Birdy Birdy...Migration and not...

 I have a phone app that sent me a message over the weekend telling me that the BIG Migration was on! I was so excited, I told hubby that on Sunday morning I'd drive the Reserve and watch birds and photograph them!

He pointed out the window at a bunch of little birds that were flitting about our south yard.

They were so many of them! Yellow Rumped Warblers! 

I thought: "Great, I'll see so many birds it will be crazy!"

Sunday morning I'd intended to be at the Reserve by dawn. However the fog was so intense in the morning I decided to wait until about 9am. Even then, the fog in the valley was very thick in many places.

What surprised me most was not the fog but the drivers who didn't have their lights turned on.

I pulled over on a wide shoulder to take this shot not far from the Kickapoo River. The sun was trying to shine through but the fog was so thick it cast everything into a murky scene.

When I got to the Reserve, and parked it was sunny out and warming up fast.

I chose a trail that goes along the river in the woods to get down to the ponds. This is a shot looking to the east through the trees. 

I only had my 100-400m lens with me which limited me to a narrower view of the mix of sunbeams, and fog. But it was still there, just very faint.

Further down the trail I got a wider angle with my cellphone looking down on the river...with the sun and fog combined.

The trail goes down a steep embankment that the Reserve made into a sort of stairway with logs and I shot this through the branches and trees towards the river. 

Not a fabulous photo, but it does define how the fog hangs over the water. You can see a faint outline of the far side of the valley through the fog.

This is a spot that I often get a glimpse of a Kingfisher bird in the spring. No such luck this day!

I took another secondary trail that comes up on one of the more popular ponds for waterfowl. Guess what I found? 
One solitary Mallard.

One Canada Goose flew over and kept going.

Before I left home I'd checked the DNR site to see what was migrating through our area. The Yellow Warbler [check!], Wood Ducks, Swans, Pelicans, and Geese.

Cellphone shot of the pond.... empty.

Bummer. Last year I did get to see quite a variety of ducks along with Sandhill Cranes in this same area. 

Mental note. 
The best spots to see waterfowl are along the Mississippi River which is 40 miles west of me and the Wisconsin River which in an hour east of me. So close and yet so far!

I was bummed. I mean really bummed out. 

So I decided to see what I could find just walking along the paths and making a loop back to the parking area.

Yellow wet leaves.

Spider Webs! The one in the tree was a surprise for me. You might have to click on the photo to actually see it.

And.... while coming back up the Harrison Trail I heard a rather loud ruckus in the brush. It sounded like a deer. So I waited and waited and then...

this red squirrel popped out with a mouthful of nuts. I grabbed a shot and then ... he/she was gone being chased by another red squirrel.

So my Bird Migration plans were pretty much a huge flop. When I got home I was greeted by more Yellow Warblers. This one on the porch...seeming to say...

"Howdy! Why'd you go looking for birds when I was right here posing for you?"

Well. So much for that. But it was still a great morning.