Author: Jeremy

This afternoon, I thought I might try my luck with the Yellow-breasted Chat at Bender Park. I through on my camo gear, loaded up with bug spray and headed out. I walked back, all the way to the bluff and could hear him singing. I found him not too much long afterward. He was moving about singing, but keeping to a small area. It sure is a beautiful bird! This might be the same bird I found on 5/5, which I think I had two that day, one calling and one eating in the trees. There’s a good chance they are breeding here. I also found a Yellow Warbler nest with three eggs, one of them almost double the size of the other two, surely being a cowbird egg. Oh well, that’s nature I guess. There were also lots of sparrows, Clay-colored, Field, Savannah and Song.

I decided to venture out in the winter storm and see if Grant Park was hosting any new birds, or big numbers of birds. There were definitely big numbers of birds and a few new ones. I pretty much just sat by the feeding area for a little over an hour, until it really started snowing and I could barely see. The sparrows were the highlight, with 6 species being present, including 5 Fox Sparrows (which were singing). Dark-eyed Junco numbers are crazy, with over 35 covering the ground. It’s funny, how aggressive they are with each other! On my way out, I stopped at the pond, by the tennis courts, still the same ducks from the last week. Here is a list of the birds seen in the park today as well as a few images.

Canada Goose 8
Blue-winged Teal 2
Mallard 2
Red-breasted Merganser 15
Ring-billed Gull 3
Mourning Dove 4
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 1
Downy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 1
Blue Jay 3
Black-capped Chickadee 12
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Hermit Thrush 1
American Robin 25
American Tree Sparrow 5
Fox Sparrow (Red) 5
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 35
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 1
White-throated Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow 6
Swamp Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 3
House Finch 4

I decided to brave the weather again today. Despite the 30-50mph ENE winds, mid 30’s temperature, and sideways rain/sleet/ice, it was a great day to be out. The birds were all feeding on the ground, just like yesterday! I started off at Pennsylvania Ave, in Oak Creek. I wanted to see if the Wilson’s Snipe would still be in the ditches, along the water. I pulled in, looked down, and there was one right away! It was only about 25′ from my truck. I sat in my truck and watched him feed and forage the water line for about 45 minutes. Also present in the ditches, were 11 rain-soaked Yellow-rumped Warblers and a Golden-crowned Kinglet, feeding along the top of the water. They did not seem too happy with the weather. There was a decent mixed flock of blackbirds, a bunch of robins and a few ducks, as well. I checked the pond behind the dance studio and was rewarded with a great variety of ducks. There was a pair of Ring-necked Ducks and Redheads, 1 Northern Shoveler, 5 Blue-winged teal, 6 Lesser Scaup and 9 Red-breasted Merganser.

My next stop was Bender Park. As soon as I entered, I saw 5 Wild Turkey cross the road. There were a good number of sparrows in the parking lot, with some robins, but nothing unusual. Down by the boat landing, there were a good number of ducks, including 26 Red-breasted Merganser, 9 Bufflehead, and 8 Common Goldeneye. The waves were huge and there wasn’t much beach to be seen. The water was going all the way up to the rocks.

My third stop was Grant Park. The bird feeder area was very good, as you would expect today, although nothing unusual. Highlights were 25+ juncos and 1 singing Fox Sparrow. At the pond, by the tennis courts, there were 2 Belted Kingfisher, 11 Red-breasted Merganser, 2 Blue-winged teal and a few kinglets flitting about the edges. By picnic area 5, there were over 70 American Robins, 2 Northern Flickers, 2 Yellow-rumped Warblers and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, all feeding in the grass, between the parking lot and pavilion. There were a lot of birds in a small area. Over by the Wil-o-Way area, there were 4 Hermit Thrushes, feeding along and on the road. They were eating worms from the road and berries from the trees. The small pond had 4 Wood Ducks and couple Mallard.

My last stop for the day was Forest Hill Community Gardens. I had never been here before, but heard there was a Vesper Sparrow seen, so I thought I’d check it out. I pulled in the gravel road and went back. I saw several flickers, sparrows and a some of robins fly up to the trees. I stopped and started scanning the area with my binoculars. Instantly, I found an American Woodcock! He was foraging alongside of the gravel drive. I quickly grabbed my camera and took two photos, before it kind of disappeared in the grass. I thought to myself, “just come out in the open”. Just so happens, that’s exactly what it did! Not only that, it walked, or should I say rocked and bobbed, across the drive. They walk very slow, rocking and bobbing, up and down. I’ve never seen one walk, so I had no idea that’s how they move, quite interesting. Normally I only see woodcocks, when they’re scaring the hell out of me, while walking through the woods!

Despite the brutal conditions, I ended with 44 species for the day. Here are some of the images from today, with links to the woodcock and snipe pages.

American Woodcock – http://www.jmeyerphotography.net/photo-gallery/photo-gallery-2/american-woodcock/

Wilson’s Snipe – http://www.jmeyerphotography.net/photo-gallery/photo-gallery-2/wilsons-snipe/

This morning I decided to try my luck at Samuel Myers Park, a small restored park/beach, on Racine’s lakefront. This park is a great birding spot year round and certain days can be extremely rewarding, especially during migration. Today was one of those days! I was there for a little over two hours and tallied 40 species. The best part of today, was the terrible weather, which forced everything to the ground. There were hundreds of birds feeding about the grassy area on the beach. The highlights were 35+ Golden-crowned Kinglets, 10+ Ruby-crowned Kinglets, 25+ Dark-eyed Juncos (1 Oregon), 20+ Song Sparrows, and 10+ Yellow-rumped Warblers (1 leucistic), all of which were flitting about the ground. I actually had a Golden-crowned Kinglet fly between my legs and land, using me as cover from the wind! They are so tiny, when you are that close to them. There were 50-75 mixed blackbirds scattered amongst the trees, mostly Red-winged and Common Grackle, but I thought I heard a Rusty or two on several occasions. I couldn’t confirm that though, and didn’t count them, even though some have been reported there. I also had the following FOY’s 3 Barn Swallows flyover, 1 Lesser Yellowlegs flyover, and 1 Northern Shoveler. I’m sure glad I decided to brave the conditions, because it was an exciting couple of hours! I would’ve stayed longer, had it not started raining. This is my checklist from today and some of the images of the kinglets and warblers.

Canada Goose 2
Blue-winged Teal 18
Northern Shoveler 1 FOY
Mallard 8
Greater Scaup 8
Common Goldeneye 4
Red-breasted Merganser 13
Double-crested Cormorant 3
Killdeer 2
Lesser Yellowlegs 1 FOY
Ring-billed Gull 17
Herring Gull 15
Mourning Dove 3
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 1
Eastern Phoebe 2
American Crow 1
Barn Swallow 3 FOY
Black-capped Chickadee 4
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Brown Creeper 6
Golden-crowned Kinglet 35
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 13
Hermit Thrush 1
American Robin 6
European Starling 8
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 11
American Tree Sparrow 5
Fox Sparrow (Red) 4
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 22
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 1
Song Sparrow 24
Swamp Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 2
Red-winged Blackbird 20
Brown-headed Cowbird 6
Common Grackle (Bronzed) 18
House Finch 4
American Goldfinch 6
House Sparrow 4

I enjoyed a beautiful, sunny, cool morning at Grant Park, Sunday April 1st. It was my fourth time trying for the reported Carolina Wren, that has eluded me for a couple weeks. I was not disappointed this time! I got some really good looks at the bird as he moved about the trees singing. I enjoyed him and his wonderful song for about a half hour. My next stop was the feeding area. I had a couple of Fox Sparrows there, late Friday evening, just before sunset and was hoping they would still be around. The feeding area was hopping with birds, when I got there about 9:30! The Fox Sparrows were still there, although they didn’t come out in the open for very long. There must’ve been over 30 Dark-eyed Juncos, including two Oregon (1M & 1F) and one Cassiar subspecies. The amount of Song Sparrows was impressive too! Both nuthatches are still present, along with some siskins, a couple tree sparrows and all the usual backyard feeder birds you would expect. There was so much activity there, I stayed there for a few hours. The crows were being very loud and noisy, early on and kept coming down the to the ground to eat something. It was behind the downed tree though, and I never saw what it was. Towards the end of my day there, a group of crows found a Great Horned Owl in the pine trees and wouldn’t leave him alone. I’m guessing the nest is close by, because he was flying from pine tree to pine tree leading the crows away from the area. The only problem, the crows kept following and harassing him, squawking and circling around the tree tops. Finally, after about fifteen minutes and a half dozen trees, the crows stopped and it was silent. Here are a some of the photos from the great morning out, along with links to specific pages.

Carolina Wren – http://www.jmeyerphotography.net/photo-gallery/photo-gallery-2/carolina-wren/

Dark-eyed Junco – http://www.jmeyerphotography.net/photo-gallery/photo-gallery-2/dark-eyed-junco/

Fox Sparrow – http://www.jmeyerphotography.net/photo-gallery/photo-gallery-2/fox-sparrow/