10 May 2024
Good morning from Marsh Haven!
Oatmeal, breakfast of champions, hikers and backpackers!
Even though it got down to 43°F / 6°C last night, and it rained, and I kicked my quilt into the tent wall at one point and soaked the foot, I stayed nice and toasty! Love my new quilt!
No loud frogs here either, though the Purple martins woke up quite early
Today, I’m working my way south, hitting a few hiking areas along the way, but first, there were a few critters I saw at Marsh Haven I saw yesterday, but wasn’t able to get a picture of, so I hiked around for a bit trying to find them.
Spoiler: I struck out. But I did find this attractive Red-winged blackbird:
That flappy bird was pretty relentless- I think they may be making baby birds…
A pair of Purple martins:
and a whole pile of Tree swallows:
Someone’s home!
White-crowned sparrow:
I didn’t find all the birds I was hoping to find, but I’ve got several sites I’d like to check out so, onward!
Welcome to the Bud Cook Hiking Area:
That sign is in rough shape, but chaining the Deer Track and Two Hawks trails should be about 2 miles.
Today is already much warmer and sunnier than yesterday:
Something is burning off in the distance, though I could see and vaguely hear some machinery in that direction, so hopefully someone is attending to that…
Oh look, another Tree swallow!
This one’s house has a cool metal duct (the ones at Marsh Haven were mesh)
Bobolink:
A very distinctive bird, but seriously, who named him!?
American goldfinch:
I came to this fork in the road and wasn’t sure which was the correct path so I kept following the green one:
that was a mistake. It may not look it, but the left-hand path is seriously waterlogged. Learn from my mistake: take the questionable brown path. Fortunately, I learned that my shoes dry out quickly.
One last Tree swallow:
Next stop, Horicon National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center:
Cool structure at the start of this hike:
This is a short loop, just 1 mile:
Swamp!
There were lots of geese, but they took off as I started walking along the boardwalk. Fortunately, these Blue-winged teals? weren’t quite quick enough to escape my camera:
Black swallowtail:
A cute little table set in the woods:
White-crowned sparrow:
Scenic overlook on my way south:
There were a couple telescopes set up here for spotting wildlife, but honestly, I’m not patient enough for that.
Final stop of the trip, Horicon Marsh Education & Visitor Center:
They too have a selfie spot!
Ignore the weird face, I haven’t mastered the jumping selfie yet 🙂
They also have this really cool mammoth statue:
Multi-bird hotel at the start of the hike featuring this robin:
(I love it when they go all squat like that!)
This female Purple Martin:
and a pair of Purple martins:
I was hoping to do that Bachhuber Loop first:
but found several geese families blocking the way:
So I headed toward the boardwalk instead. Along the way, I found pods of turtles sunning themselves on logs:
I’m not sure why this guy is so angry:
So. Many. Turtles!
Grackle:
Boardwalk!
And the first of many Red-winged blackbirds:
A pair of Red-winged blackbirds:
Female
Male
This guy’s limbs are all tucked in:
Half tucked:
Again, SO MANY TURTLES!
Turtle tail:
Grumpy turtle face:
Heading into the woods:
Chippy rat:
Pano of the swamp:
Grackle:
and another!
They have a terrible call, but I love how shimmery they are!
This portion of the trail was quite scenic, but so incredibly windy:
Baby geese!
These guys were so small and fluffy!
Great blue heron:
Most geese along the path would jump into the water as I walked past, but this guy just gave me the side-eye:
I was planning on also hiking out to Quick’s Point, but it too has been taken over by geese:
I mean, the path around the flowage was also covered in geese:
but they seemed to tolerate me alright- these guys even hiked with me for a bit:
Happily swimming:
Not a great picture, but these Killdeer camouflage so well!
A singing Song Sparrow:
A Great egret in flight:
Great blue heron:
Most geese families would move off the path and into the water as I walked past, but this group stubbornly refused to move:
I tried to give them space, but I was getting tired and hungry and just wanted to be done with this hike, and these geese were getting sick of me and started hissing:
Then one flared out its wings and charged me, and I ran. It was terrifying.
But once I was past, it calmed down and I safely escaped.
Last bird of the trip:
A common robin with a worm.
All in all, a successful trip! My sleep system kept me warm despite the cool temps and less-than-ideal conditions, and I put in about 7 miles today, after doing about 6 yesterday, with a decently full pack. A good start in building up my endurance!