During the night, early spring migratory birds continued to push northward into southern Wisconsin. When NexRad really begins to ignite, I'll try to remember to post a few animated maps that illustrate what evening exodus looks like. So, after a visit with the barber this morning, I headed off to the Pheasant Branch stream corridor. Upon arrival, I found the east trail access blocked by high water from all the rain we got yesterday. It's simply too dangerous to cross, so I headed down the west trail.
The corridor was filled with jubilant trills of Dark-eyed Juncos punctuated by occasional melodious Fox Sparrow songs. Adding to the exquisite spring choir were Northern Cardinals, Song Sparrows, and American Robins. Surrounded by busy Brown Creepers, hyper Golden-crowned Kinglets, and stationary Cedar Waxwings on the perch, we've entered the stage of birding season those that can identify birds by ear simply love. Further down the trail I found a slightly skittish Eastern Phoebe near the first bridge. A short distance past the bridge, I found my first Hermit Thrush of the year. The amount of bird activity was wonderful to behold, but I was running out of time. I checked my watch - my hour of birding was over for another day.
Location: Pheasant Branch
Observation date: 3/25/09
Number of species: 30
Wood Duck
Mallard
Killdeer
Mourning Dove
Barred Owl
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Eastern Phoebe
Blue Jay
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Carolina Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
House Finch
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
Hermit Thrush © Mike McDowell
