[wisb] Northwoods trip report (long)
- From: Peter Fissel <pfissel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: Wisconsin Birding Network <wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 18 Jan 2010 23:09:44 -0600
Hi All -
A group of Madison-area birders went on a long weekend birding trip "Up North".
We based out of Rhinelander, due to the snowmobile races in Eagle River (this
was Championship weekend.) On our way up Friday, after cruising Buena Vista
and seeing little besides a few Lapland Longspurs and a Belted Kingfisher, we
stopped at Merrill and had outstanding looks at the male Varied Thrush at the
Martins' house. What wonderful people! It was hard to tear ourselves away
from their hospitality and great feeder setup. When we got to Rhinelander, we
went straight to Nicolet Tech College and staked out the entrance crabapple
trees for a while, but only saw a few BC Chickadees. We also tried the
neighborhood a couple of miles due north, around the old hospital, per Nancy
Richmond's recommendation, but struck out there, too. After a similarly
unsuccessful attempt at the N. Hawk Owl north of town, we decided to call it a
day.
The next morning, we headed for Three Lakes via County A, checking for birds
along the road and bog, but all was quiet. After a brief check of feeders in
Three Lakes and a coffee stop, we headed for Sheltered Valley Rd. At one of
our first stops we had a flock of Pine Siskins, and at another, White-winged
Crossbills. We actually had very good luck with winter finches on the trip,
despite the dire forecasts. After flushing a couple of Ruffed Grouse out of a
tree on Giant Pine Rd., we headed for the Pine River bridge, which was quiet.
A run up to Alvin was also unsuccessful, and Scott Lake Rd. was quiet until our
last stop in the afternoon, when we picked up Red Crossbills. Despite the
relative lack of birds, it was a gorgeous day to be out on the National Forest
roads.
Sunday was a similarly gorgeous, sunny day. We got up early and made haste up
to Fire Lane Rd. north of Conover, where I am pleased to say I finally saw a
pair of Spruce Grouse. They flushed off the road and landed up in the spruces,
staying put as we slowly got closer. After a few minutes (and many photos
taken,) they got used to us and went back to feeding on spruce needles. We
left them to breakfast and drove the rest of the road, but didn't see anything
new. (We did, however, linger for a while at my absolute favorite spot in the
Northwoods - the Haymeadow Creek crossing on FR 2205. Stunning in the early
morning sunlight...) A second trip to Alvin produced a single male Evening
Grosbeak at the first house coming in on the north side of town (no Catbird,)
and a flock of perhaps a dozen more at the house up the hill to the west. Only
other finches there were Am. Goldfinches.
Pumped up, we headed down Military Rd. off Hwy 70, seeing a few more Red
Crossbills at one of the stream crossings, before heading back to Rhinelander
via County A. Disaster nearly ensued as I attempted to do a U-turn just west
of the Old A Bog to see what the other guys were looking at behind us. The
front wheel of my car got caught in the snow and pulled us down halfway off the
road. I radioed Pat Ready who came and managed to pull me out with his van -
that tow strap I bought after the last time I put my car in a snow-filled ditch
while birding really paid off!
After another unsuccessful Nicolet Tech stakeout (although we had a quick look
at a waxwing sp. flitting away from the top of a tall tree across the road,) we
tried the old hospital neighborhood again. There was a Sharp-shinned Hawk near
the hospital, which didn't bode well for waxwings, so we headed back over to
Sheltered Valley Rd. It was getting to be pretty late, but I wanted to at
least go as far as the Pine River bridge, which was very quiet again. Almost
everyone had gotten back in the cars, but Mark Hodgson spotted a woodpecker
flying over that he was certain was a Black-backed. We all got back out and
scanned the clearing. No woodpecker, but someone spotted a small flock of
birds flying towards us, which I was sure were Pine Grosbeaks. I pished like a
madman, and they landed in a few trees way across the clearing. We got the
scopes on them and were able to confirm the ID.
Today was cloudy to start. We once again staked out the Nicolet Tech entrance
and cruised the old hospital neighborhood without seeing any waxwings, so
headed back over to Three Lakes. Sheltered Valley Rd. was also very quiet,
although we once again had a close encounter with a probable Black-backed WP at
the Pine River bridge. We had just gotten out of the cars when Mark spotted a
bird in the woods next to the parking lot. I had a glimpse of the silhouette -
slightly larger and chunkier than a Hairy WP. Unfortunately, we never got a
good look at it, and nothing responded to recordings. A cruise down Giant Pine
Rd. netted us another WW Crossbill and, on the Giant Pine Trail, a big active
flock of Chickadees - unfortunately, all Black-capped.
After lunch in Three Lakes, we made one more pass by the Hawk Owl spot and
decided to try Nicolet Tech one last time before heading home. After a while,
I was just about to radio the other car to see if they wanted to give up when I
spotted two birds flying in towards the crabapples. They were clearly larger
and grayer than Cedar Waxwings, and Mark saw the cinnamon undertail as they
banked around and flew right past the cars. Not the best look at a life bird,
but good enough! We happily headed back to Madison, stopping briefly at Buena
Vista (Snow Buntings and a flyby Rough-leg were it for birds.)
All in all, it was a very good trip. Weather was fantastic for mid-January,
and despite missing Gray Jays, Boreal Chickadees and Black-backed WP (except
Mark,) we saw most of our hoped-for species. I personally picked up three
lifers (Varied Thrush, Spruce Grouse and the Bohemians,) and we did very well
on finches - both grosbeaks, both Crossbills, and Pine Siskins. No Redpolls,
but you can't have everything.
Peter Fissel
Madison, WI
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