9 May 2024
It’s been absolute gorgeous out for the past couple weeks, and I decided now would be a great time to test out some of my camping gear and get in a multi-day hike. A quick Google search led me to Horicon Marsh, where Bird Fest was just kicking off. I do enjoy spotting wildlife on my hikes and I’ve got a new-to-me camera that could use a bit more testing, so I sent a quick email to the director of Marsh Haven Nature Center to secure my campsite for the night, packed up my car, and drove out toward Horicon!
Welcome to Marsh Haven:
I checked in with Matt the director, but wanted to do a bit of exploring first before setting up camp. There are several trails here at Marsh Haven, so I started my hike here:
Right outside the main building is a series of Purple Martin condos:
Female:
Male:
All about Purple martins:
House sparrow:
I headed east, along the Prairie Trail, and found TONS of Tree swallows near the nesting boxes scattered around the field:
Male Tree swallow:
Moving onto the Wetland Trail:
Song sparrow:
Catbird, screaming incessantly:
Female Red-winged blackbird:
Male Red-winged blackbird:
Immature male Red-winged blackbird:
I had been warned that part of the trail was washed out (it’s been raining a lot lately) and sure enough, mud:
Fortunately, the Wild Goose Trail runs along the outskirts of Marsh Haven in this section, so I was able to detour around the wet:
Fun fact: I had originally planned to hike the Wild Goose Trail (before learning it’s really long and more of a bike trail), but I accidentally called it the Silly Goose Trail when talking to Matt and the name stuck 🙂
Back to Marsh Haven:
Red-winged blackbird:
This is the field I’ll be sleeping in tonight:
I wonder how loud the frogs in the swamp will be…
Look, more Tree swallows:
Male
Female
Such pretty birds!
and they were EVERYWHERE!
Another male:
and another female:
I picked up the Prairie trail again for a bit before hopping over to the Walter’s Woodland Trail:
This Rose-breasted grosbeak was singing up a storm!
Found a tower partway through this portion of the trail:
I’m on top of the world!
As I wrapped up my hike here, I spotted a selfie spot! I love selfie spots!
No jumping though- I’m carrying far too much camera gear for that:
One last Tree swallow:
There was still daylight left, and the forecasted rain was holding off, so I drove back up the road to this portion of Horicon National Wildlife Refuge, where I could put in a solid 4.5 mile hike:
Start of the trail:
Here’s the plan:
Start on the Redhead Trail, then follow the Red Fox Trail, loop along the Egret Trail, then back to the Red Fox, then finish on the Redhead (which is a duck, by the way).
Good luck, me!
I’m not sure why these Tree swallows like to sit on poles:
Egret in the distance:
I spotted a few of these guys- hopefully the hike will lead to a closer view of them!
Velociraptor!
Again, he was quite a ways off, but my new camera’s 600mm lens came in handy!
American goldfinch (male):
American goldfinch (female):
Yellow warbler:
And another!
There were so many little yellow birds in this field:
(though they don’t like to sit still- I’ve got so many blurry pictures!)
A picturesque bench along the Red Fox trail:
Clouds are brewing:
I spotted this tern carrying something and hoped it was nesting material:
nope, that’s a fish!
🙁 poor little fish 🙁
As proud as I am of how this picture turned out, I really hate how well you can see that little fish 🙁
Boardwalk portion of the Egret trail:
There were several Tree swallows along the path:
Egret flying through:
Sleeping goose:
Nesting Red-winged blackbird?
There was a covered outlook along the boardwalk, where this not-so-happy Barn swallow had built its home:
A pair of Blue-winged teals, I think:
Bridge at the end of the Egret Trail:
Geese!
I snuck around for a better shot:
Look at the fluffy babies!
And another set of babies!
This adult was a bit more skeptical:
But look how cute the little fluffy baby is!
Mallard (female):
Mallard (male):
Swan:
Great egret:
More ducks!
(I’m really bad at naming ducks!)
The far loop of the Redhead Trail:
Which is probably a good thing- this last mile was rough- I’m tired and hopefully that’ll help me sleep well tonight.
But driving doesn’t take a lot of energy, so I drove the Auto Loop and found Egret swamp:
Then headed back to Marsh Haven to set up camp.
Home, sweet home for the night:
It was surprisingly windy, but the pavilion made for a decent wind break.
Cooking up dinner on my little stove was a bit tricky- note to self: pack a bigger windscreen:
The finest freeze dried Chicken & Dumplings Mountain House has to offer:
It was actually pretty decent. The internet warned me that the dumplings don’t rehydrate well, so I knew going in knowing it would be more like Chicken and Croutons, but it was still pretty tasty and I’d totally eat it again!
My new, cozy quilt:
Tonight is forecast to get down to the low 40s / ~5C; my quilt is rated to 0°F / -17°C, so even though I sleep cold, I’m confident it’ll keep me warm enough.