These photos were taken near sunset on Wednesday, May 8th, 2013 on Jefferson County Route N between Fort Atkinson and Jefferson, Wisconsin. If you are in the neighborhood, you can spot the nest on the east side of the road. There isn’t much shoulder, so be careful if you want to take photos. You will need a long lens. The effective focal length for each … Continue reading Sandhill Cranes Tending Their Nest
Earlier today while in my bedroom, I heard a loud thump against the roof in that corner of the house. Thinking that the house had been hit by falling space junk, I raised the blinds to discover a large and somewhat dazed wild turkey in the backyard. I grabbed my camera and ran to the backyard as the turkey rounded the corner of a neighbor’s … Continue reading Wild Turkey Visits Bluewing Court in Janesville, Wisconsin
The cranes and herons have returned to southern Wisconsin. Hundreds of sandhill cranes have been spotted near Whitewater, and great blue herons are now building and repairing nests at a rookery near Fort Atkinson. In celebration of their return, and the advent of spring, I am posting a remarkable set of photographs taken by my friend, Georgia Kestol-Bauer. Taken several years ago, these photos capture … Continue reading Sandhill Cranes – Courtship Dance on a Cranberry Bog
Two days this week (Saturday and today, Monday) I have driven from Janesville to Middleton, Wisconsin (about 45 miles each way) in search of a great grey owl that has been hanging out behind the Middleton Post Office for the past week. He was there on Friday and Sunday, but on neither day I was there. So, today after failing to find the owl, I … Continue reading Tundra Swans in a Corn Field
For the last three years I have produced a calendar of Wisconsin scenes to welcome in the new year. This year the theme is birds. The 2013 calendar is available for anyone to download and print for personal use. The file is in .pdf format and it is large (about 8.5 mb) to make it suitable for printing. Birds in the calendar are shown in the … Continue reading Wisconsin Birds – 2013 Calendar Available for Download
Fall colors here in southeastern Wisconsin have surprised everyone this year. Now past peak color, the countryside sparkled with bright yellows and golds. The dark red and umber of sumac adorned many hillsides along the edge of forests. In the towns, the maples were magnificent in their display of red and gold. Local wisdom claims that the beautiful fall this year is due to the … Continue reading Wisconsin’s Gorgeous Fall Colors
Since the middle of May, I have been tracking the progress of great blue heron chicks at a rookery in southeastern Wisconsin. Once or twice a week I wade through the tall grasses that border the rookery, carrying camera, lenses, and tripod. Each time I go, I hope to bring back dramatic photos and video of herons in flight, chicks being fed, or perhaps a … Continue reading Tree Swallows Tending Their Young
Chicks at the local heron rookery are looking more and more like adults, but they still lack adult plumage as well as the ability to fly. Just like the chicks, the grass in the approach to the nesting area is growing rapidly. In the last week it has grown another foot and is now over six feet high in many places. I spent two hours … Continue reading Heron Chicks Trying Out Their Wings
At the local heron rookery the chicks are growing at a phenomenal rate. How three or four chicks manage to stay in their nests without pushing their siblings out is a mystery to me. It is increasingly difficult to approach the rookery through the tall grasses. Much of the grass is now five feet tall. All of it is hip high. We have had lots … Continue reading This Week at the Heron Rookery
Out at the local heron rookery lots of new families are busy with little ones. Here are two photos of heron chicks that were taken in the last week. Be sure to click on the photos for larger sizes. I hope you like them. (For those interested, these photos were taken with a Canon 40D using a Sigma 50-500 mm. Effective focal length was 800 … Continue reading Heron Chicks at the Rookery
I just discovered a heron rookery not too far from Janesville, Wisconsin. I was there by 9:00 a.m. this morning, but the birds were already settling in for the day. There wasn’t too much activity. I’ll go again tomorrow morning if the weather is good and I’ll try to get there earlier than today. The photo above is my first attempt. The nests were approximately … Continue reading Heron Rookery – First Attempt
These two photos were taken three days ago in my front yard. I had to look up the name of the butterfly, and I still don’t know what kind of flowers these are. After 37 years of teaching college, I still don’t know very much about lots of things. Click on the photos once for larger size, twice for full resolution. Continue reading Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly and Flowers – Two Snapshots
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