Kelp Gull nesting in Milwaukee County!!!

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A Kelp Gull was found in Milwaukee! It is apparently breeding with an American Herring Gull. They have a nest together on a roof top building under the Hoan Bridge, Jones Island area. I was up north this past weekend when word got it, so the earliest I could get there was Monday afternoon. When I arrived there were several others watching and I guess it had just flown in. Guess I had some good luck in not having to wait. I watched the Kelp Gull sit on the peakof the roof and do some light preening. The fledgling moved around a little, but didn’t do much. It appeared to be hot, with it’s mouth open and I’m assuming trying to cool off. As of this writing, on Wednesday morning, the fledgling has perished. It was seen Tuesday afternoon, not moving and staying in the same spot, with the parents looking over it. Some other reports have thought it appears to be moving things around or slightly building the nest back up, so maybe another round of mating will occur. I’m glad I went the soonest I could and didn’t miss out on the little hybrid. Port Milwaukee General Cargo Terminal 2, is the building it’s on. You can view the nest and the bird from Lincoln Memorial Dr, by pulling off the road, next to the fence and looking through the fence. If you do go, please use common sense and watch out for traffic, workers and trains. This is a 1st state record, a life bird and state bird #345 for me. Photos below are from Monday afternoon, 6/16. They were shot at 1200mm and are heavily cropped due to the distance they are from the fence. Enjoy!

Bell’s Vireo in Milwaukee County, 5/31/25

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A Bell’s Vireo was found along the Root River Pkwy in Franklin. It was seen at the base of the ski hill, right by the lift. There is a small circular hedge area that was perfect habitat for it. When I arrived, it was not singing, and I could not find it. I walked around the entire area and along the river without luck. After about 45 minutes or so, it started singing nonstop for over an hour, moving around the hedge area. I was able to find it quickly after that and had some real nice looks at him. It appeared he had issues with feathers on his forehead. I’m not sure if he was just molting or something happened, like maybe an attack from a predator or what. Everything else seemed to be fine with him. A very pretty bird, with a beautiful song. This was a lifer and state bird #345 for me! It was also very nice to get as a county bird and only 7 minutes from my house. Photos below are from Saturday morning on 5/31. Enjoy!

Eared Grebe at North Point in Milwaukee 4/11/25

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An Eared Grebe was found Thursday evening by North Point. I was busy that evening and thought I had missed out. Thankfully, it stuck around Friday and was able to stop on my way home from work. I got there about 4:30pm and had perfect late afternoon sunlight! Surprisingly, it hung out with several Bonaparte’s Gulls feeding in the water, but only about 5-10′ offshore. I waited for it to go under and got down low to the water before it popped back up. I sat there for a while and watched it feed rather closely. At one point it was so close, I just decided to take a nice head portrait. There was a lot of activity, since it was nice out, so when people would walk past above the rocks, it would swim out and then comeback. This one was rather close to breeding plumage, with some nice colors. I enjoy when I get to see one. Photos below are from Friday 4/11. Enjoy!

Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) 8/11/24

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On Sunday night, the Northern Lights were easily visible. I just went down to Grant Park Beach, as I wasn’t planning on staying out late. Of course, I’m still standing on the beach at 1am watching them! I should have just gone out west to get away from the city lights. The solar storm ended up being a G4 and seen as far south as Texas. I was watching them out over the lake, where the city lights were not affecting them as much. Most of the photos are 20 second exposures. Photos below are from 1030pm-1am, in various places on the beach. Enjoy!

Indigo Buntings at Waste Management Franklin Landfill

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While looking for Dickcissels on Friday May 31st, I also found 2 singing Indigo Buntings. These little songbirds are absolutely beautiful! When the sun hits them, their blue color is a stunning! These colorful songbirds can be found in any open field with small shrubs for nesting. The 2 that I saw were on County Line Rd, singing along the fence line. At one point, one of the Dickcissels was chasing one of the buntings around. It must’ve been too close to his territory, although the Indigo Bunting would have been there first. I also had one fly down to the roadside and pick through the gravel. I’m not sure if it was finding seedings, insects, or just gritting. While they are common, they are a sight to see every time. Photos below are Friday afternoon. Enjoy!

Dickcissels at the Waste Management Franklin Landfill

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Dickcissels are late arriving spring migrants, typically showing up the last few days of May. One of my favorite places to find them is at the Franklin Landfill. On Friday May 31st, I saw at least 12 of them along the South side and Southeast corner of the hill. I went after work, in the late afternoon. They sing along the fence line and move around a bit, feeding in between. I had one pop out of the grasses near the edge of the road, eating a cricket. Luckily, I was able to capture that moment! These birds usually sing from the top of a perch and lean back to belt out their loud song, a buzzy “dick-dick-see-see-see.” I only saw males, so I’m not sure if the females are even back yet. They are down in the grasses most of the time, and hard to see anyway. Photos below are from Friday afternoon. Enjoy!

Cerulean Warbler at Mangan Woods

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A Cerulean Warbler was singing his little heart out on the morning of May 12th. He was in the treetops, NE of the parking lot. He was moving constantly and chasing other warblers out of the tree he was in. This bird was quite crazy and covering about a 100-yard radius. Cerulean Warblers have nested in this area before and he was acting like he might stick around. However, I stopped by a couple of days later and he was gone. No singing and no sign of him. At any rate, the day he was singing, I had several nice looks even though he was quite high up. Photos below are from the early morning 5/12. Enjoy!

Nelson’s Sparrow at Lake Park/Linnwood Water Treatment Plant

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A Nelson’s Sparrow was found along the lakefront on May 17th. It was seen in the tall grasses near a fallen tree, along the rocks. When I arrived, there were a couple of people looking at one and as I walked up, I flushed another. After that, I think I flushed another one! There were at least 2 of them and quite possibly 3. The grassy area was already so tall, and those birds move extremely fast through it, it’s tough to find them. The one bird kept circling back to the fallen tree and I just waited around for it to show itself a few times. I never got an unobstructed view, as is usually the case with these birds, but plenty of decent looks. Photos below are from 5/17 in the late afternoon. Enjoy!

Unfortunately, for those of you who look forward to my spring migration photos each year, this is one of my last posts. My new puppy yanked my laptop off the table and smashed my external hard drive. The 40,000 photos I took the during my 3-week vacation are all gone! I did manage to get out a few days this week for some lingering birds, but nothing close to what I had. Hopefully the fall migration will make up for it.

LeConte’s Sparrow at Lake Park/Linnwood Water Treatment

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On Monday, May 13th a LeConte’s Sparrow was found along the lakefront by Lake Park/Linnwood Water Treatment plant. It was about halfway between both ends of the soccer fields. This small, skulky sparrow is usually very hard to get good looks at. However, on this day, I literally walked right out to the location I was provided and it was sitting on the rocks underneath a tree, all fluffed up. It couldn’t have been any easier to find this bird! There were numerous other birds near it, mostly Common Yellowthroats. I watched it for a few minutes and then it went down into the ticket vegetation and out of sight. People tried before and after me with and without luck. I guess I was lucky! This might have been my best views ever of this beautiful little sparrow. Photos are from the late afternoon, May 13th. Enjoy!

Prothonotary Warbler at Menomonee River Parkway

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On May 9th, a friend alerted me to a Prothonotary Warbler (PROW) along the Menomonee River, near Hoyt Park. Of course this was the one rainy day. I waited out the rain and thought I might as well give it a shot, since there are no guarantees, it would stick around. I got there just after 4pm and started walking the river from the east side of the Oak Leaf Trail. The location I had for it was pretty quiet, so I continued west. About halfway to Hoyt Park, there is a small inlet to the river, maybe 5′ wide or so, that goes south towards the train tracks about 75′. This is where I saw a bright yellow bird fly into, from the river’s edge. I snuck over to the water and there it was, feeding along the bank. I was able to watch it for about 20 seconds, when a couple of people came walking down from the other way. The bird flushed and I did not see which way. I thought it went out and left or upriver. I continued that way and walked all the way up to where it opens up and the habitat is not very good for PROW. I knew it didn’t come this far up, so I turned around and headed back down river. When I got close to the inlet, I found the PROW on the opposite side of the river. I lifted my camera, and he flew right towards me and back on my side! A friend joined me, and for the next 40 minutes or so, it hung around that area and provided us with really good looks, feeding on the bank, logs and in the trees. I love seeing the males every spring, because they are so bright yellow, and it contrasts so nicely with its bluish wings. Photos below are from the rain-soaked evening of May 9th. Enjoy!