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!
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!
I was walking around the flowering trees at Whitnall Park, in the area leading up to the botanical gardens. For the most part, it was rather quiet. I found a few birds moving around in a pink flowering tree. I setup my camera and waited for them to get to my side. It was a Northern Cardinal, 2 Black-capped Chickadees, and a beautiful male Pine Warbler (PIWA). The Pine Warbler is easily in my top 3 for warblers! I have always loved seeing them and this year, it was my first male. I’ve only seen several females thus far. In previous years, this has been a good area for PIWA. They usually come through earlier in the spring and well before the trees are in full bloom. However, with the early spring, the apple trees are couple weeks early, which made for spectacular views! He was feeding constantly, and I watched him catch and eat several caterpillars and spiders. Just before exiting the tree, he started singing and then flew up into the pine stand and continued to sing for the next 30 minutes or so. I could hear him singing until I was out of range to hear it. Being this late in the spring for PIWA, I would think it is on territory in those trees. I will be keeping an eye out in the coming weeks to see if he is still around singing. Photos below are from the afternoon of 5/7. Enjoy!
With all the rare birds seen on Tuesday, I was hoping for a few more on Wednesday. Tuesday night was WSW and SW winds, so I knew it would be very good in the morning. Wow was it ever! I started at Warnimont Park just after sunrise and spent just over 5.5 hours there. When I opened the truck door, the air was filled with warbler songs. I knew right away how it would be. I had huge numbers of warblers including, 14 Golden-winged, 8 Blue-winged, 14 Orange-crowned, 33 Nashville, 14 Northern Parula, and 19 Black-throated Green! I also found 3 rare ones, Yellow-throated, Prairie and Cerulean Warblers. Most things were up rather high and photo opportunities were not that great. For the morning, I ended up with 103 species and 25 warbler species! Those kinds of numbers are a week early, but it’s what you get with the right weather. Around 10:30ish it started to get rather windy, and I would say by 11:00 it was pretty quiet. The walk back to the truck produced almost no birds, so I decided to grab lunch and call it a day. I got home, and I see a report of a Worm-eating Warbler (WEWA) at Lake Park. So, I figured I would go down there and try for it. It just so happens that it was also found in the north lighthouse ravine. Add another rare bird to that ravine for the year! I got down there just after 2:30pm. I ran into a friend, and he hadn’t seen it or knew of anyone that had. I kind of thought that may be the case too. These birds are tough to find, and the ground vegetation in the ravines is already green and 6″ tall. I walked in from the west side, so that the light was at my back. I walked extremely slow through the ravine, watching for any movement on the ground. I found 13 Ovenbirds in the first half of the ravine! Every time I saw one, I got excited, thinking it was the WEWA. About halfway down the ravine, I was watching an Ovenbird eat a moth, when something moved and caught the corner of my eye. I turned slightly and there it was, only 25′ in front of me working a fallen tree. I quick shot off a few doc photos. At that moment, a couple of girls were walking up from the bottom. I tried waving to them to stop, but they weren’t paying attention and by the time they did, they had gotten a little too close. The bird was sandwiched in by us and it flew around them and up the ravine. When they were passing, they asked what was going on, so I explained it to them. I didn’t think I would get to see it again, but someone was walking along the top of the ravine, approximately where it flew to, and they flushed it back down. I walked further down, about 35′ and waited for about 10 minutes. I didn’t see anything resembling a WEWA. I moved about 15′ further down from there and saw a few birds move. Two were Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and the other was the WEWA! It popped up into a small shrub only 10′ or so away from. It started singing very faintly and was even singing some type of song I’ve never heard from them. Normally they have a dry insect-like trill, but he was singing a bunch of different warbles before and after shorter than usual trill. If I had not seen him doing it, I would have never guessed that it was a WEWA. The bird kept working, slowly down the ravine, away from me. A friend came walking up from behind and asked if I had anything and I said I had the WEWA! He stood next to me, and I got him on it. We watched it for about 5 minutes, and it popped out into the open with a potato bug in its bill. It sat there for a good 20 seconds. Maybe it could hear our shutters and froze, which happens to me a lot, even though I had mine on silent (still makes some noise). It then flew across the ravine bottom to the south side and gave me an excellent view on a bare branch! After that we lost it. My friend moved on, and I stayed down there. I didn’t think I would see it anymore. A few other people walked through and didn’t see it as well. I made my way back down the ravine and I was standing by the water for a few minutes. I had noticed that several of the other warblers that were in the area the entire time, were now taking a bath. All of a sudden, in flies the WEWA, right into the water. Woah!!! He’s literally only 15′ away from me taking a bath! Unbelievable!!! I spent a little over 2 hours in that ravine and saw the bird 3 times. I was certainly rewarded for being patient and quiet. I took a walk around the top side of the ravine looking for the White-eyed Vireo again but didn’t see it, so I called it a day. Another awesome day with icing on the cake! Photos below are from the afternoon of 5/1. Enjoy!
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.
Friday morning, a Connecticut Warbler was heard singing from the Locust Ravine at Lake Park. I started the morning at Whitnall Park and was just waiting to hear a report of one. I quickly left and went to Lake Park, arriving just past 10am. It took a few hours, but I finally got on the bird after it came to the base of the ravine for a bath. It then flew up and continued walking the ravine side. There was a group of us in the base of the ravine looking up, trying to follow this bird through the vegetation. Since the undergrowth is quite tall already, it was extremely difficult to see the bird move throughout the vegetation. I snuck up the side of the ravine, about halfway and waited for it to come into a clearing area. It did and came into view about 20′ in away from me. I was able to freeze his movement with the sound of my camera shutter going off. That worked out perfectly, as it froze right in front of me, mostly out in the open. It then continued to walk towards a thicker area. I was looking through my camera to see if any of the photos turned out, when I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. It was another Connecticut Warbler, coming from the same direction as the first one. This time though, the bird was only 10′ away from and which is too close for my lens to focus. Another warbler flew past giving an alert chip and I saw both Connecticut Warblers at the same time, fly into some brush a little further up and away from me. After a minute or so, one of them started walking back down the ravine, providing the others with some good views. It’s been 3 straight years of good looks at a Connecticut Warbler in the Locust Ravine, which I hope continues in the future. Photos below are from late morning/early afternoon Friday. Enjoy!
A Cerulean Warbler was found yesterday 5/10, at the Shorewood Nature Preserve, in Milwaukee County. I was out of town, so I did not have a chance to see it. I had already seen one at Warnimont Park a week earlier, so it didn’t bother me as much. This morning I started my day at Whitnall Park, and just like every other day there so far, it was dead! I heard that the Cerulean Warbler was again singing at SNP, so I figured I would go down there and check it out. I’m glad I did, because it was one of the most cooperative Cerulean Warblers I ever had! I walked over to the amphitheater area where it had been seen, however, I didn’t hear it or see it. Within 5 minutes, I heard it sing one time to the north and then it flew right into the tree above the amphitheater, and right above me. I couldn’t believe it! It moved from that tree to the downed tree/brush pile next to it, with a group of other warblers passing through, and then back into the tree. Several others had joined me, and we watched it sing consistently for the next 30 minutes, only 20′ away. This is a stunning bird with a beautiful song, that is very uncommon. It’s always a treat to get to see one, especially that close. I spent 5.5 hours at SNP today and from what I was hearing, it was the only park in Milwaukee with any birds. A White-eyed Vireo was also there as well. I ended up with 73 species and 21 warblers there, which I think is very impressive considering it’s so small! In the past 4 days, this park has hosted Summer Tanager, Yellow-throated Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, 2 Hooded Warblers, Prothonotary Warbler and White-eyed Vireo! This is crazy, since it might only be 2 acres in size. Every year there is a hot spot in Milwaukee and SNP seems to be the one this year. Photos below are from Thursday 5/11. Enjoy!
The past 3 days have been excellent for Golden-winged, Blue-winged and Blackburnian Warblers at Warnimont Park. The area between archery range and parking lot, the golf course and the woods just south of the golf course have all been productive. The “winged” warblers are spectacular looking and sounding! Their songs are loud and bring a smile to your face, while walking around, trying to locate them. It’s always very exciting to see these birds. Blackburnian Warblers are spectacular looking as well, with their fire orange throat on black and white body. They really stand out in the morning sun! I have had at least 3 of each the past few days. The photos below are from Warnimont Park between 5/6-5/9. Enjoy!
I went to Shorewood Nature Preserve this afternoon/evening to look for the reported Summer Tanager. The rain was supposed to stop by 2pm, then by 5pm and it’s still raining as I type this at 9:30pm. The local meteorologists sure know how to do their job!!! So, I was stuck walking around this park in the rain. Also reported from there this morning, were Yellow-throated, Prothonotary and Hooded Warblers. Of course, I wanted to get photos of those three as well. When I arrived, I walked down the bluff, headed on the north path and made a loop. It was very quiet, and I didn’t see or hear much. I then went towards the lake and found a small pocket of warblers, mostly Palm and Yellow-rumped. I walked the beach north, to the park edge and still nothing. I walked back to the path, and I finally found the Summer Tanager. It was feeding high in the treetops. I watched it for a little while and it never came lower or cooperated for that matter. I gave up on it and focused back on finding the warblers. I headed back north and as soon as I crossed the large fallen tree, a dull warbler jumped up from the ground in the raspberry bushes. I assumed it was an Orange-crowned, since they are usually low in the thicker growth and the color matched. It was very close to me, but there were to many branches to clearly see. I looked through my binoculars, tried to quickly focus and got a fast glimpse of black stripes on the head. I knew right away, Worm-eating Warbler!!! I love finding these guys. Of course, I lost it right away. There is so much thick undergrowth in the park, I wasn’t sure if I would find it again. I continued on the path and ended up circling back around to where I first saw it, no luck. I walked forward again going towards the lake and taking a different path north. I started getting close to the black fence at the park edge and saw a bird fly a short distance. I got it in my binoculars, and it was a Northern Waterthrush. Sigh. Then I saw something right next to the waterthrush move and there it was! A couple of weak chip notes and it was gone again, flying towards the brush pile at the base of the bluff. I didn’t know if it went in there or continued up the bluff. So, I set up shop by the brush pile and waited. After 15 minutes or so, it popped out and provided some pretty short, decent looks. I was shooting in silent mode on my camera, but I think it still heard or maybe just was knew I was there, because it flew up the bluff a short distance. At that point, I figured I wouldn’t see it anymore. By this time, I had already spent almost 3 hours walking around in the rain. I made one more quick loop through the entire park and most singing had already stopped, so I called it a night. I did find Blue-winged and Hooded Warblers though and ended with 18 warbler species. I missed on the Yellow-throated and Prothonotary Warblers. I guess I will need to wait for a later date with those two. Photos below are from this evening, while rain soaked and a chilly east wind. The pin location below is approximately where I last saw it. Good luck! Enjoy!
In addition to the Loggerhead Shrike, I also found a Kentucky Warbler! It was in the same exact spot as the one last year. I stopped right where the trail 3-ways off and was going to check my phone. The bird pops up and I just assumed it was a Common Yellowthroat, since I heard 2 singing in the area. When it did, it was only 10′ from me. It turned and looked right at me, and I said, “woah, a Kentucky Warbler!” It was so close I didn’t need my binoculars. I sent out the pin location and there were already a few people real close by. The next 15 minutes, it was not to be found. The area is only about a 30′ circle, but it is the thickest most thick garbage to look through! I was wondering if it moved further south without us knowing, so I started walking the path. Within a minute, it had popped back up and showed for everyone. I quickly got back, and I spent the next 2 hours standing there watching it feed and then go down and hide, which I’m guessing it was sleeping. I did the same routine the entire time watching it. I was really trying to get photos of it, but it just would not come out into the open. I suppose watching a Kentucky Warbler feed, at times of only 6′ away is a prize worthy enough. The photos below are the best I could manage in the entire time there. I have a feeling it’s still around and the pin location below is where it was seen. Good luck if you try. Enjoy!
