I am currently in a whirlwind of trying to figure out how best to tell the world about my new owl book. I almost forgot that I need to update my blog site!
Drum Roll — my book is scheduled to be published on January 27, 2026, which is 26 days away! It is now possible to order copies from me and from the usual booksellers. Books from me, of course, can be signed and additional notes to the purchaser or an intended recipient can be added. I will have copies of the softbound copies by the publication date, with my hardbound copies probably arriving later. To order from me, you can call me at 682-365-6531, or you can go to my “shop” page and then to my “cart” page. If you have any questions, please call or text me.
Pine Siskins arrived in great numbers in our central Wisconsin yard along with a huge snow we had a few weeks ago, and have mostly stayed around, even when most of the snow melted. Yesterday we received nearly 3 inches and the Siskins were again famished. Some even hopped on my hand to eat seeds today, as a couple of them had done after the last snow. There is something amazing in having a wild bird sit on your hand. Previously I have had Black-capped Chickadees (many years ago in WI) on my hand, and when we lived in AK, Common Redpolls and Steller’s Jays did so. I guess it takes a combination of birds hungry enough to forget to be afraid, and warm enough weather so I can stand to stand motionless outside for long enough for them to find me and my offering.
I know that woodpeckers eat lots of things, but their visits to our feeders are almost always at the fake or real suet blocks. Somehow I often forget that they like nuts even though I do regularly see Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers at my peanut feeders. Yesterday’s visiting Pileated Woodpecker was one of the first times that I had seen one of these lovely monsters on the peanuts. Before this male came to the feeder, he and another Pileated Woodpecker did a round-and-round-the-trunk dance on our spruce tree.
While we do not seem to be getting quite as much snow as was forecast, it definitely has been snowing for hours and hasn’t yet stopped. No new winter birds have yet arrived in our yard. Maybe they are waiting for more snow. Mostly it’s American Goldfinches and Mourning Doves for now. The goldfinches (often over 30 of them) have been crowding around the feeders.
The doves (sometimes over 40) hustle around ground, or perch in the spruce tree, waiting for the snow to stop.
Waiting, waiting…
Right now, however, everybody has departed from our yard, spooked completely by a Cooper’s Hawk that barreled through the yard in hot pursuit of one of the doves.
Sometimes birding is not about chasing birds, or even about seeing them, but is about watching for and waiting for them. Right now, while we still have the residents, such as Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, most of our summer birds have left for southern climes, not knowing we were going to have a mild fall, and basically no winter yet.
Our normal wintertime birds are mostly somewhere north of here in Canada, with only a few having finally drifted down to the northern part of the state recently. Although we’ve had a few light snows, right now there is no snow on the ground. It’s mid-December in central Wisconsin!
So birding now is more about watching squirrels eat bird seed in my yard than it is about watching birds.
Winter is coming they say- it’s supposed to dip below zero (degrees F) at night two days from now and to barely rise above it during the next day. And maybe there will be an inch of snow. Slowly, slowly. Maybe more birds will arrive soon…
The mission of the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin (NRF) is to “protect our state’s lands, waters, and wildlife by providing funding, leading partnerships, and connecting all people to nature.” The NRF organizes people all across the state to offer hundreds of field trips each year. The fees collected for each trip go to the NRF or other designated non-profit group.
I had been wait-listed on this morning’s very early (4 am) NRF trip to Paul J. Olson Wildlife Area south of Wausau about 30 miles, but thank goodness, at the last minute a space opened up. After our group met, we were led out to the fields where we split into two groups of 4 people each to go to the two different blinds, each of which is positioned in the middle of a lek area where Greater Prairie-Chickens display during the breeding season. Our wooden blind mounted on a wheeled base was set in the middle of a flat field where beans are grown during the summer but was now just dirt and old plants. These birds, while occurring in a couple of other states in the US, are very much threatened in Wisconsin and are only found in the center of the state in a few restricted areas. We sat on wooden benches totally protected from the elements, with openable windows to allow us to better hear and to photograph the chickens when they arrived.
We began to hear to their moaning hoots and clucks about 5:25. Soon after that we could see dim views of them as they danced around, sometimes having what seemed to be mock fights with other males. At first we could only see the displaying males, about 8-9 of them. Eventually three females casually appeared, pecking at the ground, while the males danced around. They moved around our blind coming closer and moving away as they danced, clearly accustomed to its presence. About an hour later, the females disappeared, but the males, now up to 12 or so, carried on. I’m not sure if they thought the females were still lurking nearby in the taller grass surrounding the lek area, which could have been the case, or if they were just practicing for tomorrow’s display. By about 7:30, most of the males had gone, and we headed back to the meeting area for coffee, food, and discussion about the world of the Prairie-Chickens and the people who manage and/or own the land where the Prairie-Chickens live.
