positioned on a broad beach of glacial lake algonquin, cedar grove hawk research station is an active area for raptor migrations and has served as a banding and recording site for research for over 60 years. i learned that it has the longest running activity of banding and recording in north america, which is something.

there were a great many birds singing the day i visited, and while i’ll admit i couldn’t identify a number of them by their songs, i’ll also submit i simply didn’t care as i sat on the hillside in the morning air.

as this is a more sensitive site, i’m very grateful to the wisconsin dnr for permitting me to visit!

(note again: photo quality won’t be as high as normal here and in the next few posts, as i used the old flip-phone for this excursion. though in ways i like the lower res for this project sometimes; it seems to fit the immediacy and spontaneity i’m aiming for here. and i like to use old technology anyway—i still listen to audio cassettes and things like that…)

a.

past sand pipers

over graves to this place

where the downed trees lie

b.

i keep to the ridgeline

shore of a now-gone sea

grown thick and hoary with birdsong

c.

thorns pierce on hillside

gathering damp toward the pines

warbling on above