Yesterday I went to Eagle Optics in Middleton, WI to buy some binoculars. Since I was close to Madison, I stopped by the Henry Vilas Zoo, which is a large free zoo. It was colder than I expected, so I didn't stay long, but I will definitely go back. They had a lot of animals, and it is an AZA accredited zoo. I was planning on taking pictures, but my camera batteries died soon after I got there and I didn't have any extra with me. I'll post the couple pics that I took.
Today I went birding (with my new binoculars) at a place called Leopold Reserve. It is fairly close to the International Crane foundation, and there is a lot of land in the reserve. I took a few pics, which I will post. I saw a lot of birds, including a Pileated Woodpecker. The land was pretty and appeared to provide a nice habitat for a lot of birds. It was mostly all wooded area, but fairly often there were small pools of water where I found a lot of birds foraging.