Kohler-Andrae 2024, Day 1!

I’m at Kohler-Andrae State Park today, and I got to see some amazing sights this morning, but I’m at the Sheboygan public library right now to use their wifi, and I’m supposed to bring back lunch for Anne, so I gotta hurry. There might be some typos.

Before I even left the campground, and while it was still pretty dark out, I spotted this darling sampling the shrubbery behind someone’s tent.

As soon as I got to the Black River Marsh, about a dozen American white pelicans dropped in, and this one deployed its drag chute to descend quickly enough to keep up with the rest.

The marsh was full of marsh wrens, which makes sense when you think about it.

I was thrilled to see a sora, which we do get to see in Estabrook once in a blue moon, but not yet this year.

Another huge treat, which we have gotten to enjoy in Estabrook this year already, was this black-billed cuckoo. I had just met a subscriber, who birds there regularly, and she had just told me that the cuckoos had been scarce this year, but I guess today was just my lucky day.

Finally, the viceroys were out, which I love to see, and I saw two or three.

Lastly, for handy comparison, so were the monarchs.

There was a bit more, but I’ll have to save that for a rainy day, because now duty calls.