[wisb] Baxter's Hollow (Sauk Co.) Saturday

From: Peter Fissel <pfissel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: Wisconsin Birding Network <wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 05 Jun 2011 08:08:37 -0500
Now that we seem to be back online (we may have to get used to intermittent 
outages as Freelists.org rebuilds their infrastructure...) 
 

Too much "sleep debt" from the Jackson County expedition the other night to get 
an early start this morning, so I decided to head for Baxter's Hollow and wait 
for the Devil's Lake group to show up once they were done there.  As has been 
mentioned, Stone's Pocket Rd. is blocked off right after the driveway to the 
house down at the mouth of the hollow, so it's a long hike.  Given the severity 
of the road damage before the first bridge, I can see why.  Additionally, there 
was a large tree down across the road past the bridge, which requires some 
agility to go under/over (unless you want to wade up the creek.)   The road is 
also washing away up by the second bridge, so I don't have much hope that 
they'll repair the damage this time.
 
I heard a lot more birds than I saw - Acadian and Least Flycatchers, Cerulean 
and Blue-winged Warblers, Scarlet Tanagers, Veeries and Wood Thrushes.  I did 
see a Canada Warbler in the thicket up by the clearing past the parking 
turnout, and a Winter Wren was singing from across the creek there.  I had a 
very likely Worm-eating Warbler trilling before the first bridge, but despite 
two extended periods of intense observation, could not catch a glimpse of the 
singer, so it remains unchecked on my state list.  (This was as close as I've 
ever come to counting it, but then I heard a Chipping Sparrow doing exactly the 
same trill from the tall cedars down the road.  Sigh...)  My most intriguing 
bird was a DARK-EYED JUNCO hanging out with two Chipping Sparrows on the road 
up near the second bridge - what was he still doing there?   Also saw a deer on 
the road up in that stretch, and the butterflies were amazing.  Eastern Tiger 
and Giant Swallowtails all along the lower part of the roa
 d.
 
After the Madison Audubon group left, I decided to poke around at the Lodi 
Marsh Wildlife Area for a bit.  The trail off the first parking area on Riddle 
Rd. southwest of Lodi was too soft, so I headed down to the Ice Age Trail 
parking lot (which is in Dane County.)  Had a nice variety of shrub/savannah 
birds there - the trail to the west seems to have some good potential for 
rarities.  Bell's Vireo, YB Chat, Mockingbird, Blue Grosbeak all seem possible 
there.  I had a Catbird that was doing some interesting extended single call 
series, much like a Mockingbird, but it was slower and more hesitant, and I 
finally spotted it to confirm my suspicion.
 
Quick check of the Harvey/Wangsness "ponds" (which are rapidly becoming mud 
puddles) on the way home was fruitless - two Killdeer was it.  If there isn't 
some good rain this summer, there won't be any shorebirds there in August. 
 
Peter Fissel
Madison, Dane Co.


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[wisb] Baxter's Hollow (Sauk Co.) Saturday

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