Two Miles of Road

Sorry, that I haven't been around for awhile...I took a long needed break to the boondocks of Northern Wisconsin. Three days with no phone, no TV and no internet. Refreshing. However, I did bring back a story to tell...

It was that stretch of road on Hwy 47 between Black Creek and Langstad when it all happened... That is where the waters from the springtime rains overflowed the banks of Black Creek and White Lake, turning the surrounding basins into a marshy field. Abundant wildlife thrives there in the mid evening hours as the sun starts to drift toward the horizon. Armed with a camera while eyes were wide open, gazing over the farm fields.

"Crane!" Tender Heart called out as she slammed on the brakes of the car. Tires spit gravel as she wheeled the white Chevy around for a better view...


Sure enough, a pair of Sandhill Cranes were grazing on cultivated corn in a farm field. Standing at about 38 inches tall and with the wingspan of almost seven feet, the Sandhill Crane is one of the largest birds in North America. After seeing so many crane in these parts, it is hard to believe that this elegant bird was once endangered in the 1940's. Because of human intervention, the crane has thrived and flourished... It still remains endangered in several states.

While snapping away at the crane, Tender Heart taps me on the shoulder, "Sweetheart, I just saw something big fly into that tree over there". I saw it, but I wasn't sure what is was... "Probably a raven or a hawk, but let's take a better look", I whispered. We crept forward. I could hear the sound of crunching gravel under the wheels of the car. The humongous bird flew from the oak tree with a black bird chasing it. It was a Bald Eagle! I clearly saw the white head and tail as it turned around flew towards us, its seven and a half foot wingspan kissing the sky. The raptor then swooped down to about 200 feet away from us, snatching a Red-winged Blackbird with its massive talons. Somehow, the black bird managed to get dropped and fell to the ground as the magnificent bird of prey flew to its roost. This is where I took this snapshot...


Excited and satisfied with the series of photos (even though the traffic was blasting past us), we headed back on the road. We had a couple of more hours of travel ahead of us. We didn't even get more than a couple of miles before I called out,"Turkey!" On my side of road there were a dozen or so Eastern Wild Turkey in an unplowed farm field. Some of these gobblers were engaged in a courtship display trying to impress the hens. With their puffed up feathers, tails fanned out and wings dragging, they were so engaged in what they were doing that they barely even noticed us.


Just behind the turkeys, we noticed a White Tailed Deer foraging in the field. It was that time of the year that we couldn't tell if it was a buck or doe, for its antlers hasn't grown in yet. Mammals by nature, are more skittish than birds. To get a close up shot of our beautiful state animal was nearly impossible, even with my Sony DSC-H2 camera. To complicate matters, the animal was trotting off to the woods intending to get out of sight. After a short chase, I managed to get a shot of it glancing at us, just before it stepped out of sight....


We didn't get to our destination till WAY after nightfall, by then we have seen more turkey and deer along the way. It was worth it....

Wildlife Photos

Here it is, as I promised, another installment of wildlife photos. Instead of waterfowl, I'm bringing this one closer to home and into the backyards. Blackbirds are quite common everywhere, yet little is seemingly known in the difference between the species. Here are some of them found in the Racine area...


Above is a male Red-winged Blackbird. Picture taken at Pritchard Park. Red-wings are often found anywhere there is tall grasses and marches, especially among the cattails were they thrive. While the females tend to be a dusky brown in color, the males have red plumage on their wings. Red-wings are omnivorous, feeding mostly on seeds and wheat grains, however they'll snack on insects.


Above is the Common Grackle. Picture taken on a front lawn on Charles Street. These icterids can be easily found on lawns and open fields, often in flocks. This robin sized bird can be identified by a long tail and feathers that are appear black with purple, green or blue indescence on their heads. They'll eat most anything-often seen on the ground foraging for bugs, especially after a lawn trimming.


Above is the Brown-headed Cowbird. Picture taken at Roosevelt Park. Found where ever there are open fields and lawns, often foraging with Starlings and Grackles. Cowbirds are brood parasites, meaning they'll lay eggs in other bird's nests. The young Cowbirds are taken care of by the host parents in expense of their own young.

Above is the European Starling. Picture taken at Roosevelt Park. Commonly found on lawns and parks everywhere. Identified by the metallic sheen plumage and white spots. Often they are found foraging for insects among other blackbirds. This invasive species was introduced to the Americas by the English settlers in the late 1800's. Since then, they have adapted and multiplied to a point where they have become a nuisance.

All pictures here were taken by Tender Heart and me using either a Sony DSC-H2 Cyber-shot or a Sony DSC-W350 Cyber-shot. Wildlife photography is not easy. Animals don't pose for pictures, nor even stay still. Most often, they are gone before the camera is ever focused. For every good shot, a few are missed completely.

Here is a partial list of complete misses for last week...

A Red Fox with cub. (You know about that already)
A Green Heron at Trout Ponds (I finally got him this afternoon)
A Baltimore Oriole at Trout Ponds
A couple of Eastern Chipmonks at Sanders Park.

Never fear, I've a few dozen pictures ready to be posted and more coming as I head out there with armed with a camera. Some pics will SURPRISE you....

3:30 A.M.

The sleep was still in my eyes... 3 A.M., the streets were dark, barren and void of life, at least so I thought. I made my way through the darkness, rolling along the desolate side street, headlights leading the way. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the yellowish gleam of eyes piercing the darkness. A cat I thought. As I was rolling along, almost beside her, I noticed the big ears and a bushy tail-the unmistakable characteristics of a fox! Amazed and gawking at this elusive creature, I couldn't hardly believe my eyes. I had only seen a few of them in wild.

I had just turned my attention to road before me when another critter suddenly appeared directly in front of my car. "Whoa!" I screamed, jerking the wheel violently to the left. Tires screeched and squealed. My heart was pounding as I rolled my Chevy to a stop. It was a baby fox! It was just a little smaller than a Chihuahua and twice as cute. I had never seen a baby fox before. I looked into my rear view mirror to see if I killed him. All I could see was darkness. Not wanting to let it rest, I turned the car around to survey the area.

There they were! Alive! Both the mama and her cub were standing on the sidewalk staring back at me. My camera! I remembered that I had my small camera in my dashboard compartment, just for situations like these. This could be a photo opportunity of a lifetime for me. As I was fumbling around for my camera in darkness, the sly pair started to trot off in the opposite direction. Damn! I slammed the car into reverse with wild abandon, the game was on! The hunter and the hunted. I had to get a photo. Foxes move fast, therefore I had split seconds to stop the car, roll down the window, focus the camera and snap a shot. By the time I stuck my camera out the window into the darkness, the foxes had slipped underneath a wooden fence and into the night.....

Wildlife photography is not as easy as it seems...