I made this trip from May 14-19th. With the help of my friend, Shawn Miller, that lives near Madison, it became one of my top 10 bird trips of all time. What a difference it makes when you go with someone that knows the area, where to find specific birds, and what times to search?

Shortly after my arrival, we packed up and headed to Wyalising State Park at the southwest border with Iowa. On the way there we made two stops: Wabesa Wetlands for Henslow's Sparrow and the Thompson Prairie Memorial for the Upland Sandpiper. There are apparently several small patches of grassland where Henslow's occur; Wabesa Wetlands is one of the more reliable sites. Shawn was on the sparrow within a few minutes of searching and a few minutes later I got good looks and a few more minutes after that, I was able to get an ID photo.

We headed off to Thompson Memorial Grassland arriving just before 6 PM. Our target was the Upland Sandpiper, but it did not perch or call during our short visit. The best part of this stop were the full-plumaged Bobolinks singing and displaying.

May 15th was a fantastic day of birding at Wyalising State Park. Right out of the car we ecnountered singing Cerulean Warblers. We observed dozens of species this day: Cape May, Canada, Blue winged Warblers, Ovenbirds, Louisiana Waterthrushes, Scarlet Tanagers, and many more. The best for me was one of the most elusive species, the Kentucky Warbler. Noted for the difficulty in seeing it well and then taking photographs, our individual was ultra cooperative. The final life bird here came near the end of our visit, the Black-billed Cuckoo, and another one of my nemesis birds.




We left the park just after 5 PM and made one last stop at Thompson Memorial Prairie to knock off my 5th target bird for the trip in the Upland Sandpiper. We missed it on the way out, but this evening just after 7 PM, we first heard its song and then Shawn got his scope on it 200 yards away. It is always more satistfying to get close looks and a great image, but getting 5 lifers in 26 hours is a rarity now that I have passed 700 US lifers.

The rest of my trip was still very good, but produced no lifers. However, I did see several species that I had only see once or twice in my birding tenure: Kirtland's Warbler, Whooping Crane, Hudsonian Godwit, and the Snowy Owl.




I was just a tad too early for Connecticut Warblers. This species showed up much more frequently after I left on the 20th May.