Molting Tree Swallows Along the Boardwalk
September 21, 2010
Article in: Birding
The following molting Tree Swallows were photographed along the famous “floating boardwalk” at Horicon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge. The trail can be found along the refuge auto tour loop and is a must for every visit to the marsh.
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.
Battle of the Redheads
June 4, 2009
Article in: Birding
Our recent trip to Horicon Marsh NWR yielded an interesting squabble between a pair of Redheads. The battle was captured with our Swarovski Digiscoping rig.
Did you notice the male Mallard looking on to the left?
Smitten With Bitterns
May 20, 2009
Article in: Birding
The following is a series of photos of a most photogenic American Bittern. We visited Horicon Marsh NWR in central Wisconsin and while driving along one of the dike roads (Main Dike Road) we discovered (among MANY) bitterns, this one right next to the road. We were able to stand as close as 5 feet from him and Dakota and Birdfreak fired away close to 500 photos. Please enjoy a few of them!!
Sequence of nabbing prey
The morsel slips on to the bill and away!
Big feet help when you live in a marsh
Classic “Bittern Stretch”
Ultimate camouflage
Five to seven feet away from one way cool bird!
We have much more to report on from our wonderful visit to Horicon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge including a full review of the Audubon Inn, our night’s retreat after a full day of windy birding.
Horicon Marsh De-Rail-ment
August 18, 2008
Article in: Birding
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
