Prothonotary Warbler at Menomonee River Parkway

Jeremy6 Comments

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!

’23 Spring Warbler Migration

Jeremy16 Comments

Despite having terrible weather conditions in May, to produce huge numbers of warblers, I still ended up with 36 warbler species. I just didn’t have very many big days, like I’m used to. We were stuck with E, NE or N winds for the majority of the warbler migration, thanks to our “great” Lake Michigan! Of the 36 warblers, 35 of them were in Milwaukee County. The lone one outside of Milwaukee County, was a Painted Redstart that showed up in Sauk County. I missed one, a Black-throated Gray Warbler that made an appearance at Wind Point Lighthouse in Racine, and only because I was busy that day. Most of the county parks were just average at best. Warnimont Park was producing rather solid numbers most days, like usual and is still my favorite spring warbler park. One little gem, that was basically the county hotspot, was Shorewood Nature Preserve. This tiny little park, nestled between a couple mansions in Shorewood, hosted some great birds including, Worm-eating Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, multiple Yellow-throated Warblers, Prairie Warbler, multiple Hooded Warblers, and a Louisiana Waterthrush. All of those warblers are great for the county. Lake Park hosted a couple of Connecticut Warblers, like it usually does. Warnimont Park also a had several, however viewing is better a Lake Park for them. This is a very large gallery of photos, but warblers are my favorite and I spend a lot of time with them in the spring. As always, I try for male and female, along with first spring birds, to show the varying plumages between them. It’s tough to get them all though. All of the photos below are from Milwaukee County, with the exception being the Painted Redstart. Enjoy!

American Redstart

Bay-breasted Warbler

Black-and-white Warbler

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Black-throated Green Warbler

Blackburnian Warbler

Blackpoll Warbler

Blue-winged Warbler

Canada Warbler

Cape May Warbler

Cerulean Warbler

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Common Yellowthroat

Connecticut Warbler

Golden-winged Warbler

Hooded Warbler

Kentucky Warbler

Louisiana Waterthrush

Magnolia Warbler

Mourning Warbler

Nashville Warbler

Northern Parula

Northern Waterthrush

Orange-crowned Warbler

Ovenbird

Painted Redstart

Palm Warbler

Pine Warbler

Prairie Warbler

Prothonotary Warbler

Tennessee Warbler

Wilson’s Warbler

Worm-eating Warbler

Yellow Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Yellow-throated Warbler

Sorry, no photos of these this spring, but I did see and hear them twice.

Who’s taking my picture???

Jeremy18 Comments

This spring so many warblers have looked directly at me while photographing them. I will get them like that occasionally, but not like this year. It has been all of the warbler species too, not just a few of them. I’m not sure if they see the huge front element on my lens, that reflects back at them or if they hear the camera shutter clicking 10 frames per second. Either way I’ve found it to be quite funny how the photos turn out. Something different than seeing the normal profile picture. Photos below are from the last few weeks in the Milwaukee area. Enjoy!

Prothonotary Warbler at Warnimont Park

Jeremy4 Comments

An uncommon but extraordinarily stunning warbler when seen! On 4/26, this male did not disappoint. He appeared less than 15′ from me at first, and then worked its way along the edge of the bluff, feeding on midges. He first showed along the path, just north of the trail, that runs east of the archery range. He continued north, along the thickest part of the trail. I watched him for several minutes and then as fast as he appeared, he was gone! I don’t think anyone else saw him the rest of that evening. Photos below are from Tuesday 4/26. Enjoy!

Black-throated Blue Warbler and more… at Whitnall Park

Jeremy2 Comments

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).