Entries Tagged 'Birding Wisconsin' ↓

We finally had a chance to make a quick day trip to Horicon Marsh, one of Wisconsin’s premiere birding locations and a place Roger Tory Peterson included in his top 12 places to bird. Having made over a dozen trips here, RTP was definitely correct.

Horicon Marsh

Horicon is a great place for birders of every level as nearly any road or trail you take is teeming with birds. Every few minutes a cool bird flies by, often low enough to be enjoyed even without binoculars. Of course, scopes come in handy in some of the places and a watchful eye is needed to find some of the marsh birds.

And sometimes they just walk out in front of you…like this Sora (our favorite rail)

The other common rail of Horicon is the Virginia Rail. Unfortunately, the one we found wanted nothing to do with us and quickly fluttered out of view and deep into the marsh.

A summer trip to the marsh is not complete unless you are treated to the rattle of the spunky little Marsh Wren.

Other fun birds that provided ongoing entertainment were two species of terns. Horicon is loaded with Forster’s and Black Terns and we found some of each.

Forster’s Tern shortly after a successful dive for food

Black Tern floating gracefully by

Horicon Marsh is definitely one of the best places to not only bird but photograph birds, especially those in flight. Your sight lines are pretty much 360 degrees so the only difficulty is knowing which way to look to catch that next bird.

Black-crowned Night-heron

Devil’s Lake State Park near Baraboo, Wisconsin is the most visited in the state, and may very well be the most gorgeous. The best views require a rough hike that gains large amounts of elevation in a fairly short stretch. Perhaps it isn’t the lake that is the Devil’s, but the trails.

By the time we reached the top, dripping of sweat and trying to catch our breath, we were rewarded with a blood-red Scarlet Tanager, serenading us (or telling us to leave his hilltop).

Scarlet Tanager

In a momentary lapse of proper birding judgment mixed with hopefulness, we mistook a overzealous Chipping Sparrow for our long sought-after Worm-eating Warbler (can you say nemesis bird?). This diabolical sparrow was probably laughing the entire time as we descended the rocky hills.

Despite Devil’s Lake being extremely popular and a bit evil, the views will take your breath away (or what’s left after reaching the top).

American Crow

Yeah…it was steep

Nestled in the Baraboo Hills in south-central Wisconsin is a magical place called Baxter’s Hollow. Owned by the Nature Conservancy, this wooded creek corridor is not what many expect to find in Wisconsin. The rocky, rough terrain, rushing water, and the wildlife all feel either western or northern, not exactly midwestern.

Singing Ovenbird

This spectacular setting provides for a wonderful birding experience. While we were searching for Worm-eating Warblers (none found), the constant chant of Ovenbirds and Acadian Flycatchers accompanied us throughout our trek.

Heavy rainfall had had its toll on the road, making it impassable near the start. However, we were able to hike along the road, which hugs Otter Creek, and see or hear a wonderful array of birds.

We were even delighted to hear the ongoing sound of a Winter Wren, its tinkling song echoing off the rocks and trees.

Baxter’s Hollow is the largest of the Nature Conservancy’s preserves in Wisconsin, over five thousand acres to explore and enjoy.

When most people think of Horicon Marsh, they think of geese. Canada Geese (along with Snow, Cackling and others) use Horicon’s massive marshland and surrounding farm fields as a stopover during migration. Thousands of these honking beauties can be seen and the sight of long strings and “V’s” of geese is truly amazing.

No, that’s not dirt on your screen but hundreds of Canada Geese

Continue reading →

The Birdfreak Team loves Horicon Marsh. This bird haven found in central Wisconsin northeast of Madison, is a great place to find a wide assortment of marsh birds. Roger Tory Peterson named Horicon one of his top twelve places to bird.

There are several great Websites that promote Horicon Marsh.

Enjoy Horicon Marsh is a site that focuses on many events going on around Horicon Marsh and of course includes the wonderful birding opportunities.

We are excited because our photos are featured on their homepage!!

Another wonderful site is one we just recently discovered, Horicon Marsh International Educational Center. This site focuses on promoting Horicon Marsh’s new educational center and the wonderful programs the Friends of Horicon Marsh are working on.

The Horicon Marsh Bird Club has checklists and information about their birding trips and events, including birding festivals. We’ve attended festivals at Horicon and have always had great times.

July is also a great time to bird at Horicon Marsh as young birds are mixing with migrants and the weather is usually wonderful!

If you haven’t visited Horicon, we suggest you do sometime. The birding is great any time of the year!

While visiting relatives in northern Wisconsin, we always travel out to some of the many lakes up there. One was Newman Lake in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. The lake was lower than we have ever seen, but there were four Common Loons hanging out. We also saw two Belted Kingfishers, and Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers.

Newman Lake

Along the road we spied two Ruffed Grouse and one actually allowed me to take a picture!

Ruffed Grouse

We also visited Smith Lake County Park in Park Falls, Wisconsin where we saw a Common Loon, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, a Chestnut-sided Warbler, a Yellow-rumped Warbler, a Swamp Sparrow, and two Ruby-throated Hummingbirds.

Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers

Another place we checked out was Round Lake. There is an old logging dam from the late 1800s there that was restored. This dam was one of around 100 that moved pines to sawmills in the Chippewa River Valley of Wisconsin. It is also the beginning of the north fork of the Flambeau River and where we spotted a Great Blue Heron fishing.

Great Blue Heron

As we passed fields on our way up north we kept a Sandhill Crane count. Our final count was 10, two of them right in Park Falls, Wisconsin.

Sandhill Crane

There are probably more lakes than people in northern Wisconsin, but we always seem to find plenty of birds. It is hard to leave.

White-tail Deer

Lake Wabasso - Northern Wisconsin