Pheasant Branch

   I've made a couple trips to the Pheasant Branch Conservancy north of Middleton. Both days
offered up natures best.
   The paths are well groomed, many are covered with pea gravel. Just off the parking lot is a huge
area of restored prairie, at this time of year these trails are lined by last years dried remains. We choose to take the gravel path that lead to where the old farm house had stood since the mid 1800's. The signage here was full of great information about the history behind this conservancy. Here we got our first taste of what was to come.

 
  The path then took us on an easy ascent to the top of the hill, at each slight turn
we saw something of interest. Like the still golden stems of little bluestem waving in the wind.

 

   There are many new homes with back yards that attach to this treasure, in many ways it made us  jealous. Near the top of hill there are several paths leading off in different directions but they all eventually looped back. We could see for miles where ever we looked. It was a bit hazy but the Madison skyline was in the background beyond Lake Mendota. ( I have been here in the summer and there were sailboats gliding across the shining blue water).
   

    There are several Native American mounds here.
Some of them have been dated to about 2000 BC.
The others are much newer about 500 years old. They are believed to have been
built by the Winnebago and Ho-chunk tribes.

         Another view of the water shed from the top of the hill.
   A wonder filled finish to the hike is a stop at where a spring bubbles out of the bottom of the hillside. There is a deck above the magical pool of water filled with mini geysers of sand rising to the surface. There are steps that will take you down to the edge for a closer look. This is the first spring in a series that creates the creek.

On the first day there, we spotted a wood chuck collecting leaves to line it's den hidden under the massive roots of an oak tree. Perhaps later in the summer we'll see it's young playing at the waters edge.

 

    Remember to click on a photo to enlarge the group.

Heading north

  The other day as the snowfall began to diminish in the afternoon I shoveled out under the bird feeders. In no time after I put down what I call critter mix groups of birds took turns filling their bellies.
   First came the cardinals, juncos and sparrows. Then several mourning doves stopped by.
After awhile I lost interest and turned away to watch a movie. I was sitting with my back to the window where the action was going on. At one point there seem to be a large shadow moving across the yard. Upon checking, it was a flock of about one hundred plus red-winged black birds with a some common grackles mixed in. I spent about an hour watching their comedy show after that. They'd all start in the trees then down to the ground, after about two minutes back into the tree. This was repeated a couple times then they'd make a circle around the house and would end up back in the same tree and repeat the cycle.
  The sharp-shinned hawk was watching all this and made several flights through the yard.
This hawk has spent about five winters here and never hit a window to my knowledge.
Not so this day three times there was a thump on the window. I think all the choices caused it lose track of where it was headed. There are five feeding stations in my yard so they were spread out.
This group of photos calls for a click to enlarge!

 

Waves and white caps !!!

  The wind out of the west was driving the water back up river today.
It offered a great show.

Wintery Baxter's Hollow

  This hike was a repeat of Parfrey's Glen with a few new twist.

 

 

 

Some hardy plants were holding their own in the 

wintery mix.

 

        A long ago abandon fireplace was at one
time the center piece of a cozy cabin in the woods.

  On our return trip we
noticed a woodland creature
had been to an opening in the
snow to steal a drink



  Remember a click on a
photo sets up an enlarged
slide show.
 
  You may want to use this trick
and revisit the eagle photos.

A Successful Day

   This past Sunday I was lucky enough to witness the release of five rehabilitated bald eagles back into the wild. I have watched this before during the Sauk-Prairie Eagle Days in January but the weather and the smaller crowd made this day special. It turned out to be a great photo opportunity.
  First the three immature eagles were released and after a short break two adults were sent back to their lives in nature. Below is a link to the Raptor Education Group, Inc. "REGI", the center that Marge Gibbson (first photo below and several others) has devoted her life to.
   A couple of these birds had never landed in a tree.

                This is the first bird released. It circled around and landed on the ground in the park.

The second bird. This one landed safely in the water. It looked like a large brown gull.

It soon was back in the air and crossed the river landing on the sand.

Number Three. This one found a good tree to land in.

The first of the adults. This one is between four and five years old (notice the touch of brown on it's head). This one immediately found itself in the water but was airborne in a couple minutes. I was looking the other way and missed it.

Number five circled a couple times and headed across the river finding just the right tree for it's first taste of freedom.

All the birds eventually were back in the safe arms of "Mother Nature" along the Wisconsin River.

The link will give some background on how these birds came to be cared for at "REGI".

http://www.raptoreducationgroup.org/blog/