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!
On Friday, around 11:20am I received a message in the Milwaukee RBA chat that there were 5 American Flamingos in Port Washington. Obviously, everyone went nuts on the group chat trying to figure out if this was real or not. Meanwhile, I was at work, so I immediately started cleaning up my tools and locked everything up for the day. I figured worst case; I would just turn around if it wasn’t real. About 40 messages later, several texts to friends, and 20 or so minutes, I was able to confirm it! 5 American Flamingos at South Beach in Port Washington, WOW!!! I was already halfway through Milwaukee when I received confirmation, so I’m glad I left right away. When I arrived, around 12:20pm, the parking lot was already full and there were at least 50 people on the beach, half of which were just local residents, who were in awe as well. Everyone there couldn’t believe what they were seeing! There was 3 adults (pink) and 2 hatch year (gray) birds. They were only about 40′ offshore which was even more crazy! They were so close and did not mind all the people. While I was there, they were mostly resting. They would occasionally lift their heads and walk around but that was about it. I had heard that they were eating some kind of food, but I’m not sure what it was though. They also took baths and preened. Then at 5:12pm, they took flight and have not been seen since. These birds were blown into the US from hurricane Idalia and made their way up to us through the south winds this past week. What an epic day in the bird world of Wisconsin! The photos below were taken on Friday 9/22. Enjoy!
A Black-legged Kittiwake was found on 12/8 in the Port Washington Harbor. The first chance I had to go was on Saturday, 12/10. Of course, it was overcast and misting out when I arrived, which then turned into a full-on light rain. It was fairly dark with a low ceiling, terrible for photography. I stuck it out and watched the gull fly around the harbor, usually on the west side, hunting for alewives. I observed it catch several alewives and then get chased by Ring-billed or Herring Gulls. A couple of times it flew off to the east and disappear for 15-30 minutes, but then it would suddenly reappear, flying over the harbor. I also watched it land in the middle of the harbor, out towards the east. It would loaf around with the Red-breasted Mergansers and then head back in. This is a very cool bird to watch, especially with its markings in flight. This gull is rare for the area, so I was glad it hung around for several days. According to eBird, it was last seen on 12/17. Photos below are from the morning of 12/10. Enjoy!
A Laughing Gull showed up in the Port Washington Harbor on Saturday 1/16/21. One of my jobsites is currently in Port, only about 5 minutes from downtown. I was able to get away for a little while on Monday, to try for it. I did see it, but it was pretty far out, sitting on the wooden posts of a dock. After 15 minutes or so, it flew off towards the power plant and I saw it go down somewhere over there. I didn’t bother driving around to try and relocate it. The clouds were rather low and lighting was pretty terrible for photos anyway. I also figured I had the rest of the week to try as well. Then on Tuesday, I saw it was starting to get sunny out, so I stepped away quickly, to see if it was any closer. It was! It was sitting on the rocks, on northern most part of the marina. I watched it for about 25 minutes and then it again flew off to the south. Some other people had stopped by looking for it, and I told each of them they just missed it. About ten minutes later, it came back to the north and landed on the blue concrete wall. There has also been a Harlequin Duck hanging out on the north side of the marina. I saw it both times I went this week, and the previous two times earlier this month, that I went. He is starting to get more color and defining marks. Hopefully he sticks around little longer, while his colors continue to develop. Pictures below are from this week at the harbor. Enjoy!
There was a very beautiful male, White-winged Scoter at Coal Dock Park on Sunday 1/27/19, in Port Washington. Usually I only get to see and photograph first year or females scoters, so it was really nice to see this one! Beautiful colors, a bright sunny day, and very cold temperatures, made for some nice photos. He hung out very close in the harbor, providing some real nice views. He seemed to be a very tame bird, considering they are deep diving ducks, usually found further out in the lake. enjoy the photos from the day.
