In addition to the wonderful selection of warblers this past week at Whitnall Park, there have been a lot of orioles and grosbeaks. They have also been in the flowering trees, picking at the buds, petals and eating insects and worms or caterpillars. Baltimore Orioles have been busy building nests too, with one hanging over the waterfall creek, in the large willow tree. I found a Rose-breasted Grosbeak nest in an apple tree, too. I’m not sure if they are incubating yet, but both the male and female take turns on the nest, so I assume they are. An Orchard Oriole has been around the last couple days as well. He sings from the flowering trees and is quite skittish, as they usually are. These trees have sure produced the birds this spring, which has been a pleasant surprise. All of the photos below are from the past week at Whitnall Park. Enjoy!
Black-throated Blue Warbler and more… at Whitnall Park
The Black-throated Blue Warbler that has been at Whitnall Park for the last week, finally decided to put on a show in front of several people! He was singing away in the white flowering tree just east of the bridge. Singing and eating, dropping all the way down to the water, before continuing to the other side. He went in the downed tree overhanging the creek. He even took a little break, right in front of everyone, closing his eyes for a minute or so. After the short break, he continued singing and up creek he went. Up until then, he had been relatively elusive. Perfect timing to enjoy a beautiful bird! He was still being seen as of today (5/10).
Golden-winged Warblers and more… at Whitnall Park 5/5/21
For the last week a couple Golden-winged Warblers, a Blue-winged Warbler and a Black-throated Blue have been hanging around the flowering trees at Whitnall Park. There have been other warblers too, but these three are not as common and are more sought after warblers. With the leaf out happening a few weeks early this spring, I knew getting photos of warblers, in general would be more challenging. I didn’t realize though that the flowering apple trees would be in bloom for the warblers. They usually don’t flower out until after peak migration. The colors sure make for an amazing background! The GWWA and BWWA warblers along with a Northern Parula and several Yellow Warblers were in the flowering trees as of this morning (5/7) and the Black-throated Blue was seen tonight, by the bridge. Pictures below are from this week (5/3 – 5/7). Good luck if you try for them. Enjoy!
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck in Oak Creek 5/5/21
A Black-bellied Whistling-Duck Showed up yesterday at a private residence in Oak Creek. The homeowner Eric, posted to the Wild Birds of Wisconsin Facebook page about it. He invited people to come check it out. I just happened to be at Grant Park at the time, so I was only five minutes away. I got over there quickly, and we walked around into the backyard. There was a nice little hidden sanctuary back there, with a decent sized pond and plenty of wildlife. I located it right away, three houses to the south, so we walked around to the west side of the pond, to get a better look at it. It was just hanging out on the grass, near two mallards, close to the water. The three of them, would go up to the bird feeders, at a neighboring house and eat fallen seed. It seemed rather content, considering the neighbors were outside playing baseball in the next yard over. I guess it was there all day, but the ID wasn’t confirmed until later in the evening. Since the normal range for this duck is Florida and Texas, It was a real treat to see it in Wisconsin. A big thank you to the Eric and his family for making it all possible! Photos below are from the evening there. Enjoy!
Lark Sparrows at Veteran’s Park 5/3
Two Lark Sparrows have been in the grassy area of Veteran’s Park/McKinley Marina the last couple of days. I was able to find them yesterday after work. They move around quite a bit and frequently. They even sit up in the trees, in the parking lots and sing. I watched them fly around the entire area twice, in the hour I was there. It’s a rather large area of grass with gravel patches mixed in. They seem to prefer these gravel patches versus the actual grass. It’s always a nice treat to get to see these birds in Milwaukee County. Photos below are from the afternoon. Enjoy!
Prothonotary Warbler at Grant Park 5/2
A Prothonotary Warbler was found early Sunday morning at the Mill Pond in Grant Park. On my way home, after an excellent morning out, I thought I would stop and see if it was still around. I pulled up to the pond, on the north end, and immediately found it along the edge. I sat in the grass and waited for it to work its way towards me. Every time it did though, a Red-winged Blackbird would chase it away. After a few times of this, I lost it. I waited for about 15 minutes and it never came back out. I walked around the pond and down the creek and relocated it back there, enjoying peace and quiet. I stood and watched it feed for at least 30 minutes. I was right across the creek from it and he did not mind me one bit. It’s always nice to be able to see these stunning birds at such a close range! Photos are from the afternoon there. Enjoy!
Hooded Warbler/White-eyed Vireo and more… 4/27/21
I was watching the weather over a week ago and saw that last night was suppose to be strong south and southwest winds. I knew that today would be awesome for birds. I took off work and figured I would stop at the county parks, along the lake. I was right! There were many birds to be seen. Watching the feeders at Grant Park this morning, produced Clay-colored and Grasshopper Sparrows. A Sharp-shinned Hawk flew in and almost got the Clay-colored. It also yielded a nice group of warblers in the tree tops, including Black-and-White, Orange-crowned, Palm and Yellow-rumped. I walked around that area a little bit and there were sparrows all over the forest floor, mostly Swamp and White-throated. Lots of Palm Warblers were on the ground as well.
I then went over to Warnimont Park and was going to spend a lot of time there. As I was pulling into the entrance, I received a text that there were a very large group of pelicans heading north from Grant Park Beach. I pulled into the golf course parking lot and there they were, circling high over the lake. They must have ran into the changing winds, because they started going northwest over land. At that time, I saw the email about the Hooded Warbler at Lake Park, and thought I would try for that instead. On the way out, I found a Merlin sitting in the tree top, across from the archery range. A five minute stop and 2 FOY birds!
I arrived a Lake Park and walked over to the north lighthouse ravine. A few people were looking at the Hooded Warbler from the bridge top. He was just sleeping on some sticks near a log. After a few minutes, he went down to the water and then back to the sticks. After that we lost him into the brush on the side of the ravine. Walking around a bit and trying to relocate him, I returned to the bridge for a better view. Within a few minutes, there he was, almost the same spot! I saw him go to the water, so I went back down in the ravine. He went on the other side of the path and was eating insects off the rocks. I was only about 20′ from him. After a few insects, he again went back to sleep, right there on the ground. About 10 minutes later, he woke up, fed a little more and moved up the ravine about 10′ and went back to sleep. Several minutes past, and he flew down to the water again, then back up to the side of the ravine and this time out of sight. I don’t think it was seen after, although he has to be around there somewhere. The growth on the ground is already over 6″ high, so the birds can’t be seen on the ground. Several years ago at Warnimont Park, I watched a male Golden-winged Warbler do the same thing. Probably exhausted from the the long overnight flight! I was walking back to the car and received a text about a White-eyed Vireo, north of the bridge near ravine rd. There wasn’t much going on in that area, by the time I got over there. I thought I would walk around to the other side of the ravine, since it’s really thick in there, and they usually like that kind of habitat. I walked into the thicket and found it almost immediately. I couldn’t believe it, seemed too easy! I watched it feed just above eye level, for a few minutes, as it worked it’s way west along the ravine. It was very challenging to get photos in there, but I managed a couple. A wonderful day to be out, even though it was a little cooler along the lake. Photos below are from the morning out. Enjoy!
Louisiana Waterthrush at Lake Park, 4/23
It’s always nice to be able to see a Louisiana Waterthrush in spring! I consider it a great start to the warbler season if I get one, and I’ve been lucky with them, the last few years in Milwaukee County. They are usually one day birds here, which makes them even harder to find. On Friday, one was found at Lake Park in the waterfall ravine, during the morning. I left work around noon, but by the time I got there, it was already gone. I checked both lighthouse ravines and the waterfall ravine again, nothing. In the meantime, a friend was heading to the locust ravine. He text me to say had it. I headed over there and it was feeding in the water running into the sewer grate. We sat on the road and watched it feed for about 40 minutes, right in front of us. A few people would walk through the ravine, and it would fly up, but always returned to the water within minutes. It was not seen on Saturday morning, which is usually the case with them. I’m not sure if this is a female or first year bird, but it was rather buffy in color and the legs were not quite as “bubblegum pink” that is usually found on them. The feet were bright though. Pictures below are from Friday afternoon. Enjoy!
Cinnamon Teal in Dane County, April ’21
It took me three tries, but I was finally able to find the Cinnamon Teal at Lake Farm County Park, on Thursday 4/15. he was first found on 4/7, and I tried on 4/10 and 4/11, with no luck. He was hanging around with a group of seven Blue-winged Teal, while I was there. More specifically, he was courting a female Blue-winged Teal, and the other six males were trying to as well. He was very aggressive towards the other males. I watched them for about two hours and that was all that was going on, no feeding, only chasing her around and keeping the other males away. He would grab their wings his bill and try to push them under water. It was quite entertaining! I also found a Blue-winged x Cinnamon Teal hybrid male. I had seen one a few years ago, so knew right away what it was. I was lucky enough to see it fairly close as well. Even though it took me three attempts, I was able to see a lot of ducks fairly close, that I would otherwise not get too. This was my first time here, and I will definitely be going back in the future. The images below are from the three days I spent trying for it. Enjoy!
Courting her…
Protecting her…
Blue-winged x Cinnamon Teal hybrid
The others…
Merlin devours Dark-eyed Junco in Menomonee Falls
On my way home this afternoon, I saw a larger bird in a tree along the side of Good Hope Rd. As I drove past, I realized it was a Merlin! I turned around and luckily, there was enough shoulder for me to pull off on. I stopped right alongside of it, on the opposite side of the street. I thought for sure it would fly, like they always do, but it didn’t! As soon as I got my camera on it, I saw it had just snagged a bird. Wow, what perfect timing! As it flipped the bird around, I could see that it was a junco. I sat there in my truck, snapping hundreds of photos, trying not to miss any of the action. When it was all finished, I managed to take just over 1000 photos! I was amazed that it didn’t pay any attention to me, rather only looking around occasionally, to make it was safe from other predators. Once the junco was consumed, I drove off and the Merlin was still sitting in the tree. I’m sure glad I had my camera with me! Images below are from today, but beware, they are not for the faint-hearted! Enjoy!!!
