Powell Marsh Bogs and Sparrows, Day 3 - 03 Jun 2026

My plan for this morning was to drive to nearby Black Tern Bog Natural Area located off of Highway 51 south of Woodruff, WI. However, when I arrived it was just an open-water bog area next to the highway with no access and no trails. So, I decided to drive back to Powell Marsh WMA with the intention of driving around to see if there were any other access points off Powell Road. There were!

I drove Powell Road past the first Powell Marsh Road and continued to a second pulloff with a nice parking lot and marked signs for the WMA. I put on the mosquito jacket, head cover and gloves and headed out onto the fine-gravel trail. Ovenbird and Red-eyed Vireos were singing loudly from the woods on either side of the trail. I'd also pick up Least Flycatcher, Eastern Wood-Pewee, American Robin and Hermit Thrush.

The trail only ran about 60 yds before it ended at the shore of the marsh. A nice hunter's blind was erected as a wildlife viewing blind but I managed to flush a pair of Wood Ducks and several Ring-necked Ducks from the waters in front of the blind on my approach. This portion of the marsh consisted of a large, grassy lake w/ sedge marsh in the distance. Except for a few scattered Canada Geese it was empty.

I headed back toward the car along the gravel trail and found an old, un-maintained path through the heavy woods that moved along the shoreline. The ground was covered in ferns, dried grass and dried branches; it was impossible to walk without making a ton of noise. Still, I heard the "Ti-Piii" of a Broad-winged Hawk and the distant drummings of Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and Pileated Woodpecker.

I was glad I had the mosquito gear because I was swarmed by a cloud of the little bloodsuckers. No bites, though. When I reached the end of the trail it gave me another view of the grassy marsh with no birdlife to speak of. So I turned around and headed back to the car.

Continuing along Powell Road (that hugged the marsh to the left) I came upon a second Powell Marsh Road that led to a vista lookout parking area. A short walk past the boulders put me onto the dike and into a older portion of the marsh. Here the dike separated the sedge marsh on my left and a more "boggy" portion on the right with distant stands of balsa, fir and tamarack.

I didn't get more than a few feet along the dike before I heard, then saw, both Common Yellowthroat and Red-eyed Vireos singing atop dead snags to my right. They were about 60' away but visible in the morning sunlight.

As I watched them I spotted a "Gray Ghost" male Northern Harrier soaring lazily along the treeline a ¼ mile away. To my left a family of Trumpeter Swans were swimming in the canal on the left side of the dike; 2 adults and 5 hatchlings.

The canal on the right side of the dike was more overgrown with shrubs, laurel, and Bog Arum.

Tiny Starflowers grew in the grassier portions next to the dike.

While scanning the marsh for the Alder Flycatcher and Common Yellowthroat I began to hear the distinct "Kukuku-Kukuku-Kukuku" of a Black-billed Cuckoo. Sure enough, Merlin picked it up, as well!

As I walked the dike to the south a Wood Duck flew past me at a distance. It was so backlit I needed some Photoshop magic to bring out shadows to ID it.

Sedge Wrens and Alder Flycatchers were plentiful here. Though the wrens remained hidden in the vegetation on both sides of the dike they were singing along with the more-visible Alder Flycatchers. This one has a freshly-caught cricket.

I would also hear the haunting winnowing of Wilson's Snipe coming from several distant locations in the marsh. One would flush from the canal on my right.

Dragonflies were also plentiful. As with yesterday the majority of dragonflies were Chalk-fronted Corporals with a few scattered lacewings and meadowhawks. A few Eastern Tailed Blue Butterflies fluttered ahead of me in the grass and flashed their gorgeous bright-blue wings. Though I tried to get photos of the blue flashes I would have to wait for them to land and fold up into their cryptic tans and grays.

Approximately a half-mile along the dike it curved to the right and marsh transitioned from open-water-sedge to drier overgrown bog habitat. 

On the right side of the (now) trail the scene shifted to open grassland with distant stands of balsa, fir and tamarack. On the left side the remnants of a recent burn were recovering with fresh grasses and ferns. 

Rust-covered bog held small stands of shrubs and tamarack and fir trees with larger red pines along the perimeter.

As I walked the trail toward the balsa/fir/tamarack "forest" to my right I began to hear insect-like buzzing that sounded like Clay-colored Sparrows. Sure enough, as I got closer to the tree line Merlin picked up the "Zeee-Zeee" and "Zeee-Zeee-Zeee" calls of Clay-colored Sparrows. I would also start hearing the more musical song of Lincoln's Sparrows! I couldn't resist cutting across the heavy grass to the edges of the tamaracks and try to photograph both birds.

A single playback of the Clay-colored Sparrow song brought an inquisitive bird into view. For the next several minutes I tried to photos of the tiny tan-and-white sparrow as it ducked through the tamaracks and nearby shrubs. 

Eventually it showed itself in gorgeous light!

The Clay-colored Sparrow sang and chattered in the brush. This got the attention of a nearby Red-eyed Vireo that flew in to investigate. I spotted it in the same tree as the sparrow.

After it flew off I headed a few yards around the corner to the next open patch of trees and listened for Lincoln's Sparrows. After a few minutes I tried a playback song and immediately had a bird fly into the tamaracks. It took several minutes for it to finally show itself but was presenting itself as being much more shy than the CCSP. But, I finally was able to get some good looks at it before it disappeared into the ground cover.

I made my way back through the heavy grass mats to the trail and continued on. The Sun was nearly overhead, and it was dry enough to bring out buzzing flies. Luckily, no biting. I now reached a portion of Powell Marsh that had large bogs on either side of the trail. To my left a "newer" bog held open ponds along the near-shore with scattered stands of short Tamarack. Clay-colored Sparrows could be heard singing their buzzy song here. 

The ponds gave way to rust-colored sphagnum and dry-brush shrubs of willow and laurel.

To my right the bog held stands of taller Tamarack.

Common Yellowthroats, Clay-colored Sparrows, and Song Sparrows could be heard singing from both sides of the trail. I'd even pick up several Savannah Sparrows along the way.

I reached the end of the trail where gates were installed, so I figured I had reached the next access point. So I turned around and walked back to the car a mile away. I would stop and get some last pics of the Trumpeter Swan family before reaching the car.

I highly recommend a visit to this place! I feel like I got most of the target birds that Powell Marsh WMA has to offer but am sure that there are many more avian treasures to be found here. 

Powell Marsh SWA (Vilas Co.) (incl. vista & dikes), Vilas, Wisconsin, US
Jun 3, 2026 7:44 AM - 10:52 AM
Protocol: Traveling
2.732 mile(s)
Checklist Comments:     Mostly sunny, breezy, 5-10 mph, 57F. Very dry portion of marsh.
50 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  8
Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator)  6     4 cygnets w 2 adult
Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)  2
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  1
Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris)  3
Black-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus erythropthalmus)  1
Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis)  4
Wilson's Snipe (Gallinago delicata)  4     Winnowing, flushed 1
Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius)  1
Broad-winged Hawk (Buteo platypterus)  1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius)  1
Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus)  1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)  1
Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens)  1
Alder Flycatcher (Empidonax alnorum)  8
Least Flycatcher (Empidonax minimus)  1
Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)  1
Blue-headed Vireo (Vireo solitarius)  1
Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus)  8
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)  2
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)  1
Common Raven (Corvus corax)  1
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)  1
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  4
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)  2
Sedge Wren (Cistothorus stellaris)  4
Veery (Catharus fuscescens)  1
Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)  2
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  1
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)  1
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  2
Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina)  1
Clay-colored Sparrow (Spizella pallida)  4
Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis)  4
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  3
Lincoln's Sparrow (Melospiza lincolnii)  4
Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana)  3
Eastern Towhee (Pipilo erythrophthalmus)  1
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  2
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)  4
Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla)  2
Nashville Warbler (Leiothlypis ruficapilla)  1
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)  9
American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla)  1
Northern Yellow Warbler (Setophaga aestiva)  6
Chestnut-sided Warbler (Setophaga pensylvanica)  2
Pine Warbler (Setophaga pinus)  1
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  1
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus)  1
Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea)  1

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S351854636

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)