Quarry Lake in Red Granite

Quarry Lake in Red Granite
Originally uploaded by WheretogoWisconsin

Red Granite (Waushara Cty)

On a recent Road Trip I stopped at this popular quarry park. This park is right off of Hwy 21 and I didn't see ANY signs that identified it as a park - just a tiny GREEN sign (no bigger than a No Parking sign) announcing 'QUARRY ->'

This is a pretty popular place, people were fishing and I watched a few people walking with scuba gear (reading later that they have lessons here).

When I take these Road Trips I leave with the hope of finding a nice trail. That didn't really happen, and I will continue my hunt online until the price of gas drops.

What I did experience was a battle between 2 crows and a hawk in pretty close proximity to where I was standing, that I almost stepped on two eggs that were on the ground. Judging from the bird sites I visited, these were hawks' eggs.

Now it may be early enough for baby hawks to hatch, but because of the way the hawk was screeching and refusing to leave the area I believed I was witnessing a hostile attack versus the typical harassing to drive a unwanted bird from claimed territory.

This is the closest I have ever gotten to such a battle, and I was mesmerized.


As I was driving out of Red Granite on Hwy 21 (west) I saw a MT MORRIS COUNTY PARK sign and followed it on Cty S. There is a entrance to a State Fishery, but no Mt Morris County Park. Even Googling it took me nowhere. So I concluded that what they considered to be Mt Morris County Park is NORDIC MOUNTAIN.

Here is the 2nd most interesting thing I saw on my Road Trip, I call it a gaggle of cattle.

Weather Anomaly

Menasha (Outagamie Cty)

Perhaps someone out there has seen this before. I will show a few pictures that I took Wednesday afternoon. This is NOT a rainbow, and it did not dissipate like smoke, so my assumption was cloud/vapors of some sort, but not of
a natural sort.



I am hoping that maybe someone will see this and understand.


*** UPDATE: see Circumhorizon arc post. ***

Birdbrain

Of ALL of the birding sites out there, what I really would like is a database for birdbrains. It could look something like:

Q: where did you see said bird: (shore,marsh,woods,meadow)
A: shore
Q: what size was the bird (small, medium,large)
A: medium
Q: what color was the bird (black,white,brown)....

I think you get the idea. In researching Wisconsin Birds, you are led to well meaning sites that provide a ton of information...as long as you know the name of the bird itself. By the way, ever notice that your search results will vary even while using the same key words but on a different computer? The most helpful guide for birds is this little WI DNR made piece. It may look a bit daunting but the nice thing about pdf's is they are searchable and more user friendly than most of the birding websites I've encountered. I also recommend the Wisconsin Breeding Bird Atlas

The extent of my bird knowledge is limited to a handful of the standard Wisconsin birds that most children know of: robin, hawk, cardinal, blue jay, geese; it wasn't until recently that I have been noticing other birds that don't fall within my 5 bird sphere: cranes, loons, vultures and startlingly White Pelicans. Say what? Long ago (ref to 'Distribution, Breeding Range), Pelicans were cataloged as far back 1884 as using this area for breeding. The most commonly known areas are at the Horican (National) Wildlife Refuge at Snag Island (Dodge Cty), but there is also Cat (not CAST) Island in Green Bay (Brown Cty).

This was a difficult post, taking over a week doing research and deliberating on the subject. Just shows how much I care, eh? My biggest obstacle was the title. I believe that if I would have come up with a decent title, that it would all flow together, and normally that is the case with me. Lack of birding knowledge made it difficult to drive the writing; just a bunch of random facts thrown together with very little personality, so I have to rely on the experts.

Here is a little bit of what studying Pelicans is like for one researcher:

After returning from the fishing grounds and lounging about the nests for a while the pelicans began to circle over the colony in a large company, rising higher and higher till they were almost lost in blue. By watching we could occasionally see the faint flashes of white as the snowy breasts reflected a gleam of the sun. For hours the sky would glitter with these great birds as they soared about Then It was thrilling to see some of them descend with rigid, half-closed wings. They used the sky as a big toboggan slide and dropped like meteors, leaving a trail of thunder. Several times when we first heard the sound we were deceived into thinking it was the advance messenger of a heavy storm and jumped up expecting to see black clouds rising from behind the mountains. - Mr. William L. Finley, Klamath Lake, Oregon (1907)

Last spring I witnessed a 5-6 bird flock that flew in a formation different than any bird I have ever seen. It reminded me of the Air Force Blue Angels in a diamond like pattern, turning only when the leader turned, flapping exactly as the leader would, flying so high you could not see their telltale bills. Always cruising, never landing. The author above describes a much larger group, which confirms to me that they had changed their migration pattern for a long stretch and their reemergence is still in the beginning stages.

This post is in no way a source of information either, and should not be construed as one. If I am to construe anything with this post it is out of ignorance. I am perfectly content to appreciate birds without getting excited over their plight, as I am guessing that even birds are unconcerned, being birds and all. As I do with anything that I discover, I research and discuss my findings like any pseudoscientist would.

As a final note, I want to share a photo I found that I found both humorous and touching:
Dr. Charles Kemper is a well known orinth....ornithologist and if you want to read more it will be found here.

Rocky Arbor State Park

Rock and Wood
Originally uploaded by jw_creations

West of Wisconsin Dells (Sauk Cty)

I didn't expect to blog about this park until I had a chance to check it out. Since my introduction to Flickr I have come to appreciate the talents of others to reveal the beauty of Wisconsin in a way that I never could. What I liked most about this picture was the timeless quality - one could just as easily expect to see a wooly mammoth as a couple of American hikers.

This park is only open for camping starting Memorial Day (May) to Labor Day (Sept) with day use available year round. There is a short nature trail and wild raspberries are free for the taking. What information I was able to find on the internet, the description reminds me of what Roche-a-Cri State Park is like. Heavy on the camping, and not much of anything else.

My own trips to the Dells usually entails finding the least expensive way to wile the day without bringing home unwanted visitors. Specifically, ticks. When I make my way to Sauk County my purpose would be to review Rocky Arbor and hopefully find some county parks.

Fonferek Glen County Park

DePere - Kolb area (Brown Cty)

This place isn't exactly well marked unless you know the area. I didn't and ended up by Denmark before turning around. I have seen it spelled Fenfereck, Fonfereck, etc. It's official name is Fonferek Glen Conservancy Area and also Fonferek Falls.

DSC_0072
Originally uploaded by ashleyblodgett

The name is taken from the original owners of the land. The park itself is 74 acres and the Falls are fed by Bower Creek where it tumbles 30 feet over the limestone ledge to be dashed onto the rocks below. Remember, its a creek, not a river so don't break out the kayak just yet.

Basic information and directions are found here.

It is nearby Wequiock Falls, though it does not appear to be a hiking park (to be honest I have not been there).

Here is a link to the googled map