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
Nice shots of the Sora! It’s not every day that they are so cooperative…
Wow, so cool. It’s true that the marsh attracts some really neat birds. Unfortunately it also gives them really good cover, too. <:\
Lanas last blog post..Birds in the Rain
Wow, getting photos of the Sora is special. I have only heard them this year, but so far they have managed to stay quite hidden.
Awesome picture of the Sora! And the marsh itself looks like an incredible place to bird. You have one of my favorites there in the Marsh Wren. They are so entertaining.