I haven't gone on any road trips this Winter to look for Snowy Owls, or other birds for that matter. My day trip max is two hours one way, and those are rare. Maybe once or twice a year. If I go, I usually stay local-ish and try to spot more common feathers. Although there have been a couple Snowy's spotted not too far, including on the lake I recently posted about.
I decided to make a trip to the river to see what I can see. I took a short detour on my way, and found Canadian Geese. Gee, what a surprise. There are bazillions of these messy birds, everywhere. I enjoy watching them fly.
I am usually alone and either shoot from my truck or don't venture far anyways. Depends on where I am and who is around. I've been warned by locals not to walk the wooded part of the river path alone, so I don't. Brad, Tank and I discovered some cool secluded seating & viewing areas during warmer weather walks. There are some places where you can go down by the river banks. The lookouts are wonderful.
My viewing was all done at a long distance, thank goodness for zooms!! I finally figured out where Eagle Island is. Sure enough, there was one lone Eagle doing lots of nothing.
It was windy & cold. I didn't stay long, Other people showed up and watched the island eagle from the warmth of their vehicles. On the way back to my truck, I spotted an immature eagle suddenly swoop down from the trees across the river. It caught me by surprise. The flight was over in seconds. I did the panic, fling my camera up, waver-n-hope familiar snap thing lol. Not the sharpest photos.
I checked on the island eagle before heading out. Yep, he was still perched. I watched him turn his head, and give a small flock of geese the stink eye for flying by his island.
I tried to find a better vantage point, facing the opposite direction. I still had to shoot at a great distance, and now also through trees. This stoic guy was clearly not going anywhere anytime soon.
Time to head home, after my short & sweet photography adventure. I was happy to have dusted off my camera.
Birding is kind of like looking for a needle in a haystack. You know where the hay is, but good luck finding the needle.
8 comments:
I looked back and this weekend used to be the weekend I'd meet up with friends outside of Baraboo and we'd go checking SNA's and looking for birds. I miss that.
We took my sons a gazillion years ago so Sauk City?? to watch for Eagles.
You got some incredible shots!
I have yet to get to that river and those lookouts. It is a goal. I wonder if I shouldn't check out the Mississ-sloppy for birds. Hmmm.
Nice that you got your camera dusted off!
You found some birds!! It is too early here for spring birds:)
Nice! I saw a bald eagle today but I was on the road, no time to visit an take pics
Eagle spotting!
I need to buy another battery for my Nikon with the telephoto lens; I get about 6 photos and then it dies on me. One of the things I want to photograph here but always miss it is when the swans come through. I always seem to find out after they are gone.
Val, yes people come from all over to view the eagles along the river. The rehabilitated eagle release event in January is a big draw, which hasn't happened for years. One of my favs. IMO, the experience is worth dealing with crowds. I would like to take my grands sometime. The public lookouts I was referring to are concrete manmade structures, not the cool rock climbing kind. As you know, they do have natural lookouts in other parts along the river.
Shirley, you could check ebird.org for swan migrating info. I used to get most of my bird finding info on Facebook photo/bird groups, but now ebird is my lone source. I haven't taken many swan photos. They are very pretty.
Yes, you have to be quick to catch the birds, but you got some great shots of the Eagle. I actually love Canada Geese. They are a noble bird. When one falls behind another will stay with them until they can catch back up. I had cancer when I was 34 and going through a painful divorce. It was fall, and I was out raking leaves in my backyard. A flock flew over me, and it gave me this amazing peace and hope. I’ve never forgotten the feeling, and will run out of my house, even now, to stand under them when they pass. They’ve been so close I can hear the swushing of their wings.
Did the locals say why you should avoid that area? We have a few areas like that around here, too.
Linda, what a wonderful sign/feeling you got from those geese ~ especially in your time of need.
I didn't ask anyone why they gave the suggestion. Just assumed because there is safety in numbers. Part of the riverwalk (which is near the downtown area) is wooded and secluded. There are winding foot/bike paths off the main trails to who knows where. No one would see or hear you if you needed help. We've seen questionable behavior and only been there a handful of times during daylight. However, there is a section of the riverwalk that is perfectly safe and mostly in the open. Tank & I have walked that part several times for exposure & practice walking on a leash. Tank is waaay too excited to even attempt to bring my camera, my focus is on training.
Looks like you had a nice visit. What a nice spot to bird even in winter.
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