Pheasant Branch & Marshall Park

The Boardwalk in Pheasant Branch Conservancy

View Larger Map
Today we revisited one of our favored spots—the boardwalk at Pheasant Branch Conservancy in Middleton; and we explored a new one—the nearby Marshall Park in Madison.

In an earlier post we described the Pheasant Branch Trail originating at Century Avenue and extending westward through Middleton. That trail is the "tail" so to speak of the "kite" of Pheasant Branch Conservancy proper, which lies north of Century Avenue. The main trail system in the Conservancy is a 3.3 mile loop surrounding a core wetland. Our preferred access to the trail loop is the entrance to a boardwalk at the end of Marina Drive off Century Avenue. There is easy street parking; and the boardwalk provides a dry, level, and comfortable walk. Our round trip today was about 0.4 miles taking us through a mixed woodland that stands in slightly marshy conditions.

The boardwalk starts with a bridge over a gully. About 120 feet further the trail intersects with the main loop. Here we turned east. Facing the morning sun about an hour after sunrise, we kept up a quick pace to our destination—the bridge across Pheasant Branch Creek—so we could have a leisurely walk back with the sun behind us. We lingered at the bridge to explore the canopies of the trees in the more open area around the creek. There was a lot of furtive activity but not anything we could recognize apart from common birds. We could hear the calls of Sandhill Cranes coming from the marsh to our north, and a pair passed overhead.

Looking North from the Pheasant Branch Creek Bridge

We moved on to nearby Marshall Park off Allen Blvd. on the southwest shore of Lake Mendota just across the city limit in Madison. The park has a boat launch, beach, and wooded area. Accessibility is very good. The walk is about 200 feet along a paved path/service road from the parking lot to the beach.


View Larger Map
Many Madisonians may not know that a Holocaust Memorial provided by a private donor was dedicated here in 1998. Overlooking the lake in a simple, meditative setting, the monument consists of two stone benches facing an inscribed boulder.

Detail of the Holocaust Memorial at Marshall Park

We thought we might find more water birds but had to be satisfied with a Common Loon and a pair of Pied-billed Grebes. In the shrubbery near the beach we saw one or more flycatchers. There is a concrete bathhouse by the beach that has an observation deck reached by stairs as well as a ramp. Hemmed in by foliage, it only provides a tunnel view of the lake. We did see a Northern Waterthrush scurry along the muddy shoreline below us. We followed a path along the shoreline into a deciduous woods for a few hundred feet. Not much of the lake was visible, though it appeared that the nimble could find a way down the embankment. The path opened into a clearing that was adjacent to private property, so we turned back, being a little uncomfortable pointing cameras and binoculars.

Northern Waterthrush, MPK, 23 September 2012, 9:36 AM

Northern Waterthrush, MPK,
23 September 2012, 9:36 AM

Nine Springs Lagoons

Detail of Nine Springs Lagoons, May 2010

View Larger Map
The lagoons and wildlife observation area at the Madison Municipal Sewerage District site off Moorland is one of our favorite spots for viewing waterfowl and shorebirds. Lake Farm County Park is adjacent to this area, and just across the road is a parking lot for the Nine Springs E-Way, so we generally refer to the site as “Nine Springs Lagoons.” The relationship among these three natural areas is clear on the site map of Lake Farm Park.

Crossing the road after parking, you can go straight ahead to a boardwalk that crosses over a marsh or turn left and walk about 700 ft. along the Capital City Trail to the trailhead to the lagoons. The 900 ft. boardwalk dead-ends at an observation deck with a good view of the easternmost of the main lagoons, so it is very convenient for birders with disability issues, but spotting from there is best done with a scope. In spring and fall, the marshy woods between the lagoons and Moorland Road abound with warblers and other small migratory birds, although it is often difficult to get good views and even more difficult to photograph when the dense foliage is in its full glory. At the trailhead you have to negotiate a shallow ditch to reach the path around the lagoons. Tom walks with a rollator (rolling walker) and needed assistance to get across. The lagoon paths are either dirt and coarse gravel or thick grass, which can be further impediments depending on the weather.

On this trip, we were disappointed to see how green and scummy the lagoons were (compared to the photo above taken in 2010), but numerous mallards and some Canada geese idled or moved slowly in the water. There were some smaller ducks that Gene thought might be young or female blue-winged teals, but Tom convinced him they were young mallards, so there was no excitement on the waterfowl front. We did see a pair of Sandhill Cranes on the far bank, and we never tire of them. We also observed two Killdeer thanks to Linda and Sayoko’s spotting. Sayoko spotted another small shorebird, but its lack of strong markings and considerable distance made identification difficult. Tom’s photographs suggest that it is a Pectoral Sandpiper.

Pectoral Sandpiper(?), NSL, 15 September 2012, 8:23 AM

Pectoral Sandpiper(?) and Killdeer, 15 September 2012, 8:21 AM

As three of us moved on past the middle lagoon, Sayoko hung back to look at the boggy area on the other side of the embankment. Since she lingered for quite a while, Gene went back and found that she was looking at small marsh birds. Photography was difficult because of the direction of the sun and the undergrowth, but he managed to get a fairly decent picture of a Sora, a new bird for both of them. Unfortunately, it had disappeared in the bushes before Tom and Linda arrived. In the nearby trees, we saw two Common Yellowthroats and a Cedar Waxwing among a variety of even more common birds.

Sora, NSL, 15 September 2012, 9:05 AM

We ended our outing back at Gene and Sayoko’s house for brunch and a leisurely few hours of conversation.