Great Egret With a Great Double Catch
September 16, 2010
Article in: Birding
At Horicon Marsh we observed hundreds of Great Egrets. In one view there were more than 20! This Great Egret was deeply concentrating on fishing and successfully made a double catch.
** View larger for more detail **
Horicon Marsh in September
September 13, 2010
Article in: Birding
Horicon Marsh is located in central Wisconsin, NE of Madison, and encompasses over 32,000 acres. In the early 1900s attempts were made to drain the marsh for agriculture. Eventually, farmers realized the land could not be adequately cultivated and thankfully as time went on, restoration projects started and continue to this day to make Horicon Marsh an epic birding locale.
For part of my birthday celebration, Stacia took me to Horicon Marsh to go birding and take photos. Horicon is a supreme place for bird photography because many of the birds are large, somewhat accustomed to human activity, and there are lots of them to find!
Numerous Great Egrets
American White Pelicans
American Coots
Great Egret
Great Blue Heron flying
Great Blue Heron
Pied-billed Grebe
There is plenty of wildlife other than birds at Horicon as well. We found numerous butterflies and other insects, tons of turtles, a chipmunk, and a chubby muskrat.
Muskrat
Painted Turtles
If you’ve never been to Horicon Marsh it is a MUST SEE. We’ve been there over a dozen times and try to go at least once a year.
Heavy Rain + Frogs = Herons
July 17, 2008
Article in: Birding
Starting in late winter, throughout spring, and so far this summer we’ve had lots of rain. Just the other night a heavy thunderstorm dropped 2 inches of rain. The downside to all this rain has been the suspected flooding of local rivers (they don’t call them flood-plains because it sounds neat).
But, the increase of rainfall has meant massive numbers of frogs. We mean LOTS! {Side note: when we say “frogs” we mean “frogs and toads” – sorry, we’re not herpfreaks…yet}
With the abundance of frogs, Great Blue Herons lined up to feast at what must’ve been similar to an all-you-can-eat buffet.
Great Blue Herons (with a Lesser Yellowlegs barely visible)
Not to miss out on the action, a couple of Great Egrets joined the Great Blues for dinner.
Great Egret coming in for a landing with onlookers
With the numerous flooded farm fields (sorry farmers) the upcoming months have the potential to be extra good for shorebird migration.
