Friday Feathered Feature

Garganey at Zeloski Marsh

Garganey at Zeloski Marsh

"A Garganey observed last week at Zeloski Marsh is only the second individual reported in Wisconsin history. This bird is a twitcher’s dream. Is it rare? Yup. Did someone provide decent directions? You bet. Does it have a unique look? Yes. Easy to get to? Mhmm."

Photo via Pixabay

Eastern Towhee

Eastern Towhee

Thrashing on the ground, flipping up leaves, and generally sounding like an animal much bigger than it actually is, my first experience with an eastern towhee opened my eyes to the ground foragers and nesters of the woods. The Eastern Towhee strikes a brash attitude on the forest floor.

Photo via Pixabay.

Annual Midwest Crane Count - Columbia County Audubon Lands

Annual Midwest Crane Count - Columbia County Audubon Lands

The Annual Midwest Crane Count, which originated in Columbia County in 1976, has evolved to include 100 counties with over 2,500 volunteers each year. It provides the International Crane Foundation with valuable data used to monitor the eastern population of Sandhill Cranes and Whooping Cranes.

Photo by Mick Thompson

Lesser Scaup

Lesser Scaup

Looking into research on Lesser Scaup, I came across numerous articles about diet, lipid stores, and reproductive output. All highly cited, and most published within the last twenty years. As it turns out, Scaup remain a bit of a mystery, despite all of this research.

Photo by Mick Thompson

High Counts of Waterfowl at Goose Pond

High Counts of Waterfowl at Goose Pond

We thought it would be interesting to look at the high counts for the 36 species of waterfowl (ducks, geese, and swans) on our Goose Pond bird list. There have been 3,500 checklists from Goose Pond entered on eBird, and about 1 in a 100 checklists included a high count of waterfowl.

Photo by Monica Hall