I was out doing some chores this afternoon on the driveway when I heard the sweet sounds of Sandhill Cranes flying overhead. There were 5 groups up very high. The cranes fly into the wind to gain speed, they soar in thermals, or updrafts of warm air, to reach their … Continue reading
One of my birding stops today provided nice views of 7 Great Blue Herons. 2 were on the nest and the others in the area. These are probably migrating birds that have just arrived from the south. They won’t be wasting anytime once the weather warms up a little to … Continue reading
One of my birding stops today was checking on a previous found Great Horned Owl in a nest. The male is in the area bringing food to the female when needed but stays well away from the nest not to attract predators. The female bird in the nest is up … Continue reading
Today I decided to focus on Great Horned Owls in nests. I had hit 4 locations wandering around the woods with hopes to find one in a nest. It was just a gorgeous morning to be out strolling around the woods with the snow being gone. Things were pretty quiet … Continue reading
It has been very cold with temp highs of 6 degrees. I have been mostly birding from the car and in general birding has been slow out there. Most rivers, ponds and lakes are froze over and winter finches are limited. Roadside birds have been Horned Larks, Red-tailed Hawks and … Continue reading
Driving some of the back roads in Waukesha County this morning I came across a flock of Horned Larks. A common place to find them, but not always, on Kincaid Ln, Dousman, the road going into Paradise Valley WA. There were about 15 of them and they were eating grass … Continue reading
This Eastern Screech Owl, gray morph was a fun one to find today. I’m still in search for more Northern Saw-whet Owls this winter which is what lead me to find this owl today. As I’m walking around some large pines with no branches on the lower 6 feet of … Continue reading
I stopped at a few birding spots this morning and one of them provided nice looks at a Eastern Screech Owl. It was nestled in a very old crab apple tree in a natural cavity. It was out enough to catch some very nice sun. It was a cold morning … Continue reading
One of my birding stops today gave great views of a Eastern Screech Owl. It was perched in a spruce tree along a road. It was enjoying the morning sun on a cold day with temps around 18 degrees, some wind at times but sunny skies that were warm at … Continue reading
I stopped at a few birding spots this morning that would be either short walks or birding from the car as it was so cold. An American Bald Eagle gave distant views along the Fox River downtown Waukesha. I also thought I would check on a Northern Saw-whet Owl that … Continue reading
The idea was to find some Long-eared owls in the snow and that happened. We had a light dusting of snow over night so conditions seemed right and it was. There were 4 that perched still for a couple of photos. They are beautiful birds! Snow was light with temps … Continue reading
One of my birding stops today produced nice looks of a Eastern Screech Owl in a natural nest cavity in Milwaukee County. It is that time of the year where owls are seen sitting in the hole of a natural cavity enjoying some sun on a cold day. It was … Continue reading
Albino squirrels are not common at all so I took advantage of getting some images of this one I found in Waukesha County today. The cute albino squirrel hung out in the tree for a few minutes and then it seemed like it was going to sleep so I … Continue reading
With birding a little slow yet I decided to try for the elusive Northern Saw-whet Owl again today. I had a few places in mind that I felt had some potential. I left early for this trip and got to my cold destination. It has been a crazy year finding … Continue reading
One of my birding stops today gave nice looks at a couple of Long-eared Owls. A couple of shots and off I went. It was a cold day with temps around 23 degrees, with mostly cloudy skies and a pretty good breeze with that, January weather for sure. Images were … Continue reading
I have put together a collection of some of the Wisconsin birding moments from the year 2024. The collection includes vagrants, special visitors, or just the beautiful birds that nest here or migrate through the state of Wisconsin. All images were taken in 2024. It was a very exciting year … Continue reading
A stop at the Fox River this morning had a good looking Hooded Merganser, this male put on a great show. There was a female in the area but did not come around for the photo shoot. This river will freeze up in a few days with the very cold … Continue reading
Mega Rarity! Door County has produced another unbelievable bird, a White Wagtail! A bird that’s normal range is Asia, Europe and some of Africa. There have been a few other sightings in the US but spread out over very many years. 1st state record for Wisconsin! The bird was seen … Continue reading
I typically stop at the Fox River in Waukesha for a birding stop in winter months and this morning there were a very large number of Canada Geese. The most I have seen this winter 500-600, they were the length of the river in town, bridge to bridge. I took … Continue reading
One of my birding stops today was at the Fox River in Waukesha near Frame Park. A Hooded Merganser that is a young male was present. It put on a nice show hanging out with Mallard ducks, it seemed to fit right in with them. It was a mostly cloudy … Continue reading
