Black-bellied Whistling-Duck in Wisconsin

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck - Chippewa Falls, WI

I normally don't "chase" rare birds.  In fact, I've only done it twice.  The first time was back in 2002, when I saw a report of a summer Snowy Owl near the Menards Corporate HQ in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

Summer Snowy Owl © Mary Kay Rubey

It was only 50 miles from where I live, and I needed an excuse for a shopping trip to the nearby "big city" of Eau Claire.  I didn't know what to expect - but I didn't think I'd see a Snowy Owl.

But there it was... right where the report said it would be.

Summer Snowy Owl ©Mary Kay Rubey

A Snowy Owl in the summer is an extremely rare sight in Wisconsin.  But a Black-belled Whistling-Duck in Chippewa Falls?  Extremely rare too - only six records of this tropical bird in the Badger State.   Normally highly gregarious, this lone duck is approximately 1,500 miles from the northern-most limit of its normal range. 

US Geological Survey - Breeding Bird Survey data                 

I didn't think about making a special trip to Chippewa Falls to see a duck, but my Prius was due for an oil change - and Markquart Toyota just opened a new location - in Chippewa Falls.  

I went back to my email in-box to check the Wisconsin Birds listserv reports for an address and got the GPS coordinates (44.9187N, 91.5097W).  Wouldn't you know, that's less than 10 miles from Markquart Toyota.

Despite the weather (pouring rain and gray skies), I decided to look for a duck that - according to the USGS website - prefers tropical lagoons, marshes and streams with partially tree-covered margins; often near agricultural land. 

I was amazed to find the little wooded pond on County Road F.  It's on the east side of County F adjacent to the Wheaton Gas Metering Station.

The Pond - Looking north from the Gas Meter Station

Wheaton Gas Meter Station (on the east side of County K)

I scoured the little wooded pond.  No Whistling-Duck.  My husband, Tom, focused his binoculars on the flooded farm field on the west side of the road, across from the wooded pond.  "I see it, over there" he said, pointing to a tiny dot on a tiny peninsula in the flooded field.

I pointed my binoculars in the direction he was pointing, and then I spotted it.

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck

We watched the duck as the rain pelted my car.  It looked up a couple of times.  I shot a few photos from the car window.  

Yep.  It's a Black-bellied Whistling-Duck, feeding in a flooded farm field in Wisconsin in April.

Woodpeckers at a Gut Pile

Hairy Woodpecker on a gut pile in the snow

It snowed again last night.  Only an inch or two.  The red liquid in my kitchen thermometer hovered around the "0" line.  I dreaded going outside.  But the birds were a callin' and they wanted the feeders filled. 

I put on my coat and gloves and went outside at 7am.   I shoveled the feeding station and filled the feeders.

I didn't see the "crime scene" until I started shoveling the driveway.  I found it behind the big spruce that shelters my feeding station.  At first I thought it looked like one of those clumps of snow and road sand that I've been kicking off the wheel-wells my Prius.   It wasn't until I got closer that I realized it was something else altogether.

The gut pile in my driveway

Here's what was left at the scene:  The fur and tracks (on the right) belong to a cottontail rabbit.    Feather and talon tracks (on the left) belong to an owl - a Great-horned or Barred.  I've heard them both in my backyard.

It looks like an owl spotted a rabbit early this morning.  The bird killed it and eviscerated it on the spot;  then flew off with the body, leaving the rabbit's intestines and a swatch of fur behind.

Will the owl come back?  Will another creature eat what was left behind?  Inquiring minds want to know.

I moved the guts to a place I could watch from the comfort of my kitchen window.

Downy Woodpecker on rabbit intestines

Minutes later, a Downy Woodpecker discovered the now-frozen guts and started pecking away at the pile.  As I was setting up to take a photo, a Hairy Woodpecker flew over, scared the Downy away and started pecking

I couldn't stay and watch, but when I got home at 4pm, some of it was still visible from the kitchen window.  I'll be surprised if it's still there in the morning.  Stay tuned...

A Murder of Crows

We were back on the Chippewa River State Trail by the Hurlburt farm on County M.

Although the forecasters promised 60-degrees, the thermometer in my Prius didn't get much past 45. It was around 3pm and the sky was ominous: full of big and mean, gray clouds with the sun trying to break through the silver linings.

I heard a faint "who cooks for you?" coming from the red pines on the hill.

Did you hear it?  I asked Tom.  He stopped to listen.  A duet started.  "Who cooks for you?" coming from the south, answered by another "who cooks for you" just up the trail.   It went back and forth for about 10 minutes.

Barred Owls.

While it's unusual to hear them during the day, it's not unheard of.  We've experienced barred owl calls  on cloudy days in the late afternoon.

I hooted back, but they weren't fooled.

Minutes later a murder of crows arrived.  We've heard crows "mob" owls many times, but this was the most raucous ever.  I don't know how the owls put up with them.   It really did sound like they were committing the most horrific murder.

I expected the owls to take off - just to get away     from all the noise.  And for a moment, I was fooled... who was it the crows were mobbing?
I spotted the shadow of a raptor flying over my head - a Red-tailed Hawk.

The crows continued with their screams, confirming it was the owls they were mobbing - not the hawk.

The crows were still at it when we left 30 minutes later.

Songbird sightings:  Ruby-crowned kinglets, Fox Sparrows, White-throated Sparrows and Downy Woodpeckers.