A bunch of Madison birders went on an expedition to points west today. We
swung through Mt. Horeb to pick up Peter Gorman, then headed down County F
south of Blue Mounds to Thomson Prairie. As we approached the recently-burned
section, Jim Otto spotted an Upland Sandpiper sitting on top of one of the rock
piles. Then we heard another, and saw another, and eventually were up to at
least seven Uppies, which displayed and called quite a bit. They were
especially visible because of the burn. Lots of Eastern Meadowlarks there,
too, but almost no sparrows, even on the other side of the road. A brief check
of the A-Z Unit off Arneson Rd. got us a heard-only Vesper Sparrow, but not
much else.
After a rest stop in Dodgeville, we headed for Gov. Dodge State Park. Our
first stop was the Stephens Falls and Lost Canyon Trail. We heard E. Towhee,
and were entertained by a very vocal Winter Wren and Louisiana Waterthrush,
both of which seemed to be trying to outdo each other. The wren in particular
was very cooperative in posing for photos. I'm sure Chuck got some good ones.
The wildflowers were also very nice.
Peter G had to head back home at that point, but the rest of us carried on. We
spotted a Brown Thrasher on the edge of the burned prairie by the Falls parking
area. Twin Valley Lake was pretty quiet, so we headed for Cox Hollow. While
on the paved trail below the dam, we watched at least three Broad-winged Hawks
riding thermals and then hitting a wind current which shot them off in a hurry.
We headed north on Hwy 23 and stopped at the boat landing on the Wisconsin
River to view the Cliff Swallows going in and out of the numerous nests under
the bridge. There were some other swallows across the river near the rock
banks that we suspected were Rough-wings, but they were a little too far off.
After a bite of lunch in Spring Green, we headed for Bakken's Pond. The
parking area by the main sign off Kennedy Rd. was productive, with a very vocal
Pine Warbler and a few Yellow-rumps actively flycatching near the dike. There
were also vocal Ruby-crowned Kinglets and a Swamp Sparrow, plus for-sure
Rough-winged Swallows. At the next parking area to the west, we were delighted
to hear a Sora whinny and call several times. There weren't many ducks besides
a few common dabblers, but the hundreds of Coots were occasionally stirred up
by an immature Bald Eagle.
A brief stop at Spring Green Preserve (east unit) didn't yield many birds, and
nothing new for the day, but it was nice to see all the Olympia Marble
butterflies flitting around nectaring on wildflowers. Our last stop was the
Arena Boat Landing. I was happy to finally get my first-of-year Belted
Kingfisher by the bridge. Hard to believe it took until mid-April. We heard a
series of piercing calls east of the bridge, but we didn't think they sounded
right for a Red-shouldered Hawk. I finally spotted a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
flying across the creek. It landed in a tree and we heard the calls again from
that direction, which explained it. We never did get a Red-shoulder, although
we had a couple more Bald Eagles down by the river.
It was a great day with good company and some nice birds.
Peter Fissel
Madison, Dane Co.
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