Horicon Marsh, Mayville, Wisconsin

Yellow-headed Blackbird,
On Saturday, May 11 we drove to the Horicon Marsh, in Wisconsin for a day at the 16th annual Bird Festival..   We packed for any kind of weather, which was a good thing.
Ron had signed us up for a Birds of Prey, lecture.by Barbara Harvey.  Barbara is a raptor rehabilitator  and lectures about  birds of prey.  She was so interesting. She even brought 4 live birds.  We could not take pictures as even the red light from the camera (non flashing) will disturb the birds.  Each of the birds had be injured and will not be able to be returned to the wild.
While we were waiting for the lecture to begin we saw this yellow-headed blackbird.  The pictures had to be taken through the window.  I was so impressed.  It was such a beautiful bird.  The yellow head  was so vibrant.  The bird book describes him as a large-bodied and relatively short-tailed with a sharp-pointed deep-based bill.

They like prairie wetlands, and cattail marshes.   

This is a picture of a picture. Their range is from British Columbia, to Manitoba and South to California, New Mexico and Indiana.

13 lined ground squirrel.

Eastern Screech Owl.  This little guy had been hit  by a car and rescued.  He  was stunned.  Unfortunately , he  is now blind.  He is considered a red faced owl.  He was so cute.  He is about 8 inches long.   These owls can be a gray color or a red color and all come from the same nest.  

They can be found in suburban areas to woods.  They need a large cavity or birdhouse for nesting.

He appeared to be so soft.

The grouping shows the different colors the owls can be.

As I said earlier, we had clothes for the weather.  It was cold.  We had  winter and rain gear and put it all on.  That is Ron on the left.

We went on the pontoon boat out into the marsh and the river that runs through it.

Check out the clouds!  It was cold and windy.

Then to add insult to injury, we got sleet.  Our guide said it was the first time in the 16 years that they had gotten snow and sleet.

We did get a little bit of sun.

Look at these clouds.

Here is a heron landing in the cattails.

Yellow Warbler.  It is not the greatest picture, but considering the conditions, it is a picture.  He is about 4 inches long. This is considered a medium-sized, compact warbler.  He was a quick mover.  They like shrubby areas, wet thickets, especially with willows.

Northern Flicker  This is a large woodpecker. They like open woodland,s and suburbs.  The like to excavate a cavity in a dead or dying tree. will also use a nest box..

We also saw an eagles nest.  If you look at the top of the nest you will see the top of a white head.  It was so cool to see.

We were on a two hour tour.  It was great fun.  I learned so much and really did try to get more and better pictures, but the conditions were not the best.  Birds do not stop to pose! Our guide also said we saw or heard 31 birds on our tour.
I had told Ron I did not want any present for Mother's Day.  Instead I got this wonderful weekend.  We stayed in Milwaukee for Saturday night and took the leisurely way home.  We came back by way of Muckwanago, and Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.  We came through a lot of neat little towns on back roads.