Since I was in Hartford today, I decided I might as well take the long way home
and come back to Madison via Horicon Marsh. After so many years of stopping
there nearly weekly on my way to and from Oshkosh to visit my folks, I don't
get there very often anymore now that they're gone.
Since this was the fifth anniversary of a notable birding event for me, I
decided to stop at the Education Center on Hwy 28 first. Imagine my surprise
when one of the Cormorants in the big dead tree out in the marsh appeared to be
smaller than the others. Naw, it couldn't possibly be... But no matter how
hard I tried, I could not turn it into a Neotropic. A guy can hope to get
lucky twice.
I drove out on Dike Rd., I believe for the first time this year. I haven't
been missing anything. There is essentially no open water visible, except the
small areas on either side of the dike by the water control structure and the
small pond east of that. Otherwise, the entire dike is lined with cattails
(plus phragmites in spots, not to mention increasing wild parsnip along the
roadway. Sigh...)
Ledge Rd. is actually much better - they've even chip-sealed the problematic
downhill stretch that used to wash out regularly. There are large areas where
visibility is good, and even a drawn-down area out towards the end that could
potentially draw shorebirds if the vegetation doesn't get too high. I flushed
an American Bittern from right next to the road farther east.
The Bud Cook hiking area was fairly quiet, but it was mid-afternoon. The area
on the west side of W. Point Rd. is also being taken over by wild parsnip,
unfortunately. I heard almost no birds on that side. I did hear a
Clay-colored Sparrow and a couple of Sedge Wrens on the east side.
On Hwy 49, there were a number of Great Egrets just east of the pumphouse, but
I couldn't turn any of them into Snowies. It was entertaining to watch the
Black and Forster's Terns fishing. I did fear for their safety at times, as
they occasionally flew pretty low across the highway. Not much on the big
pools west of there. I took a quick spin on the Auto Loop, but didn't see or
hear much in the heat of the afternoon. I stopped to check the drawn-down
impoundment by the boardwalk, but the vegetation is very high now, so no
shorebird habitat except for a small area over by the Old Marsh Rd. There were
several more Great Egrets in the last pond on the Loop.
Peter Fissel
Madison, WI
####################
You received this email because you are subscribed to the Wisconsin Birding
Network (Wisbirdn).
To UNSUBSCRIBE or SUBSCRIBE, use the Wisbirdn web interface at:
//www.freelists.org/list/wisbirdn
To set DIGEST or VACATION modes, use the Wisbirdn web interface at:
//www.freelists.org/list/wisbirdn
Visit Wisbirdn ARCHIVES at: //www.freelists.org/archives/wisbirdn
