in one sitting at my summer banding sites. But it's still exciting for me to document the number of hatch year birds that use my yard during their southward journey. 

Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Bittersweet Home, Dane Co, WI 4Oct20

My last hummingbird was seen October 15th. This is a more typical date for southern Wisconsin than last year when I had a "Ruby-throat" stay until November 7th surviving two snow storms. 

Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Bittersweet Home, Dane Co, WI 31Oct19

Under the Pandemic: Red Phalarope Crushing

What does one do when a bird you have not seen in 8 years persists within 20 minutes of your home? Carpe diem. You CRUSH it. 

On Thursday, my schedule afforded me a couple of hours to spend with this gloriously cooperative pelagic phalarope. 

The lighting was much more favorable. The weather, unseasonably warm and divine.

Check out that lobed foot!

The freeze frames afforded by photography allowed me a closer look at the deep" feeding behavior of this bird. 

According to Cornell's Birds of the World, deep feeding is more characteristic of the females of this species. Does the hint of rust on this juvenile coupled with the deep feeding behavior hint at this being a female? Do juvenile males show the red washed throat? Given this species exhibits reversed sexual dimorphism one would expect the young males to be drabber (and perhaps without any color in the throat???) Lacking experience with this species it's all simply speculative thought on my part. A cursory dig in my guides and online did not address my questions.

As of this writing, today marks the second day the bird has not been observed. Previously it went MIA for a single day since it was first observed nearly a week ago. 

The next few days will tell if it has migrated versus simply shifting around locally on Lake Mendota. I was expecting to see it reported again today which did not occur. Perhaps it has moved on.

Under the Pandemic: Red Phalarope

I interrupt the blog post I could never finish to bring you this Red Phalarope! 

On Monday, Neil Gilbert sent out an alert on our Dane County Notable Birds chat group about a Red Phalarope photographed the prior day by Dr. Tim Van Deelen, a professor of Wild Ecology at University of Wisconsin, Madison. At 9:46 a.m. he sent an update on location, "Warner park. I'm out the door." Twelve minutes later, "BIRD IS HERE." Within minutes another half dozen birders had the bird at the Warner Park Boat Launch. The number of birders who saw this bird at spitting distance off the north shore of Lake Mendota quickly grew throughout the morning. Sadly, I was not among them...

Per the usual with Dane rarities this year, I was working over an hour away. Around 11:00 a.m. I glanced at my typically super silenced phone to see it had exploded with notifications from the Dane County Notable Birds chat as well as with texts from fellow nerds. Adrenaline and angst set in. Could I get through my caseload and be home before dark to see this bird? I was both tortured and hopeful by the reports coming in about the continuing bird...

In unusual fashion the Universe ultimately was on my side for the day. My caseload lightened allowing me to leave work earlier than anticipated. 

By 2:30 p.m. I had my eyes on this glorious little gem, the only phalarope I managed to see in my patch this year! A fucking Red Phalarope! A 7.5 mile-radius patch bird, a Dane County lifer and the first I've seen this species since November 2012. 

I soaked in its cooperative presence, plunked down in the sand in my work scrubs, grateful to have had my optics in tow when I left for work. In between capturing photos and struggling with my camera, I caught up with some old birding friends. But mostly I was just riding that rarity BLISS high, dazed and checked-out from any conversations I was having. 

Hope certainly IS a thing with feathers. November appears to be turning the tide in that direction. The distraction from the swirling insanity of the COVID-19 wave was most welcome. 

Stats: 

• According to the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology Rare Bird Records, this is the 3rd record for Dane Co.
• The prior two Dane Co records are specimens from 1899 and 1935
• I have seen this species on 6 occasions, 5 of those in Wisconsin
• Red Phalarope=2020 7.5 MR patch bird #231
• 232=2020 7.5 MR patch total to date
• 229=7.5 MR patch high count prior to 2020 (in 2018)
• Beer is a great barrier to keeping up with this blog

Under the Pandemic: April 2020

April heralded in a nice selection of regionally rare birds for Dane Co (Wisconsin) including this Ruff.

Ruff, Schumacher Rd Ponds, Dane Co, WI 27April20 

I added three county lifers, Cattle Egret, Yellow Rail and Cinnamon Teal. The Cinnamon Teal had the added bonus of being in my 7.5 mile radius birding patch.

Cattle Egret, Waunakee, Dane Co, WI 29April20

Though seen for only a split second, the Yellow Rail was pretty cool to witness as it "tick-tick-ticked" mere feet from us. Plus this eve stands out in my memory since it was my first "social gathering" during the pandemic lock down. I met pals, Kyle and Shawn at Cherokee Marsh to search for the recently reported Yellow Rail. On my suggestion, we turned the chase into a mini Birds & Beers bringing beers in tow to the stakeout. It was a needed slice of normalcy. And the company and beer were excellent.

Birders reflected on a beer can waiting for the Yellow Rail, Cherokee Marsh, Dane Co, WI 25April20

Otherwise, birding was fairly low key for April despite being decent for vagrants. 

Winter Wren, Pheasant Branch Conservancy, Dane Co, WI 17April20

I was more excited by the mammal encounters. The fox family at Pheasant Branch Conservancy entertained many trail users throughout April.

I also came across an American Mink on a few visits as well...

I visited Pheasant Branch more frequently this past spring than I had in recent years. During April, I was pleasantly surprised by the void of birders along the creek corridor. But there were plenty of other trail users including a plethora of Covidiots going commando along the busy trail. The runners and bikers were guiltiest of all in their lack of consideration for spreading the virus to others. They rarely observed the recommended 6 foot wide birth as they passed. These assholes with their forcefully expired droplets were unnerving to encounter during my nature forays. They stoked my fears of contracting the virus. Though not enough to keep me holed up at home. I was sure I would contract COVID-19 and be among the worst case scenarios. The fears gripped me enough to motivate me to prepare my advanced directives. I ensured I would not be subjected to artificial airways and what would surely be a life of disability in the wake of COVID-19 should I be so unlucky as to contract a severe case.

Though frowned upon, I ventured off-trail both at Pheasant Branch and Stricker's Pond during the months of April and May. It felt like a necessity in order to feel safe being outdoors among the masses who seemed oblivious to the virus. I fondly recall the security of being hidden among the reed canary grass on the bank of Stricker's pond as I captured images of the displaying Red-necked Mergansers. Off trail. Secure.

Red-breasted Merganser, Stricker's Pond, Dane Co, WI 7April20

The outdoors provided needed relief during the early months of the pandemic when Wisconsin was on "lock down." However with thousands more people discovering the public green spaces for the first time, my freedom to visit some of my favorite bird haunts came under threat during April. The pigs in our state vandalized, littered and invaded certain parks to a degree where safety and public health were at risk. Hence several state parks and green spaces were closed indefinitely starting in April. This is included my beloved "gorge." This hidden gem had never seen the crowds that threatened public health. Yet it fell under some blanket order of being closed likely due to its proximity to the more densely populated Madison. On the day before its closure, I rushed out to visit this gem one last time. The closure forced me to miss the unfolding of spring ephemerals in the gorge. My plans to boost my species list for this haunt were squashed for 2020. And as time passed within this cluster fuck of pandemic, I let go of planning. I let go of my imaginary battles for control. 

Mid-April I found an American Bittern at one of my other favorite bird haunts, an ephemerally flooded area of Black Earth Creek on the west side of Middleton (now formally known as Black Earth Creek Headwaters since Dane Co acquired significant acreage to expand this natural area). Following my move to Madison in 2017, this place quickly became one of my go-to patch spots for waterfowl and shorebirds. I was particularly fond of going here because few birders visited this site. In fact, I had never crossed paths with any birders during my many visits. Well that changed when I eBirded the American Bittern. Though not rare, it somehow became a chase bird for over a dozen birders. And now the cat was out of the bag about this worthy bird haunt. I no longer had the place to myself...

Pine Warbler, Ice Age Complex Cross Plains, Dane Co WI, 19April20

As you can imagine, my first warbler of the year was Yellow-rumped. I added my second warbler species, Pine shortly thereafter. My favorite pandemic Pine Warbler encounter was my yard lifer that visited my feeders to snack on the peanut suet for 6 days.

Pine Warbler, Bittersweet home, Madison, WI 23April20

The last day of April ushered in my third warbler species, Northern Waterthrush along with a handful of migrants including this stunning Scarlet Tanager. 

Scarlet Tanager, Pheasant Branch Conservancy, Dane Co, WI 30April20 

Once again, April closed sans any impressive warbler push. However Nature delivered in awe-inspiring ways nonetheless. 

Searching for a rarity among the gulls and lapland longspurs. Dane Co, WI 20Apr20

APRIL STATS

Pandemic Life List Species: 132
Pandemic Warbler Count: 3
Pandemic Owl Count: 3
Favorite Bird Sighting: Breeding plumaged Ruff (4/27)
Notables: Patch lifer Cinnamon Teal (4/18). Dane County lifers, Yellow Rail (4/25), Cattle Egret (4/23). 

Under the Pandemic: March 2020

Well here we are in this new fucked up normal of pandemic living with COVID-19 aka SARS-CoV-2. Rewind back to spring eeeeaaarly spring where once again my blogging fell off the precipice...

March rolled in with COVID-19 on everyone's radar despite efforts by the American government to conceal its threat to our nation.  The gravity of what would eventually become a pandemic was far from tangible in those early days. For many the COVID threat felt like something our great nation would insulate us from as it had with a myriad of diseases in the past when we were led with competence...Fat chance with the Orange Clown in charge.

The morning of March 1st I had fallen once again and required a trip to urgent care. I recall feeling a heightened sense of unease about sitting among several patients who clearly had influenza-type symptoms. Whatever was happening in that waiting room, I wanted none of the droplets being dispersed. At the time I was experiencing less the COVID fears and more the influenza and seasonal cold fears. But as the week progressed the gravity of COVID 19 began to reveal itself. The rest of the population was beginning to catch on to hand hygiene and proper cough etiquette, something I have excelled at for years living as a pseudo hypochondriac. Behaviors were beginning to change...little by little.

March 9th I saw Wilco at a newer venue in Madison, WI, the Sylvee. There was a slight sense of risk felt among myself and my LongTable friends attending this concert. We shared drinks a the Vintage pre-concert. I mean we literally shared beer glasses, sampling each other's beers as we had so many times before.

I set caution to the wind as did hundreds of other fans at an incredible venue I had wished I had experienced much sooner. Jeff Tweedy half-jokingly remarked mid set, "“The CDC says you probably shouldn’t be here...just sayin’" Two days later the WHO declared a pandemic and life as we know it changed dramatically.

By mid-March the LongTable had voluntarily closed out of an abundance of caution for their staff. March 24th began the Safer at Home orders aka lock down for Wisconsin from which we are now dangerously emerging. March 2020 gave new meaning to March Madness. Panic buying of disinfectant, toilet paper, masks, meat etc was unleashed as American society descended into lock down...

Eastern Screech-owl, female, Monona, WI March 2020

When I think back to the onset of the pandemic and what I have framed as pandemic birding, I remember these owls quite fondly.

Eastern Screech-owl, Male, Monona, WI March 2020

The beginning of pandemic birding was marked by my discovery of a pair of Eastern Screech-owls adjacent to Lake Monona where I was birding the eve of March 15. Lake Monona was still partially frozen. I found a spot to bird near the edge of the receding lake ice where a diverse mecca of waterfowl had gathered. I ticked off many FOYs for my 7.5 mile radius birding patch that eve.

As I was preparing to leave for home, I detected the subtle trill of a screech-owl that had landed mere feet above me in the fading light. I sighted him when he flew across the road to reveal his tree cavity, then back to his perch. Shortly after he flew to his mate and I witnessed copulation. Even cooler was the fact that the male was a gray phase and the female a red phase.

I returned to the site for looks at the tree cavity the first day schools were closed due to the pandemic. Clearly, the purpose of the school closure was lost on the inhabitants of the house adjacent to where I was birding. HELLO?! The point was to isolate and stop the spread! Yet somehow school closure had translated to a play date with two moms and children from separate family units making tons of noise while the female snoozed in the afternoon sun. The ignorance of those moms was the first of hundreds of SMH moments I've endured during this plague and my first encounter with Covidiots.

The remainder of March was anti-climactic following the owls. After all March is much about waterfowl, my least favorite class of birds. Still nature delivered her splendor in other ways, like the many icicles clinging for dear life beneath the rock out-croppings in the driftless portion of western Dane. March came after their existence just like COVID is coming after all of us. It is still out there, thriving, threatening to invade your organs and unleash an anti-coagulant nightmare, a cytokine storm, on you and all that you hold dear. You may have forgotten about COVID. But it has not forgotten about you. So go on America and throw down your masks. Your ego centrism is ugly and quite deadly.

STATS

Pandemic Life List Species: 77
Pandemic Warbler Count: 0
Pandemic Owl Count: 3
Favorite Bird Sighting: Pair of Eastern Screech-owls
Notables: Patch lifer Eurasian Collared-dove