Yesterday morning I guided two people around Sax-Zim Bog. We arrived within the bog shortly after 5am, and wow... what a rush of Spring Peepers. As the day progressed, there were many Chorus Frogs vocalizing! The day was an absolute blast, with many birds throughout the thick reaches of the woods and edges of the trees. Ruby-crowned Kinglets were all over. The year-round Black-billed Magpies were seen, and I found my first-of-the-year (for the northwoods) BROWN THRASHER, CLAY-COLORED SPARROW and SAVANNAH SPARROW.
The link below contains pictures from visiting Sax-Zim this spring. The newest photos from yesterday start on the image of the Wilson's Snipe. I was able to get a sequence of photos of a Wilson's Snipe winnowing in the sky (with the outer tail-feathers exposed). I hope you enjoy the pictures! http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/saxzim_bog_birding_trips__spring_2012 Below is my eBird list of birds seen while out in the bog yesterday. Canada Goose 4 Trumpeter/Tundra Swan 2 Two fly-by white swans, no vocalizations. Wood Duck 5 Mallard 6 Green-winged Teal 2 Ring-necked Duck 5 Ruffed Grouse 5 Common Loon 1 American Bittern 1 Great Blue Heron 1 Turkey Vulture 3 Bald Eagle 1 Northern Harrier 5 Red-tailed Hawk 1 American Kestrel 6 Sandhill Crane 4 Killdeer 2 Wilson's Snipe 6 Ring-billed Gull 1 Herring Gull 1 Rock Pigeon 2 Belted Kingfisher 1 Northern Flicker 3 Pileated Woodpecker 1 Blue Jay 1 Black-billed Magpie 3 American Crow 6 Common Raven 7 Tree Swallow 13 Barn Swallow 2 Black-capped Chickadee 1 Brown Creeper 1 Winter Wren 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 12 Hermit Thrush 3 American Robin 4 *Brown Thrasher 1* European Starling 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler 4 Chipping Sparrow 2 *Clay-colored Sparrow 1* *Savannah Sparrow 2* Song Sparrow 5 Swamp Sparrow 5 White-throated Sparrow 7 Red-winged Blackbird 10 Brewer's Blackbird 20 Common Grackle 3 Brown-headed Cowbird 25 Purple Finch 1 American Goldfinch 1 House Sparrow 2 Other side note, for any birders in the Wabasha area... Tiffany Bottoms State Wildlife Area is a great place to go birdwatching (on the Wisconsin side of the river). I helped out with the Birding-by-mini-train event this past Sunday, and wanted to share with you some happenings from this fun event just a few minutes away from Wabasha. In case you'd like to learn more about this fun event, which will be offered again in September: http://www.wingsoveralma.org/natureeventsresources/birdingbyminitrain.html Photos from the mini-train birdwatching trip: http://www.pbase.com/birdfedr/birding_by_minitrain_in_tiffany_bottoms_state_wildlife_area My good friend Kirk Mona, created this eBird list from the train ride and hike through Tiffany Bottoms State Wildlife Area. Canada Goose X Wood Duck X Mallard X Blue-winged Teal X Hooded Merganser X Pied-billed Grebe X American White Pelican X Green Heron X Turkey Vulture X Bald Eagle X Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 Broad-winged Hawk X Red-tailed Hawk X Merlin 1 Sandhill Crane X Mourning Dove X Belted Kingfisher 1 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker X Pileated Woodpecker 1 Eastern Phoebe X Blue Jay X American Crow X Tree Swallow X Barn Swallow X Black-capped Chickadee X White-breasted Nuthatch X Brown Creeper X Eastern Bluebird X American Robin X Cedar Waxwing X Eastern Towhee X Chipping Sparrow X Field Sparrow X Lark Sparrow 1 Song Sparrow X White-throated Sparrow X Northern Cardinal X Red-winged Blackbird X Common Grackle X Brown-headed Cowbird X American Goldfinch X Good birding, Erik Bruhnke Duluth, MN -- *NATURALLY AVIAN* - Guided Birdwatching Trips and Bird photography www.pbase.com/birdfedr www.naturallyavian.blogspot.com [email protected] ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
