Blanding’s Turtle

Blanding’s Turtles are commonly seen at Crex Meadows Wildlife Area.

Red Cedar State Trail

We were looking for some ice photos and encountered a pair of Sandhill Cranes. We also heard a number of other cranes calling.

Ice Age Trail Hemlock Creek Segment

Another warm late winter day and we decided to visit the Ice Age Trail Hemlock Creek Segment at Murphy Flowage. There is a nice three-mile loop trail that follows Hemlock Creek. It was a little icy on the packed trail, so we decided to wear our ice cleats.

We encountered a small pond which was a backwater of the creek. This area is beautiful in the fall.

We encountered signs of Pileated Woodpeckers working on a birch tree.

We also found a beaver dam on the creek. There was a beaver sunning himself on the ice, but he was too far for a photo. It also looked like the beavers were a little overly ambitious on the size of tree they selected.

We also found some Trumpeter Swans on the creek.

Ice Age Trail, Chippewa Moraine Segment

It was a beautiful warm late winter day. We had just had several inches of fresh snow. We decided to drive up to the Chippewa Moraine Segment of the Ice Age Trail. There is a 4.5-mile loop trail that we love to hike.

The most interesting things we found were large collections of Snow Fleas. At first, we thought it was just debris falling from the trees but once we stopped and took a closer look, we found the were moving around and concluded they were Snow Fleas.

Early Spring Photos from my Trail Camera

Not a lot of activity showing up in the woods this spring. It has been a cold and snowy spring.

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Spring at Crex Meadows – Sandhill Cranes

Ice Patterns

Thes were found along the Red Cedar State Trail.

Spring at Crex Meadows – Trumpeter Swans

Crane Counting at Gilbert Creek

Every spring I spend the early morning counting Sandhill Cranes at Gilbert Creek Wildlife Area. Typically, there are quite a few species of birds that I also try and count.

Wildlife in the Yard

Not much activity lately. I have a small herd of deer around that I wee wandering through the yard. There is also a flock of about 35 wild turkeys that walk through several times a day. I noticed that the gobblers have joined the flock.