Prairie/Kirtland’s Warblers in Adams County 6/13/20

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I was staying at a friend’s cabin over the weekend in Wautoma and I decided to try for a few warblers in Adams County. I arrived to a sight, where I had Kirtland’s Warblers last year, just after sunrise. It was a sunny, rather chilly morning, only 41 degrees. I did not hear any singing, so I waited around for a little over 30 minutes, thinking maybe it was a slow start with the lower temps. Still nothing, so I moved on. I checked another area and finally heard one singing while I was driving. I turned around and parked on the side of the road. Within minutes, I could hear 3 different males singing, in about a 150 yard stretch. One was singing from the newer pine growth closer to the road and another in a tree, at the border of the more mature pines. I never saw the third. About 200 yards to the north, in another 150 or so yard stretch, I heard another 4 different males singing, bringing my total to 7!

I continued on to the location where the Prairie Warbler was being seen. I arrived and parked on the side of the road, just north of Bighorn Ave, on 17th Ave. I saw other cars there, but did not see anyone. I walked around a little bit, but didn’t hear anything. I finally saw the other birders walking back to their car and asked if they had seen or heard it. They said they had, just west of 17th, on Bighorn Ave, over the hill. I walked over there and could immediately hear him singing. I walked out a bit and he was extremely cooperative, singing non-stop the entire time I was there. He flew around from tree top to tree top. When he sings, he cocks his head way back and straight up in the air! A very beautiful bird. I walked back to my truck and a second one was singing from the NE corner of the intersection, right where I had parked. Crazy that there are two of them at the same area, especially when you don’t usually see one, in the entire state! Images below are from the day. Enjoy!

23 Warbler Species at Whitnall Park 5/13

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Today was excellent at Whitnall Park, with 23 warbler species seen including several uncommon. Hooded, Mourning, Golden-winged, Blackburnian and Black-throated Blue Warblers were the highlights. The Mourning Warbler has been along the creek for the last four days a week now. It has been the most cooperative Mourning Warbler I have ever seen. I also saw 2 Black-throated Blue and 2 Blackburnian Warblers. I watched a Hooded Warbler fly around like crazy, eating insects and may flies for about 20 minutes, then go sit on a branch and fall asleep for a few minutes. Very cool to see. I usually find Golden-winged Warblers hopping around the ground, hunting for spiders. Today was exactly that. They look for the dried, curled up leaves and then stick the head inside and pull out insects, mostly spiders. It’s quite a site to see. There are multiple of all of the common warblers and double digit of a few. Most have been feeding on the ground or flying around catching insects, only several few feet of the ground. Yesterday, a female Cerulean Warbler came out and fed for about 20 minutes, providing some nice views as well. It looks like the next few days are going to be very good for some new birds. Hopefully this continues! Images below are from today. Enjoy!

Black-throated Gray Warbler in Milwaukee County 5/5/20

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A beautiful male Black-throated Gray Warbler has been seen the last couple days along the Menomonee River Parkway, although it hadn’t been publicly reported until today. As soon as I saw the email come through, I went straight there. After the short ride over, I started searching for it. Several minutes later I was joined by many and we continued to look. He was finally found, along the western bank of the river! There was also a nice variety of warblers hanging with it, including 1 Tennessee, 3 Orange-crowned, 1 Black-and-white, 1 Palm and 1 Yellow Warbler. What a Stunning bird, and a life bird for me! Images below are from today. Enjoy!

Ruff in Walworth county 4/24/20

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A Ruff was being seen in a flooded field off hwy 67 in Walworth County. I wasn’t going to go, but after I saw a photo of it on the rare bird report, I knew I had too. I saw a Ruff at Horicon a few years ago, but that was a nonbreeding male. When I arrived, there were a lot of people there. I parked on the side of the highway and got my camera on it. As soon as I was about to snap my first picture, it flew. I thought I had missed out. However, it flew and landed 25′ from my truck. I couldn’t believe it! What a beautiful and cool looking bird! Being so close to it was awesome! It flew a short time after that, and I watched it land in the farmers field to the southeast. I stayed and watched the numerous other shorebirds. About 15 minutes later, it flew back in, but landed way out in the muddy field. After a few minutes of foraging, it flew back into the water, on the far end. After a little foraging, it again flew and landed right by me. I watched for another 40 minutes or so, and by then light was fading quickly in the overcast sky. Images below are from the evening. Enjoy!

Eurasian Wigeon at Horicon Marsh 4/15/20

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A couple of Eurasian Wigeon were seen a few weekends ago, on the auto tour. I was there looking for them, but they must have been in the cattails, the several minutes I was scanning for them. They never came out. Then this past Saturday, I went to Ledge Rd to find the Surf Scoter. On my way home, I heard that another Eurasian Wigeon was seen by the educational center. I missed out on that one as well. Today it was seen again and when a friend text me about it, I decided to leave work and try for it. When I arrived, I saw several people way in the back northern corner, that appeared to be scoping. By the time I got over there, it had flushed into the cattails and I never got a look at it. Less than 30 seconds later, it flew back into the open water along with two American Wigeons and a Gadwall. Finally, another life bird! He was hanging out with a pair of American Wigeons early on, but I lost him for awhile. I started walking back and I looked to opposite side of the trail and there he is, with a group of Blue-winged Teal. I never saw him fly across the path, but he was over there. He sure is a beautiful bird. The photos below are from today. Enjoy!

Surf Scoter at Horicon Marsh 4/11/20

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I saw the report of a Surf Scoter seen along Ledge Rd, on Friday afternoon. I thought I’d give it a try Saturday morning, since it was seen so close. I see them every year along Lake Michigan, but rarely do I get good close looks at them. When I arrived, he was swimming extremely close to the road, providing excellent views. Such a beautiful bird! I watched him swim around for about an hour or so. He was very tame and hung around the same general area the whole time I was there. Images below are from the morning. Enjoy!

Golden-crowned Sparrow in Calumet County 4/9/20

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A Golden-crowned Sparrow has been visiting a private residence since 4/4/20. The homeowners are very nice and welcoming to people looking for the bird. I had a chance to go on Thursday afternoon, 4/9. I arrived to the house at 3:15pm and after about 40 minutes, the bird finally showed under the juniper tree. The bird ate a few seeds and disappeared. It looked like it just went up into the juniper and hid. The brief view I had was with terrible lighting, very dark under the tree and bright sunlight around it. I wasn’t very happy with the looks that I had, so I decided to wait and see if it would come out again. After another 35 minutes or so, it did come out again, but this time stayed out in the open for about five minutes or so, providing me excellent views. It flew off with a group of juncos and I decided to leave. A great afternoon, getting to see a life bird! Images below are from the day. Enjoy!

March Waterfowl Migration in Milwaukee County

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The waterfowl migration is an exciting time, with most arriving in my area during the month of March. This year proved to be another excellent one. On the 4th, under the Hoan Bridge, there was an excellent variety of ducks, including 2 Surf Scoters and 1 White-winged Scoter. A nice size group of Ruddy Ducks had been there all winter and were still around. Unfortunately, all the gates were still locked from the strong east winds and monster waves, that destroyed a lot of lakeshore things, so I was unable to take pictures of them. Then on the 7th, an excellent variety were seen on the Kinnickkinnic River. Redheads, Canvasbacks, American Black Ducks, and a White-winged Scoter were among the more common ones. The next day, 5 Trumpeter Swans and 8 Greater White-fronted Geese were at the dance studio in Oak Creek. Also present that day were, Northern Shovelers, Gadwall and Redheads, along with a few other common breeds. On the 10th, under the Hoan Bridge I saw several scoters, including 3 black. On the 20th, there was a nice variety behind the dance studio in Oak Creek again. Northern Shoveler, American Wigeon, Green-winged Teal and Hooded Merganser were the highlights, among the common ducks. On the 26th, at Grobschmidt Park, another good day with nice variety. Ring-necked Ducks were plentiful, with 15 right along the eastern edge, close to the road. There was also a Common Loon and 11 Pied-billed Grebes, which were all hanging together in the corner along the cattails. Grobschmidt seems to get at least 1 loon every year. The following day, I had 6 Wood Ducks at Greenfield Park. I was able to get a lot of nice photos to document the month. All of the photos below are from the month of March, in Milwaukee. Enjoy!

Raptors at the Franklin Landfill in February

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February turned out to be an excellent month for viewing raptors at the Franklin Landfill, in Milwaukee County. Bald Eagles were plentiful, with 11 being seen on the 15th. Two of them flew around, performing quite an acrobatic show. It was very cool to watch and photograph. Also during the month, up to 15 Red-tailed Hawks were seen, many just soaring on the sides of the hill, in the up drafts of the wind. They would just hover, flipping their wingtips up and down to stay in one place. Also present were, 1 Rough-legged Hawk, 1 Northern Harrier, 2 American Kestrels and 1 Northern Shrike. I was able to see the Rough-legged Hawk go down to the ground and catch mice several times. A couple of bites and back in the air it went. The shrike was one of the more tame shrikes I’ve ever seen. Usually you can’t get within 50 yards of one, but this one let me a lot closer! That was really exciting! I spent many days there during the month, while taking over 10000 photos, trying to catch all of the action happening. The photos below are from my visits during the month.

Snowy Owl at MKE 1/4/20

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I was on my way to Whitnall Park to look for the Northern Goshawk, when a friend text me and said a Snowy Owl was sitting in the grass, close to the road. This owl has been hanging around the airport for a little over a month, but has been hard to locate. I immediately turned around and went over there. I’m glad I did, because it was about as close and good a look you would ever get of a Snowy Owl. She just sat there, rotating her head back and forth, hunting for prey. I watched her for about 15 minutes, and then went on my way, back to Whitnall Park. I never did see the hawk that day, but missed it by about ten minutes, after waiting around for it close to 6 hours. Here are some photos of the owl, sitting in the grass, hunting.