Hi AusBirders:
I was greeted home from Australia by an immature Bald Eagle catching a large
fish in Richmond Bay, our back yard in La Crosse Wisconsin USA. On the other
end of the scale were the Song Sparrow and the White Throated Sparrow, the
bird with the most haunting song of the wild. We also had Great Blue Heron,
Great Egret, Red-winged Black Birds, Hairy Woodpeckers, Northern Flicker, Red-
bellied Woodpeckers, Downey Woodpeckers, Mourning Dove, House Finch, Black
Capped Chickadees, Goldfinch, Wood Ducks, Hooded Mergansers, Red-breasted
Mergansers, Pied-billed Grebe, Ring-billed Ducks, Turkey Vultures, Common
Grackle, and the ubiquitous House Sparrow and European Starling.
It is great to be home, but did get to see a wonderful world down under, a
fascinating world of diversity beyond imagination. I was also treated by
professional guides and volunteer birders to over two hundred lifers which
brings my Australian total to 340 species. The biggest treat was being there,
the second treat was the trips into the never ending variety of habitats, and
the third treat was seeing those elusive "little birds" in a casual way where
they could be seen over and over again.
It's a great time to be alive enjoying fins, ferns, feathers, flight, flora,
forests, fauna, fossils, fur, freedom, fun, friends, faith & family!
* Mike Houle * * La Crosse Wi * USA * Living on Hiawatha Island
in the Black River, located just one mile upstream from the Mississippi River
Marker
698 (Riverside Park, LaCrosse) where the legendary three rivers meet and the
birds of spring gather to enjoy the bounty of the Coulee Region.
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