Little birds in River Falls…

I made it to scenic River Falls, Wisconsin this morning, where the Kinnickinnic River meets the St. Croix. Heavy rain before sunrise made the drive a little harrowing, and traffic on I-94 was down to 35 mph at one point, but there were no mishaps that I could see. I got into town around 10:30am, and class didn’t start till 1pm, so I had a little time, and I decided to blow it in Kinnickinnic State Park, right where those two rivers flow together.

Most of the park sits on a high bluff over the water, and I thought I’d see more down below, so I scrambled down onto a big spit of sand, which has been there long enough for some tall trees to mature. Most of the water birds were actually on the other side of the Kinnickinnic River, where I really couldn’t get to them, but it turns out there was plenty to see right where I was.

I’ve already shown you a white-throated sparrow in Estabrook this fall, a couple of times, but I haven’t yet seen one in all its finery, so I couldn’t believe my luck when this gorgeous creature posed for me like it was yearbook picture day.

I haven’t even seen a palm warbler in Estabrook yet this fall, let alone shown you a picture, so I was doubly thrilled to spot this beauty. Holy Moly! Was there some event going on that I didn’t know about?

Then my trifecta came in when I spotted our first Lincoln’s sparrow of the season, and I didn’t even have to take a step. Even crazier is that I took all three of these pictures within two minutes. Jeepers creepers! It’s making me wonder if there isn’t really something to this whole “Mississippi Flyway” thing I keep hearing about.

I did see plenty of other birds, 27 additional species, in fact, but none let me have pictures even close to these, so I’ll just use those for documentation purposes. Then it was time to go to class, which was also on the Kinnickinnic River, but about 10 miles upstream, where we were going to learn about water monitoring.

Class was great, and now I have the training I need to be a “Water Action Volunteer“, but I couldn’t help but notice all the yellow-rumped warblers in the trees along the riverbank. As class was wrapping up, I couldn’t resist any longer, and I ran back to my car to grab my camera. Happily, the warblers were still flitting about and catching bugs, so I was able to snap this fun little picture. I’ve taken a few in Estabrook already this fall, but I’ve been holding out hope that I might get one this nice, so here it is.

My next class is at 8:30 tomorrow morning in Willow River State Park, so I think I’ll drive up there early and have a look around before class starts. Someone reported seeing a pileated woodpecker there just this morning, and who knows, maybe I’ll finally get to see one in the state of Wisconsin. Wish me luck!