I led the two Sunday morning walks from the Education Center as part of the
Horicon Bird Festival today. Things were rather slow out on Indermuhl Island,
with only about 7 species of warblers and fewer than 60 species overall on each
walk. Best bird was probably the Semipalmated Plover in the same spot on a
mudflat on both walks. The second one wrapped up at 11:30, so after eating
lunch, I birded the marsh on my own for a couple hours. I had taken a look at
the "big board" master list for the Festival and noticed that not a lot of
notable species had been seen so far, and that was also my experience. I did
pick up a few FOYs, such as Dunlin and Black-bellied Plover in a flooded field
on W. Point Rd., and Common Gallinule at the "Stilt Spot" on Hwy 49 west of the
historical marker. (Counted around two dozen Black-necked Stilts there, by the
way.) Only real warbler wave was in the little clump of trees 2/3s of the way
out on Ledge Rd. Among all the Yellow-rumps were single Cape May,
Bay-breasted, and Tennessee.
On the way home, I took a swing past the Breezy Point and Jersey Rd. flooded
fields north of Beaver Dam - zilch. Didn't see any shorebirds at the County A
on-ramp to 151, either. I stopped at Mud Lake Wildlife Area in Columbia Co. to
see if there was activity along the water-filled ditch along Tollefson Rd., and
there was. Not like a few years ago when there was a midge hatch, but there
were enough insects to draw some flycatching warblers. Had multiple Magnolias,
Redstarts, Yellows and Common Yellowthroats, plus single Wilson's,
Chestnut-sided and No. Waterthrush along the ditch, plus Black-throated Green
and Blackpoll in the woods on the other side of the road. It was getting late
and I was getting hungry, so I called it a day and didn't check any other spots
up there or on the way back to Madison.
Peter Fissel
Madison, Dane Co.
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