Sometimes it just works out that way...
On a warm and sunny afternoon, while walking back to the parking lot along the grassy approach to Lake Michigan the other day; Barbara noticed something interesting. "Look what's going on there," she said. I looked at the scores of swooping and diving Barn swallows zipping through the air in a particular section of the lush lawn. Thankfully Milwaukee's lakefront had been finally getting some needed rainfall in the past several weeks, and the grass had returned nearly to its usual late summer luster. "Yes, I see the swallows catching bugs," I replied and continued walking the concrete sidewalk back to our car. We had just spent the better part of an hour leisurely walking the breezy lakefront from McKinley Marina all the way to the south side of the Milwaukee Art Museum. She then said excitedly, "Yes, but look at the birds IN the grass...look what THEY are doing!"
I stopped and watched for a minute or two and noticed the dozen or so immature Brown-headed cowbirds hopping in the grass below the soaring, diving swallows. "Cowbirds catching bugs," I said, and stood in wonder watching the activity on the ground. "Uh-huh, but the little birds on the ground are causing the (barely noticeable) bugs to fly up into the air as they try to catch them!" she exclaimed. Sure enough, the swallows overhead were definitely benefiting from the actions of the cowbirds on the ground. If you paid attention, you could see the swallows following the slow hopping progress below of their light brown kin, as they provided the same service as a typical whitetail deer-drive hunting technique might. I stood there marveling at the unwitting cooperation between species and congratulated Barbara for picking up on this too easily-missed illustration of the glory of the natural world created by God.
How about this curious observation of bird behavior? Earlier, we were noticing Cedar waxwings flying from the trees along the public walk next to the corrugated steel sea-wall. The birds would disappear over the wall and be gone for about 30-45 seconds before popping back over and returning to the tree. We watched this happen several times until we got close enough to see what the bird was doing near the water's edge. We stared in awe as a waxwing flew over the steel barrier and hovered in front of a large spider web that had been strung in the inward section of the steel. The bird would pluck a stuck insect from the spider's web for itself and fly off with its treat to devour it in the safety of a nearby tree. "Wow!" was all I could say, as I pondered the accidental brilliance of this avian piracy. Perhaps even the owner of the web itself was at risk of being a meal, but we didn't see that happen before we moved on down the lakefront.
Isn't that simply amazing?
On this Saturday before Easter; the weather finally lent itself to my first decent birding opportunity. I could have gone to Lake Park to attend the first warbler walk of the new season, but instead I chose one of my favorite avian haunts; Havenwoods State Forest. I arrived at around 9:00 AM and parked in the lot. There were two other vehicles there, but no humans in sight as I strapped on all my gear. Sure a person can go bird watching with little to no "gear," however I am not that person...I love gear. Two binoculars (one for close viewing and another for long viewing, my camo fanny pack that has my guides in it, my snazzy patch-ensembled birding vest, and my always reliable Fuji Finepix digital camera.) I always wear a brimmed hat (most often a ball cap) and my trusty hiking boots for the oft-muddy conditions.
Almost as soon as I walked away from the WPT, I heard several Black-capped chickadees singing their spring "hey-sweetie" song. That is a sound that I dearly love to hear each year. The next birds I saw were a pair of FOYs (first of year) Brown-headed cowbird males. Their bubbly "tinkling" vocalizations are another welcome sound. I began walking north around the community garden (like I always do) when I "thought" I heard the faint double sounds of a Brown thrasher. Having seen them at Havenwoods in the past; I decided to walk in that direction to see if I could see one. With the deciduous trees completely leafless; it's always a tremendous opportunity to be able to see an elusive thrasher.
Another interesting thing happened when I spotted a "snake board" lying on the grass. I carefully lifted it to see if there may be a snake lying just underneath and to my surprise; I discovered three woolly bear caterpillars that must have overwintered there. A pair of opportunistic Tree swallows decided to perform an early-bird check-in at one of the bluebird houses next to the large pond. I figured it wouldn't be long until someone connected with monitoring the trail evicted them unceremoniously. A Belted kingfisher clattered by and a trio of Rough-winged swallows skimmed the water's surface looking for an early hatch of flying insects.
A took a walk to the far north of the forest along the train tracks and discovered the remains of a white tail or two. I surmised that the animal must have been struck by the train and summarily dismembered and eaten by Havenwoods many coyotes. I also wandered into what looked like an illegal pot growing operation that was now abandoned. The ancient infrastructure of a bisecting train trestle quietly rusted overhead as I inspected the colorful graffiti below on the concrete abutments. My eyes were also drawn to a curious sight in the surrounding trees. This was something that might have escaped the casual onlooker's notice, however these objects were not merely hanging from branches; two rubber automobile tires were suspended some twenty feet above the ground as if they had been "ringed" over small emerging saplings in the distant past.
I finished my two and a half hour walk totaling thirty species. I was completely impressed and satisfied with the variety I had encountered, this early in the spring:
