That time of the year?

 

With the arrival of Robins and Redwinged Black Birds, I get into the bird hunting mode. I blame Aurora over at equine expressions for that.

Saturday morning I did my 'duties' around the farm and because we have - had earlier daylight, I was finished and headed out to the Reserve to go birdwatching or at least walk around and pretend I was a Birder.

I did hear the Sandhill Cranes and the Canada Geese down at the ponds as soon as I stepped out of the car. I also realized that I had underdressed for the weather. I was instantly cold in my spring lightweight jacket and I had to pull up my hood to cover my ears.

I decided not to let the cold temps and wind stop me, so I went on down to the Big Pond to look around.

The Geese were noisy. I found a spot to use my long lens as binoculars and scout the opposite shore where the majority of the birds were hanging out.

There was a scuffle going on and so I took some shots and then looked at the shots I took. I found ducks!  I found what I think may be Mallards.
I don't know if March 9th is the early for them or not, but it was a first for me.

...and another scuffle which included
Canada Geese.
I shot through some brush, but still

managed to get some action.

Right then I got the urge to drive over to the Mississippi River and do some exploring. But I have time constraints and decided to just settle with what I could see in the immediate area.

That turned into a 2+ mile walk around the backwaters of the Kickapoo River.

It seemed that I was only going to see the Geese on this trip out. I could hear some black birds and many sparrows. Twice I almost got a shot of Chickadees, but they were so fast! Catching them near the bird feeder at home is easier, but there is a certain challenge of trying to get them out 'in the wild' so to speak.

I finally heard the Sandhill Cranes and saw them circling overhead and managed to catch a couple of shots. They didn't turn out the best, but there they were! The darn things kept fling low and through trees!

I did catch up with them after they landed though. I had to stand still behind some thick brush and look down onto the marshy area next to the river.

I came out next to Star Valley and decided to head back to the car. I stopped to pull down my hood and turned to see this:

These are steps that once led to a house on old Highway 131. I am standing on the old road that was the original highway and looking at steps for a home that was torn down.

I was really surprised as I must have walked past this spot hundreds of times. It made me wonder what it was like to live along this river and  road many years ago before the Government decided to take this land and turn it into a reservoir and dam to hold back flood waters.

None of that happened and many years later the Kickapoo Valley Reserve came to be in existance.

I was getting ready to put away my camera when I heard a bird call that I thought I recognized.

I kept turning around and looking for the source of the call. A flash of blue caught my eye and I took this shot which is again...NOT very good.

But there it was, a Kingfisher!!!

I did a little happy dance. Three years in a row I have been able to find a Kingfisher in this particular area. I call it dumb luck, but maybe it isn't.

It was worth getting cold through and through to see this just before I walked up to the parking area.

I am grateful that my Subaru has heated seats. When I got in, I turned the heater on full.

What a success. It was worth getting half frozen.

It must be that time of year!

Wild things

 My pal couldn't make it on Sunday morning, so I packed up my long lens and headed out to the ponds at the Reserve.

I know. I go there a LOT. It is 20 minutes or so by car and has nice trails along with nice access to a river.

The serious bird photographers this time of year are wandering up and down Highway 35 along the Mississippi or taking trips along the Wisconsin River where the wildlife is truly amazing and abundant.

I have to stay closer to home on my excursions. Hubby gets uncomfortable if I head out too.

When I got to the Reserve there was one vehicle parked in the Visitor's Center Parking lot. Usually people don't show up early to explore the Reserve. I could hear Sandhill Cranes, Redwing Blackbirds, and Canada Geese from the lot.

But motion in the tree ahead of me captured my attention.

Hubby says it was a pine squirrel. Around our home and in the forest we have quite a few grey squirrels but I rarely see the ones colored like this.

I stood for a long time and watched him/her, then moved on quietly. It was such a pretty and cute squirrel.

I went down the railroad tie stairs and along the Visitor Trail to another muddy trail that went between the two ponds. 

March 17th last year I spotted a pair of Trumpeter swans in the western pond. To my great surprise and delight, I found Swans again.

March 26th and I found the swans again!

I sat still and watched them for a while. I was able to observe a bunch of ducks too. I could see a wood duck paddling around the swans and I didn't want to spook any of them.

A gent with a dog came up the trail and he was trying to be quiet, but the movement of them set the whole pond off and birds started to take off.

Of course the Sandhill Cranes couldn't let just the geese make all the noise so they joined in too. But they didn't leave. They were on the far side of the ponds.

I decided to walk down another muddy trail on my way back to the parking lot when I heard a bird and saw a flash of blue across another pond.

It was far away, but I tried to catch a shot or two anyway.

A Belted Kingfisher.

I sure was pleased.

On the way back to the car I thought how nice it would be to arrive predawn and sit quietly by the ponds in a more remote spot and just watch all of the water fowl. 

It doesn't look like the weather will be good enough during this week though. Another Thursday sleet and snowish event. Yuck.

However a beautiful Bluebird stopped by as we were eating supper. So Spring is coming, right?

All in a Sunday

All week the weather has been pretty darned yucky. Perhaps I got the March blahs?

That beautiful weather we had last weekend spoiled me for the weather we had this past week. Sure I went out and played in the rain one day, but snow and sleet mixed on and off for the rest of the week was just too much bleh for me. The winds howled and icky stuff came down from the grey sky. [How's that for a weather summary?]

I thought a quick trip on Sunday morning to the KVR Ponds would be a great way to chill out after crummy weather.

It was 15 degrees when I walked from the Visitor Center down the steps and over the rock blocks to the valley. I didn't hear much noise. Last time I'd visited during the warm weather, every bird was making a racket. The red wing black birds had been swarming the area.

It was pretty quiet considering that the KVR website had said things were picking up at the ponds early this week. After the past two days of freezing temps the ponds had ice on them again.

Pond Ice:

However, I did find signs of the coming spring.

Pussy Willows:

I found a couple of new spots to 'spy' on the birds, but still was far enough off not to bother them. 

Geese and Sandhill Cranes:

I heard some cranes coming and tried to do a panning motion to catch them in flight. I didn't do so well, but I tried.

Flying Cranes:

Next I saw a group of 10 soaring Turkey Buzzards. Uffdah, they are back which means they will compete with the Eagles for food. 

I was so tickled to see and then get a decent shot of a female cardinal on the way back to the car. I like this shot better than the photos I've gotten of them at our feeder and pine trees.

Female Cardinal:

The biggest surprise was when I thought I saw a Bluejay then I realized it was a Kingfisher! This is the second time in my life I've seen these guys, but I've never really looked before.

Kingfisher:

I did see Sandhill Cranes and Canada Geese and they were hiding on the far side of the pond in the marsh grasses.

Charlie was happy to see me when I got home....and the other half was doing his morning nap. He says he has to nap to have energy to have lunch.

Charlie was a nag all afternoon. He wanted to get out and hike.

I finally relented and off we went. Charlie was tracking something in the woods and kept stopping to sniff and then chase the scent on the ground as if he were some sort of tracking dog. I only wish I could share in his sense of smell and figure out what it was he was chasing.

He had a lot of pent up energy and I just followed him through the woods.

He did end up leading me to a neat spot with some mossy logs that had more cool lichen on them.

But that is for another time.