Piping Plover in Milwaukee

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A Piping Plover showed up at McKinley Beach on Tuesday. It stuck around into the next day, but moved on by midday, presumably south. I was down there very late in the evening, with little light. For the most part it hung out in the corner, feeding and walking around. It called a few times, but I think that was because the gulls were getting too close. With about 30 minutes of light left, it moved a little further down the beach and about 20′ from the water’s edge to lay down for the night. It blends right into the sand and even when looking for it, it was nearly impossible to see. A friend sent the band info to the site www.greatlakespipingplover.org for data recording. This is the info he got back, “Thanks for sharing this sighting and photo! This is a 2-year-old female that hatched at Sleeping Bear Dunes. We call her PoNY for her pink, brown and yellow band combo. She had a nest on North Manitou Island at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore this year. Unfortunately, she lost her mate to a Merlin, when her 3 chicks were still very young. The chicks survived for a week and a half but then disappeared. Hopefully she will have better luck next year! It appears she is head south for a rest and vacation for the non-breeding season.” That explains the mid-summer sighting in Milwaukee. While it’s always nice to see these birds in county, it’s too bad this sighting had to be at that expense. Photos below are from 7/2. Enjoy!

Sunrise in Port Washington

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This past week I was working in Port Washington. There was a very beautiful sunrise on Monday, so I brought my ultra-wide lenses to work the rest of the week. The next few days did not disappoint! I took a few pictures from Hwy 32 into town and then some more from Coal Dock Park. On Tuesday, there was a heavy frost and it made for beautiful colors as the sun came up. I was right downtown on the marina and went back over to the park a few hours after sunrise for a couple more photos. I have not done many landscape photos, but it is something that I love looking at when out and about, especially since I’m usually out at sunrise and sunset for wildlife. Let me know what you think of these photos, I’m curious. You can comment below, thank you. Enjoy!

Eared Grebe at Sheridan Park Bluff 10/16/22

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An Eared Grebe was spotted along the shore of Lake Michigan, just below the bluff of Sheridan Park on Sunday 10/16. It was staying very close to the shoreline and sometimes hard to see from above. I decided to walk down the service road to the shoreline. I walked north from there about 100 yards, and it was swimming and diving between two of the jetties. I sat down on the rocky beach area and watched it for about 15 minutes. It was actively diving the entire time. After several dives, it popped up fairly close to me, stared me down and dove again. Every time it would go down and come up, then look at me and continue about its business. This bird appears to be a hatch year and in a plumage I have not seen before. I’m glad that it was reported and stuck around for the day. Enjoy!

Tufted Duck in Milwaukee

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A Tufted Duck was found on Sunday 12/26, at the Hoan Bridge Harbor/Petroleum Pier in Milwaukee. It was still present as of today, 1/1. This bird has been enjoyed my many people from different states. I think it will be the third state record. Unfortunately, it’s usually far out and a scope is needed for good looks at it. I’m only 15 minutes away from the area and had off of work last week, so I was able to check every day for it. Finally, yesterday morning it came rather close when moving from the South end to the North end. I was able to get fairly decent photos of it. Of course, the sun was nonexistent for most of the week, so lighting was terrible which is typical for winter in Wisconsin. It’s nice that it stuck around for people to see, and it seems like it will be here for a while, as long as there is open water. I’m sure most people have seen it that wanted too, if not, good luck if you try for it! Photos below are from the week. Enjoy!

* Help to view the Tufted Duck… There are 3 access points underneath the Hoan Bridge. The southern one is usually locked. The middle one is usually open and gives you access to 75% of the area. The Northern one is right in front of the Petroleum Pier and gives you access to the last 25%. The Tufted Duck prefers to hang around the pier area, sometimes going on the north side of it, with very little view and no access. I have seen the duck on the southern end twice, so they all move around. It’s usually 100-200 yards out.