Bathing Beauty

This American Robin (Wisconsin's state bird) seemed to be enjoying his bath more than the look on his face would lead you to believe. Photos of birds galore can be enjoyed at Bird Photography Weekly - go check it out!

Three Stages of Song Sparrows

The Song Sparrow seemed to be my "bird of the week" last week. First, a colleague mentioned that she had a nest in her holly bush with some just-hatched chicks in it. She invited me over to take a look - and a photo. I couldn't tell what they were just by looking at these blind and naked little bodies with gaping mouths but within a few minutes a chirping adult Song Sparrow could be seen perched nearby and then coming and going from the bush. At home I consulted my book on nests, hatchlings, etc. and this nest type seemed to fit the bill for Song Sparrows. This weekend while walking down the driveway a lot of chirping from a tree caught my attention and I spied this juvenile Song Sparrow at the edge of our swamp. This must be a favorite spot for them since I see them here every summer. A little farther down the road, I saw this adult sitting on a branch and realized I had come full circle with this bird. Nest, hatchlings, fledgling, adult. A pretty common little bird but not every week that you see all the stages in their life cycle! Check out more birds and their photographer's stories at Bird Photography Weekly.

Cedar Waxwings

I happened upon a pair of Cedar Waxwings while on a hike in our neck of the woods this holiday weekend. They seemed to be collecting nesting material and I thought they were getting kind of a late start but then read the following information regarding their nesting habits: Late Nest Builders Waxwings generally nest later in the summer than most songbirds since they synchronize hatching with fruit development. Both sexes bring nest material but females do most of the nest building, lay 4 or 5 pale blue or blue-gray eggs with black or gray blotches and incubate them for 12 days. Nestlings spend another 13 days in the nest before fledging. 1 - 2 broods raised. This makes sense since the big pin cherry tree in our yard is full of fruit that is not yet ripe. The cherries usually ripen up mid-July and I've seen loads of Cedar Waxwings feasting there in the past.

Coincidentally, there was a nest visible very near where I spotted these two. I think this nest might belong to a Red-eyed Vireo however. Fly over to Bird Photography Weekly for more bird photos from all over the world.

Golden-winged Warbler Banding

On Saturday, I had the privilege to participate in a Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin field trip banding Golden-winged Warblers. The GWW are being studied by Amber Roth, Forest Science PhD candidate out of Michigan Tech University, as part of her work on cellulosic ethanol. With growing interest and small-scale use of forest waste and biomass for electricity generation and cellulosic ethanol for automotive fuels, it is important that we understand the demands and management tradeoffs this requires of our northern forests. In particular, can we find a balance between biomass extraction for bioenergy and the habitat needs of forest birds?

The first bird in the mist net was a bird Amber had banded in 2007. New data was collected and stats on this bird were updated.

A short while later an unbanded bird hit the mist net. It was banded, had blood and feather samples taken, weighed and greatly admired by all in attendance. It was a new life list bird for me - #146! Find interesting stories and great bird photography at Bird Photography Weekly.

Bird Photography Weekly: Rose-breasted Grosbeak

My FOY Rose-breasted Grosbeak showed up at the backyard feeder Saturday morning. I'm anxiously waiting for Baltimore Orioles and Hummingbirds that have been reported back in the SE Wisconsin area!

Bird Photography Weekly - Bald Eagle

This WisconsinBirder is proud to feature a photo taken by her son last summer in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in northern Minnesota. If you are interested in eagles, you might enjoy the live streaming eagle cam at Xcel Energy web site. And be sure to take a look at all of the bird photos posted at Bird Photography Weekly this week. Happy migration and good birding!

Bird Photography Weekly - Song Sparrow

This song sparrow took up residence last summer near the end of the drive at our place "up north". I was playing with my new I-Flyer when I spotted him flitting about in the trees. He became quite defensive when hearing the call of another song sparrow coming from the I-Flyer. I assumed he was defending his nesting territory. He got pretty close which allowed for a couple of good photos but not wanting to upset him too much I stopped calling. Birding ethics has been a very hot topic this winter in Wisconsin, especially in regard to photography of the numerous Snowy Owls in the state. Photographers were seen approaching the birds too closely, releasing pet store white mice into the fields where they were hunting, trespassing on private property to get a better photo op and the like. This all seems very contrary to how "real" birders behave when in the field. What are your thoughts on birding ethics? Stop by Bird Photography Weekly at www.birdfreak.com for more links to some great bird photography!

Gray Catbird for Bird Photography Weekly

This cute little catbird welcomed us to the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary near Naples, FL last March. It flew out of a tree and landed on the fence rail at the visitors center where you pick up the boardwalk and start the tour. Take a look at all of the interesting bird photos posted this week at Bird Photography Weekly.

Bird Photography Weekly - Snowy Egret

SE Wisconsin got more than five inches of new snow Saturday and it was 10 degrees this morning so I'm digging into my Florida Birds file for this week's posting. This Snowy Egret was photographed on the Naples beach last March. Ahhhhhhhh.... Go check out all of the fantastic bird photos posted at Bird Photography Weekly.

Bird Photography Weekly - White-winged Crossbill

Hallelujah! I had almost given up hope of seeing these birds this winter. It is a huge year for White-winged Crossbills in Wisconsin. There are reports on our birding network every day of people practically tripping over them on their way out the door and I have spent weeks scanning the top of every cone-laden spruce tree I passed but had not been able to spot even one - until Sunday. On my way home from the northwoods (where I had been doing my GBBC) I saw a flock of birds fluttering around the tops of some spruce. Oh happy day, there they were! I watched and watched (two passing cars stopped to ask if everything was ok) and got the best photos I could considering the distance. Find more bird photos from all over the globe at Bird Photography Weekly.

Bird Photography Weekly - Common Redpolls

There is a lot of excitement in southeastern Wisconsin this winter about Common Redpoll sightings. I saw them for the first time at my feeders in northern Wisconsin during the winter of 2007. We generally only visit the place "up north" once a month or so during the winter but have seen them fairly regularly when we're there.
They have not yet shown up at my feeders in Wauwatosa (at least not when I've been home to notice) but I'll keep watching!

Bird Photography Weekly

A new backyard bird frequented our feeders during the deep freeze last week - the red-bellied woodpecker. While we occasionaly saw them in the nearby parks we had not had one in our yard at our feeders before. He spent so much time at the suet feeder that getting photos was easy and because school was cancelled due to the cold temperatures and windchill factor I was home to take full advantage of the photo opp.

The subzero temperatures increased our feeder activity in general. We were visited by dozens of goldfinches, juncos, house finches, and house sparrows. Thankfully it has warmed up over the last few days but it was back to work today. For more brilliant bird photos from all over the world check out Bird Photography Weekly.

Bird Photography Weekly

This Wisconsin Birder wishes she was back in Florida where she was when she photographed this Osprey with a fish, between Naples and Marco Island, last March. Wisconsin is in the deep freeze today with a temperature of 5 and a wind chill of -15 degrees. Too much Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr for birding! Find more great bird photos at Bird Photography Weekly.

Bird Photography Weekly #14

I photographed this Yellow-headed Blackbird on Big Muskego Lake in southeastern Wisconsin last summer. It was the first time I went out in search of a specific bird. What a thrill it was to find it and get a photo! It is reminding me of summer on this very snowy December day. See more bird photos from all over the world at Bird Photography Weekly #14

Bird Photography Weekly

Happy to have found Bird Photography Weekly...love both birds and photography! My first post is an Ovenbird I photographed this summer on the Bearskin Trail in northern Wisconsin