8 replies to this topic

[Platypus]

Hi guys!

I haven't been here in a week or two - I didn't have time during finals (I'm now done my BSc!) and I've been busy ever since. My summer job is in Wisconsin and I drove the 19 hour trip from Montreal to Wisconsin in one day. Never again.

I'm now here in an ecosystem completely foreign to me with the prospect of seeing so many new birds! I'm really excited. Couple that with the fact that I'm out in the field every couple of days and my first summer of birding looks like it'll be a great one. Today was the first time I took my binoculars and camera out into the field and though I was working at the same time, I still had one of my most exciting birding days ever.

#1 (lifer) - A group of 10 of these birds presented themselves to us midway through the day. They were scrounging all they could from the ground.


#2 - This is probably the closest I've ever come to a shorebird. That's the benefits of being in a boat I guess. My shorebird ID skills are horrible since I've seen so few, so this one is particularly important to get confirmation on (even though it's not a lifer).




#3 - First time I've seen one in breeding plumage.


#4 (lifer) - I chased the first bird for about 20 minutes by boat and on foot in a bog... needless to say I had a great time finding one of my favourite birds I've ever seen. Unfortunately I didn't get a good shot, but hopefully I'll get to go back to that bog later in the summer so I can try to find them again (the one I was chasing met up with a female once I found him). I would love it if anyone particularly good at photo editing (*cough* Jodie) gave a shot at making one of these presentable. I did my best, but I'm certainly not incredible at post-processing. I'd be happy to send the raw files.






Click the spoiler tag below to see what I think they are. I didn't want to bias anyone before they came up with their IDs. Thanks in advance!

Spoiler

#1 - White-winged Crossbill
#2 - Lesser Yellowlegs
#3 - Spotted Sandpiper
#4 - Black-backed Woodpecker

[BigSkyKen]

I agree with #1 and #4. Don't know the others. Congrats on the BSc!

[Kryptos18]

1. White-winged Crossbill
2. Solitary Sandpiper
3. Spotted Sandpiper
4. Black-backed Woodpecker

[Platypus]

Thanks for the replies Ken and Kryptos!

Kryptos - when I was in the field, everything seemed right for a Solitary. It had the eye-ring, the white-sides of tail with black bars, the dark wings and it was alone. I also couldn't make its bill into a Yellowlegs bill no matter how hard I tried. But the legs stood out as yellow to me. Am I crazy?

[Kryptos18]

Looks like he was in pretty good light, but the legs are still duller than a yellowlegs. In bright light, a yellowlegs' legs glow a bright yellow-orange.

[ant_anks]

Whereabouts in WI were these? Seems like I need to take a roadtrip from EC - 3 would be lifers for me!

[Platypus]

Kryptos - okay, thanks so much for the tip!

ant_anks - these were found about about 20 miles west of Land o' Lakes, Wisconsin, right on the Michigan/Wisconsin border. Unfortunately, the research station I work at is on private property, but the habitats on property are found all throughout the entire region so I'm sure the bird diversity is pretty similar throughout. It seems like the birding is going to be great this summer, I'm really looking forward to it. A good birder is coming up here in a couple of weeks, I'm going to ask him if there are many Black-backed Woodpeckers around here or whether those are the two residents. It was a pretty isolated bog that nobody goes to though, so if those are the only ones around it's possible he hasn't seen them actually.

[Pat B.]

Congratulations on your degree!

[Platypus]

Thanks Pat!