Very large wasp.

Yesterday I saw a tree full of holes with two young Yellowbellied Sapsuckers in that tree. There were a couple of Hummingbirds that were sneaking in there to drink from the sap holes. Every time the Hummingbirds came by the Sapsuckers would chase them away. Then I noticed some flying critters that were smaller than the hummingbirds, It turns out that they were giant wasps, each about an inch and a half or two inches in size. But when the wasps would show up the birds would not go near them. It was an interesting game of paper scissor rock between the three creatures, With the wasps being the untouchables.

This wasp is called a Cicada Killer.

http://www2.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef004.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphecius_speciosus

Blue Grosbeak.

I have wanted to see this bird for about 15 years. My first attempt at seeing this bird was at Blue Mound State Park near Pipestone Minnesota. They used to put on the play by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow called The Song of Hiawatha which was a poem performed as a play. This was performed in an outdoor amphitheater on a small lake. When the poem said that the princess got in her canoe and paddled across the lake the actress would get in the canoe and paddle across the lake. This was a very nice performance but for many reasons they stopped performing this play in 2007. The performance was approximately the third week in August. The ranger told me that the Bird had left the week before.

Here is a link to a MPR story about he play in Pipestone.
http://www.mprnews.org/story/2007/12/21/hiawathawraps

A few years later I tried at the Blue Mountain State Park again in August and again the bird had left the week before.

Recently this bird had been reported near Spring Green Wisconsin. Quite a rarity for Wisconsin. I was there yesterday at a beautiful Sand Prairie and Savanna owned by The Nature Conservancy at the foothills of the bluffs. It was a beautiful day. In the afternoon some thunderstorms passed near this area. Shortly before and after the thunderstorms the Blue Grosbeak became out and was quite active, I got to see it fairly well. It is indeed a beautiful bird.

I went out to find a Snowy Owl somewhere other than the airport this weekend. But never found one. The Mississippi River has a lot of ice now and the Tundra Swan have left. There are a large number of Bald Eagles South of Brownsville Minnesota near Reno. The upper Iowa river is still flowing thru New Albin Iowa without much ice. At the marsh in New Albin there was a group of mallards in the water, and a single King Fisher. I bet this will be the last king fisher I will get to see this year. So here is a picture of this king fisher. Going bird watching reminds me of the line from Forrest Gump about life being like a box of chocolates.  So I don't mind that I didn't get to see a snowy owl, instead I got to see the King Fisher.

Christmas came to La Crosse early this year. This week we have several Snowy Owls visiting us from Canada and possibly further North. Snowy Owls travel South when the population of voles in their usual winter homes decline sharply as they do every few years. The Snowy Owls then go south untill they find a place that has an adequate supply of rodents for their sustenance. Three Snowy Owls were seen this week at the La Crosse airport. I saw two yesterday at sunset around 4 pm on the west side of the airport. One was perched on a barbed wire fence north of the passenger terminal near the parking lot exit, and another just north of the industrial buildings on the west side of the airport.  The second owl was perched an electrical box. The owls seem to like open grassy areas. Both were busy scanning their surroundings, probably looking for mice. They seemed to watch the airplanes takeoff with some interest, probably wondering why all the noise from these giant flying objects, since they (owls) can fly nearly silently. I hope the owls decide to stay a while. I wish them a safe stay and a happy journey back to their homes when the time is right.

 

Every year around October I start wondering if the Tundra Swans are going to come back to the Mississippi around La Crosse. I am happy to report that they are back in a big way this year again. I used to go Rieck's Lake near Alma Wisconsin in the late nineties. Unfrtunately the lake got silted from a big rain aound 2005, and the swans haven't been back to Rieck's Lake in large numbers since then. The now seem to prefer an area a few miles south of Brownsville Minnesota on the Mississsippi River. There is now a nice place to pull off the road near the swans with a parking and viewing area. These picture are from Saturday November 12, 2011.

Saw-Whet Owl

We traveled to Manitowoc Wisconsin on Friday October 14, 2011 to attend the annual owl festival at Woodland Dunes Nature Center. We were there last year and witnessed the release of  a number of Saw-Whet Owls that had been captured and banded. This was a wonderful experience and a great photo opportunity. Unfortunately the weather was not cooperative this year, and no owls were captured due to the high winds and rain that started on Friday and continued all night. We did manage to see a couple of Palm Warblers on the board walk trying to take shelter in the bushes from the wind. On the way there and back we stopped at the Horicon Marsh near Mayville Wisconsin. The wind made for difficult conditions at the Marsh as well. We did find an excellent restaurant in Mayville called The Audubon Inn. The Horicon Marsh will be a great place to visit in a few weeks when there are more migrant water fowl, and in the spring when the neo-tropical migrants are returning.