The idea was to find some Long-eared owls in the snow and that happened. We had a light dusting of snow over night so conditions seemed right and it was. There were 4 that perched still for a couple of photos. They are beautiful birds! Snow was light with temps around 27 degrees and light winds. Images were taken on January 10, 2025.
The Long-eared Owl with a dusting of snow…
One of my birding stops today produced nice looks of a Eastern Screech Owl in a natural nest cavity in Milwaukee County. It is that time of the year where owls are seen sitting in the hole of a natural cavity enjoying some sun on a cold day. It was a pleasant day with temps around 27 degrees, full sun, a calm breeze. Image was taken on January 9, 2025.
With birding a little slow yet I decided to try for the elusive Northern Saw-whet Owl again today. I had a few places in mind that I felt had some potential. I left early for this trip and got to my cold destination. It has been a crazy year finding these cute tiny owls about 8″ tall, and have already found 3 this season. Could I find more? It would be as exciting as the 1st and it was. I spent about an hour and then came around a corner of a tree and there one was, just looking at me. This owl gave great looks for about 30 seconds but then looked a head and then seemed to close it’s eyes. I was lucky I got a shot with in seconds when I first saw it. With plenty of time in the day, there were a lot more trees and places to check out at this location. Coming around a corner, for some reason I looked up, there was the 2nd of the day. This one was really tucked in, I can’t believe why I looked up, it could have been missed so easily. I could not even get a shot with my camera so I had to use my cell phone. Where these owls go, the places are very tight most of the time to get a shot with a telephoto lens. I have to be so quiet and move slow, take a shot and then leave, probably never to return. This is the 5th one I have found since November 15th 2024. People always say, I have been looking with no luck, just keep on looking I say, they are out there. Most of these 5 owls have been close to paths and roads. It was a cold day with temps around 22 degrees with gusts of wind at times, cloudy skies, a few flurries did come down at times. Images were taken on January 6, 2025.
Northern Saw-whet Owl #1 for the day…
Northern Saw-whet Owl #2 for the day…
The pair today…
One of my birding stops today gave nice looks at a couple of Long-eared Owls. A couple of shots and off I went. It was a cold day with temps around 23 degrees, with mostly cloudy skies and a pretty good breeze with that, January weather for sure. Images were taken on January 3, 2025.
The Long-eared Owl…
A stop at the Fox River this morning had a good looking Hooded Merganser, this male put on a great show. There was a female in the area but did not come around for the photo shoot. This river will freeze up in a few days with the very cold weather coming so it may not be around long. It was a nice December morning with some sun, mild temps around 36 degree and light winds. Images were taken on December 30, 2024.
Hooded Merganser, male stretching…
Just cruising…
Going to stretch…
Beautiful!
Mega Rarity! Door County has produced another unbelievable bird, a White Wagtail! A bird that’s normal range is Asia, Europe and some of Africa. There have been a few other sightings in the US but spread out over very many years. 1st state record for Wisconsin! The bird was seen yesterday but I felt with time running out in the day with light I decided to make the run this morning. Leaving the house at 3:30 am I arrived in darkness, but I don’t want to be late. I was the first out to the area where the bird was seen yesterday. Just as it was getting light after 15 minutes I spotted the bird bopping around finding things to eat I assume. I called a couple other birders that had arrived and 3 three of us watched it in and out of the rocky ground. Birders arrived as many as at least 20 had great views of the bird for about an 1 1/2 hours before it came down the beach area shoreline where I was as I was headed out. For me Wisconsin life bird #382. A very big thank you goes out to Candy and Rush Evans, super great birders in Sturgeon Bay as they found this awesome bird at the park and got the word out for others to see it. It was a cloudy day with some light fog, mild temps around 36 degrees and light winds that picked up at times. Images are so-so with the cloudy day conditions and the distance of the bird from all of us. Images were taken on December 29, 2024.
The White Wagtail at the beach area…
Typical to see the White Wagtail on rocks with the tail bobbing…
Nice back view…
It did get a few things to eat as it moved down the beach shoreline…
I typically stop at the Fox River in Waukesha for a birding stop in winter months and this morning there were a very large number of Canada Geese. The most I have seen this winter 500-600, they were the length of the river in town, bridge to bridge. I took my bins an started going through them and one caught my eye. The head coloring was different so I got out of the car for some quick photos as birds can leave in seconds. This turns out to be a Quill Lake Goose. It remained there, I watched it for about 5 minutes and then left. It was a cloudy day with a few rain drops coming down, but mild temps around 44 degrees. Images were taken on December 27, 2024.
The Quill Lake Goose stretching…
The Quill Lake Goose stretching…
The Quill Lake Goose with a Canada Goose…
One of my birding stops today was at the Fox River in Waukesha near Frame Park. A Hooded Merganser that is a young male was present. It put on a nice show hanging out with Mallard ducks, it seemed to fit right in with them. It was a mostly cloudy day, cold temps around 28 degrees with a slight wind blowing. Images were taken on December 22, 2024.
The Hooded Merganser, young male stretching…
With snow in the forecast I got out early this morning to check out a new location for the Northern Saw-whet Owl. At this location, the very last tree I was going to check out, here is a Northern Saw-whet Owl just looking at me. I’m like are you kidding me? I quickly backed up, looked the situation over not wanting to disturb this owl. This bird was very much in the open from the side of the tree I was on. I took a couple of photos and left the area. I think I’m beyond lucky finding these owls this year as this is #3 in just 35 days. They are so cute and it is so much fun finding these tiny owls! It was snowing when I left this location with some breeze and temps around 28 degrees. Image was taken on December 19, 2024.
The Northern Saw-whet owl with light snow…
In my continued search of the Northern Saw-whet Owl I came across another one today. I’ve looked hard for the last 6-7 weeks. It was a new location in SE Wisconsin. This Northern Saw-whet Owl was really tucked away in this tree, I almost missed it. To look up and see this tiny owl with a cat like face looking at you is so exciting. When I got the surprise of seeing it looking at me, like always, I take a deep breath and then back up away from the bird just to get a grip of the setting and not wanting to disturb it too. I looked around to find an opening in the branches and took the shot. When I was walking away it appeared to have its eyes mostly closed. I tell anyone who wants to see one, keep looking, don’t give up, they are around us. Most of them I have found seem to be about 7′-8′ high in the tree. It was mostly cloudy with temperatures around 30 degrees, with some wind. Image was taken on December 17, 2024
The Northern Saw-whet Owl tucked away in the tree…
While out birding I came across a couple of Long-eared Owls just perched pretty. I took a couple of quick photos and off I went. It was a cloudy day with light winds and mild temperatures for mid December around 34 degrees. Images were taken on December 14, 2024.
The Long-eared Owl, just perched and looking around…
One of my birding stops today was to see if Sandhill Cranes were present at the Bark River in Delafield. There were a pair of them in the middle of the river looking for a couple of things to eat, preening and just standing around. A Great Blue Heron was also present in the background. The heron did not move at all when I was there, thinking it was just conserving energy. It was cloudy skies, a little wind and temps around 45 degrees. Images were taken on December 7, 2024.
The pair of Sandhill Cranes in the Bark River…
Some preening…
More preening…
More preening…
Moving around some…
Looking for things to eat…
The Great Blue Heron in the background…
While birding I came across an Eastern Screech Owl, red morph high in a tree cavity. It was a partly cloudy morning with mild temps around 45 degrees with low winds. Image was taken on December 7, 2024.
High up in the tree cavity the Screech Owl sits…
I had found a Northern Saw-whet Owl almost a month ago and thought today I would do a follow up visit. The Northern Saw-whet Owl was still at the same location just perched pretty enjoying the beautiful day. It was a mild December day with light winds, mild temps around 48 degrees, some clouds and sun. Image was taken on December 7, 2024.
This was an exciting, very rare bird for Wisconsin! A Sage Thrasher has been being seen only a few times a day at a private residence for about a week. I struggled to get up to see this bird sooner with no results. This bird’s normal range is Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico and west of these states, so it is way off course. I got to the stakeout at 7:30 AM, watched from the car for a while as I had excellent views of the yard and where it had been seen. Quite a few birders showed up as time went on. About 9:40 the bird was spotted coming out of some Yew plants alongside the home and into a thick hedge about 20 feet away. The bird remained silent and no moving around in the hedge for about 15 minutes plus. Then all of the sudden the bird flew up into a couple of short trees in the hedge and gave excellent views for all present. The bird moved around some in front of us for a couple of minutes but then went back into hiding it seemed. My opinion is that the bird spends it’s nights and off times at the basement outside wall as there might be some heat coming off of the concrete there as that appears where it came from when first seen today. It does come out on occasion and then it is seen. I did try for the bird 2 days earlier for 5 hours with no luck. What a birding moment!! A BIG THANK YOU goes out to the homeowner for being so kind and letting birders come visit to see the rare visitor on their property. UPDATE 12/1/24, visiting now only from the roadside. It was a cold day, mostly cloudy, some wind at 25 degrees. Wisconsin Life Bird #381. Images were taken on December 1, 2024.
The Sage Thrasher giving nice looks here…
The bird blends in so well, at some times I could not see it…
When the bird first came out in the open…
Where the Sage Thrasher flew to when it came out of the Yew bush. 15 minutes in here before seeing the bird fly up to a branch on a small tree. The bird was impossible to see in there. I think this habitat is similar to Sage Brush habitat what Sage Thrashers like??… maybe one reason it might be hanging around.
It went to the ground twice…blends in well, it moved around quickly in most cases…
Many times it was in behind branches, etc, moving from one spot to another…
Giving nice looks here, so exciting…
Looking around to move…
The Sage Thrasher before it went back into hiding…
A Snowy Owl was present this morning at Lakeshore State Park. It was giving great views from a distance. It seemed like it was in a safe area there from being disturbed below large rocks near the water where people will not go. So nice to see this species again along the lake. It was a pleasant day for later November with cloudy skies, temps around 45 degrees and low winds. Images were taken on November 23, 2024.
The Snowy Owl closeup…
The Snowy Owl at a distance…
Most Great Blue Herons have headed south for the winter but today at Greenfield Park I found this one. This juvenile just perched on a log was just hanging out. I have not seen any lately here at the park so this one could be headed south too, just taking a break here. A small handful hang around all winter only if they have some open water and can find food. It was a cloudy day with mild temps around 45 degrees and light winds. Image was taken on November 22, 2024.
I have been looking for the last few weeks for the Northern Saw-whet Owl. Today I was rewarded finding one in a pine. It is a feeling like no other. When you are digging around in parks etc and you look up and you are looking one, it is like your heart sinks. A lot goes through your mind in split seconds. Then you take a breath, hold the camera up and take a couple of shots. And that is how it went finding this tiny owl about 8″ tall. One of the worlds smallest owl, these owls are nocturnal hunters that are fierce and silent. They hunt mice, small mammals, small birds, and sometimes insects. I will tell anyone, they are out there, sometimes you have to look in the places most people don’t. It was a cloudy day, mild temps around 50 degree, low winds. The images were taken in Southeastern Wisconsin on November 15, 2024.
While out birding I heard some talk of a Western Cattle Egret near Big Bend. I took a drive out there and it was present. It hung around with a couple of cattle eating ticks or flies off the legs of these animals. It seems to be right at home in the little farm yard there. The cattle wanted nothing to do with this bird and on a few occasions they swung their heads at the egret. This is a 1st year bird, it either hatched here or wandered north to Wisconsin after the breeding season. It was a pleasant morning with temps around 65 degrees with good winds with a warm day ahead. Nice for this time of year but a change of weather is coming. This bird was previously named a Cattle Egret, recently it has been changed to Western Cattle Egret. Images were taken on October 30, 2024.
The Western Cattle Egret…
Here just hanging around and looking for ticks or flies…did not sit still much…
Picking a tick or fly off the back of the cattle’s leg…
Waiting for something to eat…an insect…
Blurry photo but catching something here to eat…looks like a stink bug..:)
One of my birding stops this morning was Lakeshore State Park. Greeting me at the entrance of the park when I arrived was a Harris’s Sparrow perched on top of a crab apple tree. Not a rare bird, but a bird you are typically only going to see 1 or 2 a year here in Wisconsin if you are lucky. Their range is more west of Wisconsin. This has been an unusual for them as there have been many seen throughout the state in the last month. It was there for 10 seconds, enough for a photo and then it flew north. I hung around for another 45 minutes as other sparrows were present but it never showed again. It was a beautiful fall morning with nice sun, low winds and mild temps. Image was taken on October 21, 2024.
