One species, one week at a time.
This weekly blog series focuses on a bird species, project, or event that is timely, interesting, and fun! The write-ups alternate between Fair Meadows, Faville Grove, and Goose Pond Sanctuary authors or special guests. Peruse the most recent features below.
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The 30 most recent Friday Feathered features
I’m enjoying my morning coffee when suddenly, there’s the arrival of a large, bright rufous bird with an impressive down-curved beak, long tail, and emphatic spots (streaks) on the breast—a Brown Thrasher!
Photo by Kelly Colgan Azar
The Great Wisconsin Birdathon is run by the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin to raise funds for bird conservation across the state. Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance’s team, the Flockadelics, participated on May 1.
Photo by Carolyn Byers/SoWBA
Many bird watchers look forward to the annual crane count coordinated by the International Crane Foundation. This year, it was held on April 13.
Photo by Gary Shackelford
At Faville Grove Sanctuary, American White Pelicans announce their return from southern coastal waters in large flashes of white above the Crawfish River.
Photo by Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren
This prairie version of a suburban rain garden or a woodland vernal pool is a valuable food resource for both migrating and resident birds.
Photo by Gary Shackelford
Ring-necked Ducks (Aythya collaris) are named for a chestnut ring encircling the necks of the drakes, but it is faint and can only be seen at close range or with a bird in hand.
Photo by Gary Shackelford
Vociferous by nature and by scientific name (Charadrius vociferus) the Killdeer gets its common name from the sound of its shrill, far-carrying cry as it circles in flight.
Photo by Gary Shackelford
Leucism is a condition caused by a genetic mutation that results in the loss of all types of pigmentation—the affected areas can be either entirely white or a pale, washed out shade of the expected coloration.
Photo by Gary Shackelford
The Gray Partridge (Perdix perdix) is a game bird in the pheasant family. Perdix is Latin for partridge. They were introduced into North America in the early 1900s from Hungary and Czechoslovakia.
Photo via Pixabay
now is a great time to be on the lookout for the intriguing display of the American Woodcock, whose migration back from the gulf states in the coming month or so marks a classic rite of spring.
Photo by Peter Rea/USFWS Midwest
For the past ten years, our first sight and sound of Sandhill Cranes at Fair Meadows has been a gentle unison call and the graceful glide of a pair descending into the sedge meadow south of our house.
Photo by Gary Shackelford
Mid-January, I was lucky enough to take a trip to Costa Rica with my family. Found there is one Earth’s most critically important ecosystems—the mangrove forest.
Photo by Arlene Koziol
Although American Robins have a well-known reputation as harbingers of spring, populations can be found throughout the northern continental U.S. in winter, including Wisconsin.
Photo by Gary Shackelford
Ring-necked Pheasants are a nonnative species brought to Wisconsin in 1916 as a game bird. Management at Goose Pond has primarily focused on the restoration of native habitat to support native species, though pheasants also benefit from these practices.
Photo by Ralph Russo
This week, I’d like to focus on a species observed by our other Christmas Bird Count group, a bird who always looks like it just lost a bar fight: the Red Crossbill.
Photo via Pixabay.
This year we prepared for the first-ever Christmas Bird Count (CBC) at Fair Meadows Sanctuary, after we recently learned that we were not part of any of the official National Audubon CBC circles.
Photo by Gary Shackelford
From mugs to sweaters and holiday cards, the striking red of the male Northern Cardinal can be spotted more times in my grandma’s living room than at my bird feeders.
Photo by Arlene Koziol
We were looking for a bird who may usually only be seen in Wisconsin in the winter, and who exhibits brutal behaviors for a small songbird. Soon one was spotted perching atop a tangle of shrubbery—the Northern Shrike.
Photo by Mick Thompson
Each December, birders come together for the longest-running citizen science project in the US: the Christmas Bird Count. In the Madison-area, the count is coordinated by our organization, and put on with help from around 200 volunteers each year.
Photo by Kelly Colgan Azar
Then, in a small clump of willows just off the trail, we spotted another robin-sized bird, but it was light gray and had a bulkier head than a robin. A closer look revealed the black mask and hooked beak of a Northern Shrike.
Photo by Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren
The Goose Pond Sanctuary team shares an update on Jeffrey and Dorothy, two Rough-legged Hawks that staff helped capture and attach transmitters to as part of the Rough-legged Hawk Project.
Photo by Arlene Koziol
An ever dependable sound of winter is the drilling, drumming, and knocking of our industrious non-migratory woodpeckers. Charisma and conspicuousness is a recipe for intrigue, and woodpeckers have these in excess.
Photo by Phil Brown
At Fair Meadows Sanctuary, the Swamp Sparrow is a common migrant and summer resident. The occasional winter birds that I have seen are invariably found feeding on invertebrates in the shallows of a pond that has year-round open water due to brisk upwelling from underground springs.
Photo by Gary Shackelford
This was our 12th year of tagging monarch butterflies and together with partners, staff and volunteers, we have reached a major milestone: tagging 10,445 monarchs since 2012!
Photo by Arlene Koziol
Being from the east (relative to Oregon), any opportunity to hear or see a North American owl is exciting, barred or otherwise. However, this is not the case out west, where the Barred Owl is reviled as an invasive species.
Photo by Phil Brown
As summer progresses, the sounds of insects begin to fill the void created by the waning of the calls of our resident birds, but there is still lots of avian activity at Fair Meadows. In late summer I look forward to the arrival of migrating sparrows.
Photo by Gary Shackelford
Despite their difficult-to-describe song, White-crowned Sparrows are one of easier sparrows to identify by sight. As their name suggests, these sparrows sport crisp white stripes on the crowns of their heads.
Photo by Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren
We’re in full-swing of fall seed collection, and goldfinches are in full-swing of fall seed eating. We frequently find ourselves crossing paths with them in our search for native seed, and the goldfinch often wins out.
Photo by Mick Thompson
Above the swallows and dragonflies, about 100 to 200 feet above the prairie, I observed about 60 birds flapping, gliding, then changing directions suddenly. Their wings were longer and pointed, with white patches—Common Nighthawks!
Photo by Gary Shackelford
Banner photo: Eastern Wood Pewee, photo by Arlene Koziol
We’ve been observing the changing winter residents at Goose Pond Sanctuary and Mark and Sue’s cabin in Rio (Wildland LLC) for 23 years. We can expect to find a few familiar faces each year; however, the numbers of those expected winter residents may change, and we also may get a few surprises.
Photo by Eric Begin