By HARRY PRIESTER

Hello wonderful readers of the round table again! I’m back this week with another bird report for the excited birders here at Beloit college. We are still in the midst of a large migration, and that means new birds! As I woke up this morning to embark on my enthralling excursion, I encountered a problem.

I had a little too much tequila the night prior and I was being harassed by two very argumentative eastern gray squirrels at 6:30 in the morning. This put a bit of a damper on my beauty sleep so I was a bit slow out of bed, but alas. I soon mustered up the motivation to put on my favorite hat and my binoculars and went on my way.

I again took my usual birding route, starting out at the oak savannah where I saw a small gathering of playful Goldfinches showing off their aerial prowess. After watching them weave through the robust oak leaves, I moved on towards the river.

As I passed the looming burgundy bricks of Pearsons, I was suddenly stopped in my tracks by an unfamiliar chipping sound. “What could it be?” I asked myself, so I turned on my trusty Merlin sound identification and to my surprise it was the bird I was looking for last week, the Blackpoll Warbler! As always, I made sure to get a glimpse of the sneaky warbler to confirm the sound identification and it matched perfectly with the molting colors of a migrating male!

I was very happy to write down a new entry on my life list. I then moved on to the river which was a bit crowded with people fishing this morning. I did spot some familiar feathers wading in the light flow of the closed dam gates. There was a mallard with a very unique pattern of mostly dark gray uniform feathers with a white patch on its belly.

I also saw a patient Great Blue Heron mingling with some mottled mallards downstream. In the trees above me I could hear the sweet, stringy calls of Cedar Waxwings, and when I caught a glimpse, I saw possibly the most scraggly looking bird of the year for me. I clearly caught it at a bad time, because as soon as I got a good focus on my binoculars, It gave me a side eye that almost had me stumbling backwards into the river!

I did however get the chance to see that it had been trying on its California Condor cosplay. The bird had no feathers on its head! After having a bit of a laugh, I walked north through the Powerhouse bike path on the river.

As I passed the dam and looked to my left to check for anyone perching on the manmade structure when in the corner of my eye, I spotted a Great Blue Heron standing on a concrete slab right next to the path. I was well within striking distance of its massive, dagger-like speargun of a bill so I avoided eye contact and walked a safe 10 feet away in order to not spook the vigilant predator.

I think the Heron appreciated my backing off and then allowed me to voyeuristically spectate its search for a morning meal. I then took a picture and continued on down the riverside path.

I didn’t see much this time besides the usual surveying Pigeons on the electrical wire above the white street bridge until I heard the unmistakable chattering of a kingfisher flying north above me! My new friend from last week was saying hi! I didn’t find much down the rest of the path, and I made my way back home in high spirits.

As I marched back to check on the last Heron I had seen so closely, I noticed it had moved to a more conspicuous position right next to… an owl? Upon closer look it had turned out to be an imposter! The cheap fake was clearly not enough to scare the massive Heron away as was probably intended. Overall another very successful trip and a great day for birding.