If there was one common (birding) theme that transcended our entire four-day, five night camping trip to Mauthe (pronounced "mothy") Lake State Park; it was "babies;" but more on that a bit later. Another important theme for this particular vacation was "adaptation." Adapt we certainly did...we're good at it.
It's no secret that watching birds is a major part of the enjoyment that I find while camping in the great outdoors. Thankfully my bride Barbara is not too far behind...or at least she has never begrudged me the simple pleasures that I derive from watching them. We're good for each other in that way; either one of us always has "permission" to interrupt the other's story, anecdote, or important topic with an excited finger-pointing and a hearty, "look, look, look...it's a Red-tail" or other such bird. That's when you know you're comfortable with another person. That's when you have each other's back - for life.
When I camp, I enjoy setting up an impromptu bird feeding station. This time I had neglected to bring an actual "feeder" so I built one from a cardboard box and some rope. I did remember to bring a suet feeder and peanut cake, and hung it as well from my station. It took several days due to the newness and the absolute abundance of natural foods available; but American goldfinches eventually discovered my meager offerings. By the time a hard rain came to dissolve the cardboard platform on Monday morning; an entire Red-breasted nuthatch family was training in the art of seed hiding, young puff-ball Black-capped chickadee were sampling sunflower seeds, and Northern cardinals had eventually descended to what had fallen to the ground during the rain, in competition with two determined Chipmunk for the spoils. It's quite entertaining to sit back in the Cabela's anti-gravity chairs; cold beer in cup holder, and watch the show.
Because my feeders were "hung" from a makeshift "teepee," the marauding evening raccoons did not pose a problem for the station. Opie the wonder poodle's dry dog food in the resealable sandwich bag was another matter. Opie and I awoke the first night at 3:30 to the nearby sound of crunching and discovered the interloper in the midst of its late night snack in the screen portion of our new, fantastic, Coleman Weathermaster 6 tent. The little masked bugger grabbed its prize and scurried into the underbrush when it heard my attempts to sleepily, but stealthily get the flap zipper undone. I could just hear it crunching happily about 15 feet into the woods edge, so I shined my flashlight on it, reflecting back its two beady golden eyes. I went back to sleep...oh well.
When we camp, we relax, eat, relax, drink, and relax. (did I mention we relax?) The July 4th weekend weather (for the first four days anyway) was stellar, if not a tiny bit downright hot. Thankfully the altitude of our site allowed a slight breeze to permeate through the trees and helped to cool us as we sat and veg'd. The raucous, rambling and whimsical sound of Gray catbirds was almost always to be heard, as we must have set up camp in their living room. Chipping sparrows (one in particular) sat in a few of the same trees in alternating fashion, making sure we heard them as well. Stealthy Eastern (Rufous) towhees were forever reminding us to "drink our teeeeeee" from dawn until dusk, with an occasional brief glance at their actual silhouettes in the low branches. Chestnut-sided warblers were frequent visitors as they flitted about the brush. Much as most warblers will; the "pish" sound made by the human mouth piques their avian curiosity enough to draw them nearer to the source. These little buggers could definitely be "pished" closer for a better look, so I did the moment I heard the familiar "pleased, pleased, pleased, to meetcha" song it sang. It goes without saying that it really pishes me off when it fails to get me a better look. Boo...bad pun, I know...
In the tiny nearby Wisconsin town of "New Prospect" there is a very curious general store (Zahn's Trading Post) alongside County S. With its beginnings in 1972, it's been run by the Zahn family for over 41 years. Arthur Zahn, founder (a WWII veteran) just passed away in April of 2012 at the age of 85. His obituary states that he was best known for "never complaining" and that he had a great sense of humor. When you step into their store, you can almost feel that humor...you also feel like you've traveled back in time. Not because it's an antique store or anything, it is simply FILLED with old stuff that you may have forgotten. If you're familiar with the Vermont Country Store; it's kinda' like that...old. You could easily spend an afternoon looking at everything that has been expertly shoe-horned into the small space. 
Armella Zahn (Arthur's widow) and son James that run the place are there to serve you personally. James will admit to you, that his two passions in life are "gabbing and politics." If you have a christian and conservative background and leaning; you'll like and appreciate his chatter, if not - select your goods and move on. Oh, but plan on paying cash, or you can use their handy-dandy (in-store) ATM if you don't mind the fact that the blasted banks will nick you a couple bucks on each end of the transaction...grrr. This dear little (jam-packed) store even has the old-fashioned candy stick display in a myriad of colors and flavors you remember as a child. Armella's still sharp as a tack, but hunched over a bit as she sits low behind the checkout counter on a stool in her cotton house dress. You see, she's still recovering from a recently "busted" hip but still willing to glance upward over her glasses rim to give customers her grandmotherly speech about how most things in her store are "nat-tral" and not filled with all the junk. Dear woman.
As life-adaptations are sure to foist there way upon us all; the WPT sadly (and most suddenly) died Saturday morning on the hot and dusty side of County trunk S, after a grocery and ice run to the friendly and full-service Geidel's Piggly Wiggly in Kewaskum. We had it (and us) unfortunately towed to West Bend, WI where were thankfully graced with a free "loaner" (parts-running) Jeep from Walsh Auto Pros so that we could continue our camping. We adapted. Barbara and Opie stayed with me until Sunday noon, through some wonderful camp food, drink and more bird-watching. We packed up as much camping stuff as we could into the borrowed Jeep, and I drove them home to Milwaukee. Barbara needed to be at work on Monday morning. As painful as it was to leave my best buddy (and Opie) to drive back; I did so that I'd be nearer to reversing the process of collecting the WPT and the camping gear we had to leave behind. I had planned to be "off" work already for Monday, so it made the most sense.
Bonus (Birding) Day
Monday morning it rained. Hard. I scrambled to pick up what I could safeguard from the deluge under the tent, and into the Jeep. I sat there in a red folding camp chair pondering and reflecting on the birds I had already seen, and reading an Odd Thomas paperpack novel written by Dean Koontz. Perhaps its the varying elevation, diverse vegetation, sources of water, plentiful food, adequate nesting habitat, or all of the above; however Mauthe Lake State Park proved to me to be a destination that provided the most, and most unique species of summertime birds I had ever encountered in Wisconsin, in one trip. On the fifth day at Mauthe Lake after the long 4-hour morning rain delay; I rode my bike down (and I mean down) to the road that leads to the Mauthe Lake boat launch. This wet and swampy area (below) certainly proved to be the most prolific site for the most diverse collection of fledglings that I'd ever seen. Baltimore oriole, American robin, Red-winged blackbird, Northern waterthrush, Yellow warbler, and Veery adult-immature combinations could be seen on both edges of the damp blacktop undergoing some sort of parental "lessons" all along the roadway. I crept along silently on the Giant Suede Birdstud-birdbike and watched in complete wonder at the non-stop educational activities. Some were learning to bathe, some to forage, some to follow, and others to sing; it was truly magical. All the while I waited for Walsh Auto Pros in neighboring West Bend, WI to call me with the news that they had successfully repaired the ailing WPT; I watched the unfolding natural display of avian summer schooling.
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| Mauthe Lake - State Park - Birdstud APPROVED! |
The list (below) I compiled (and uploaded to my iPhone Audubon app) is quite impressive even for me:
- Mallard
- Turkey Vulture
- Sandhill Crane
- Killdeer,
- Mourning Dove
- Red-bellied Woodpecker
- Downy Woodpecker
- Hairy Woodpecker
- Northern Flicker
- Eastern Wood-Pewee
- Least Flycatcher
- Eastern Phoebe
- Great Crested Flycatcher
- Warbling Vireo
- Red-eyed Vireo
- Blue Jay
- American Crow
- Tree Swallow
- Northern Rough-winged Swallow
- Barn Swallow
- Black-capped Chickadee
- Tufted Titmouse
- Red-breasted Nuthatch
- White-breasted Nuthatch
- Brown Creeper
- House Wren
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
- Eastern Bluebird
- Veery
- American Robin
- Gray Catbird
- Brown Thrasher
- European Starling
- Cedar Waxwing
- Ovenbird
- Northern Waterthrush
- Blue-winged Warbler
- Nashville Warbler
- Common Yellowthroat
- American Redstart
- Yellow Warbler
- Chestnut-sided Warbler
- Eastern Towhee
- American Tree Sparrow
- Chipping Sparrow
- Field Sparrow
- Song Sparrow
- Scarlet Tanager
- Northern Cardinal
- Indigo Bunting
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Common Grackle
- Baltimore Oriole
- House Finch
- American Goldfinch
Now as I often say in my blogs, listening to avian songs and calls is the lion's share of bird watching. You'll never get much beyond chickadees and robins unless you take the time to learn as many calls and songs as possible. While camping; you can lie sleepily in your tent in the early morning hour and listen to the dawn chorus. The next time you hear it; don't bitch about the (too early) noise - relax, and try to identify as many bird species as you can; strictly by ear. While walking the road I had the opportunity to record many bird sounds on a handy-dandy (free) iPhone app. To that end, there's no song or call in the wild more amazing than the hauntingly beautiful (twin syrinx-ed) Veery.
► HERE is a sample of the calls I recorded. See if you can identify what you hear in the recording. I'll post the answers in a future blog, or you can email me - birdstud@birdmilwaukee.com.
I finally got the call from Walsh's around 2:45 PM so I drove their loaner Jeep back to West Bend to pay the piper for the WPT. I drove one final time to 527 and packed up the remaining camp items in the (now) blazing hot sun. A friendly and beautiful Indigo bunting sat on a nearby tree and sang his heart out until I was ready to leave. I felt incredibly blessed. The final treat to the entire trip came as I heard the familiar rising ring-sing of my FOY (first of year) Cicada! It was definitely summer now, and officially hot.
I finally got the call from Walsh's around 2:45 PM so I drove their loaner Jeep back to West Bend to pay the piper for the WPT. I drove one final time to 527 and packed up the remaining camp items in the (now) blazing hot sun. A friendly and beautiful Indigo bunting sat on a nearby tree and sang his heart out until I was ready to leave. I felt incredibly blessed. The final treat to the entire trip came as I heard the familiar rising ring-sing of my FOY (first of year) Cicada! It was definitely summer now, and officially hot.
It's the little things people...honestly...I keep on tellin' ya.
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