We got very lucky this year with Nelson’s Sparrows in Milwaukee. We might get one or two somewhere along the lake, during migration, but this year we had 4 on 9/23 and 13 on 9/28! They were continuing for over a week. The Juneau lagoon is extremely high with water this year. On the east side, the flooded area, created a nice swampy, muddy area, that attracted numerous birds, including these rare sparrows. The best part about it was the sparrows, which are normally very sulky, came right out on the mud flats and gave great unobstructed views! They were eating little red worms, among other insects. These are very beautiful birds and it was extremely pleasant to get to observe them like this. You can also click on the name below, to go directly to the Nelson’s Sparrow page for more photos. Images below are from 9/23. Enjoy!
Pine Siskins in My Yard 10/7/20
I’ve had Pine Siskins at my house since 9/23. The number seems to grow a little each day. I’m guessing there are over 60 right now! I counted 42 on the ground at one time and could still hear and see them flying around my trees. I figured I would photograph them today, since they were so active at my feeding areas. Usually a few come down, but the majority stay up in the maples or arborvitaes. Not today though, as most were eating thistle seed. After eating they fly to drink water and then back to the tree tops. Some of them are extremely yellow, more than I’ve ever seen on siskins. Having that many around, you really get the variation in color between each one. Some show very little yellow, others a decent amount and still others show more whitish than brown. I have quite a few images, but they show the variation I was talking about. All images are from today. Enjoy!
Rare Sparrows at Grant Park Beach Area 10/6/20
I was at Sheridan Park this afternoon, but not much was going on. There were a ton of butterflies though, so I decided to head over to the Grant Park Beach area. It can be very good for butterflies, along the south side of the parking lot. As soon as I got out of the truck, I hear “hey!” I look over and Lorri is telling me she just had a Harris’s Sparrow. I started walking the area that she saw it, but could not relocate it. After about 30 minutes, I was watching several Yellow-rumped Warblers feeding on the ground, and in flies the Harris’s Sparrow and lands right in front me! It hung out in the grass, near a clump of trees, on the west side of the parking lot. I continued walking around and in the flowering area on the south side of the parking lot, I scared up a Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrow! Wow, two rare sparrows within 100′ of each other! I started off looking for butterflies and ended up watching rare birds, funny how that works sometimes. There were a bunch of Yellow-rumped and Palm Warblers, mostly feeding on the ground. I also had approximately 35 Pine Siskins, one flock of about 20 flew south and 15 or so remained in the tree tops to the northwest. All images below are from this afternoon. Enjoy!
Fall Shorebird Migration 2020
For the most part, I do the majority of my picture taking in the Milwaukee area. The last few years have not been very good here for shorebirds though, this year included. We did get several Buff-breasted Sandpipers at Lakeshore State Park, which were awesome! There was also a Stilt Sandpiper in a flooded field off County Line Rd. We got two there in spring as well. The hotspot around me this migration season was the Wind Lake Sod Farms. There was an Upland Sandpiper, 10+ Buff-breasted Sandpipers, over 30 American Golden Plovers, several Black-bellied Plovers, a few Semipalmated Plovers, hundreds of Killdeer, 10+ Baird’s Sandpipers, 1 Sanderling and several Least, Pectoral and Semipalmated Sandpipers. Most of the birds provided great looks, with a little patience. I think they had certain areas closer to the roads, that were turned over, creating good close spots for the birds this year. All the photos below were taken in August and September. Enjoy!
Upland Sandpiper in Racine County 8/9/20
An Upland Sandpiper was seen yesterday near the sod farms. It was still around today. The bird was seen on the east side of Britton Rd, between Olsen and Burmeister. When I arrived, it was maybe 75yds out, feeding in the grass. I would say it provided fairly good views, but the heat distortion was terrible! I watched it for about 30 minutes, and the last 10 or so, it went into the stubble field and was harder to find. With the storms and wind still from the south, it’s possible it would still be around tomorrow, good habitat for it. I was able to manage a few photos despite the heat distortion. Enjoy!
23 Warbler Species at Whitnall Park 5/13
Today was excellent at Whitnall Park, with 23 warbler species seen including several uncommon. Hooded, Mourning, Golden-winged, Blackburnian and Black-throated Blue Warblers were the highlights. The Mourning Warbler has been along the creek for the last four days a week now. It has been the most cooperative Mourning Warbler I have ever seen. I also saw 2 Black-throated Blue and 2 Blackburnian Warblers. I watched a Hooded Warbler fly around like crazy, eating insects and may flies for about 20 minutes, then go sit on a branch and fall asleep for a few minutes. Very cool to see. I usually find Golden-winged Warblers hopping around the ground, hunting for spiders. Today was exactly that. They look for the dried, curled up leaves and then stick the head inside and pull out insects, mostly spiders. It’s quite a site to see. There are multiple of all of the common warblers and double digit of a few. Most have been feeding on the ground or flying around catching insects, only several few feet of the ground. Yesterday, a female Cerulean Warbler came out and fed for about 20 minutes, providing some nice views as well. It looks like the next few days are going to be very good for some new birds. Hopefully this continues! Images below are from today. Enjoy!
Ruff in Walworth county 4/24/20
A Ruff was being seen in a flooded field off hwy 67 in Walworth County. I wasn’t going to go, but after I saw a photo of it on the rare bird report, I knew I had too. I saw a Ruff at Horicon a few years ago, but that was a nonbreeding male. When I arrived, there were a lot of people there. I parked on the side of the highway and got my camera on it. As soon as I was about to snap my first picture, it flew. I thought I had missed out. However, it flew and landed 25′ from my truck. I couldn’t believe it! What a beautiful and cool looking bird! Being so close to it was awesome! It flew a short time after that, and I watched it land in the farmers field to the southeast. I stayed and watched the numerous other shorebirds. About 15 minutes later, it flew back in, but landed way out in the muddy field. After a few minutes of foraging, it flew back into the water, on the far end. After a little foraging, it again flew and landed right by me. I watched for another 40 minutes or so, and by then light was fading quickly in the overcast sky. Images below are from the evening. Enjoy!
Surf Scoter at Horicon Marsh 4/11/20
I saw the report of a Surf Scoter seen along Ledge Rd, on Friday afternoon. I thought I’d give it a try Saturday morning, since it was seen so close. I see them every year along Lake Michigan, but rarely do I get good close looks at them. When I arrived, he was swimming extremely close to the road, providing excellent views. Such a beautiful bird! I watched him swim around for about an hour or so. He was very tame and hung around the same general area the whole time I was there. Images below are from the morning. Enjoy!
Golden-crowned Sparrow in Calumet County 4/9/20
A Golden-crowned Sparrow has been visiting a private residence since 4/4/20. The homeowners are very nice and welcoming to people looking for the bird. I had a chance to go on Thursday afternoon, 4/9. I arrived to the house at 3:15pm and after about 40 minutes, the bird finally showed under the juniper tree. The bird ate a few seeds and disappeared. It looked like it just went up into the juniper and hid. The brief view I had was with terrible lighting, very dark under the tree and bright sunlight around it. I wasn’t very happy with the looks that I had, so I decided to wait and see if it would come out again. After another 35 minutes or so, it did come out again, but this time stayed out in the open for about five minutes or so, providing me excellent views. It flew off with a group of juncos and I decided to leave. A great afternoon, getting to see a life bird! Images below are from the day. Enjoy!
Snowy Owl at MKE 1/4/20
I was on my way to Whitnall Park to look for the Northern Goshawk, when a friend text me and said a Snowy Owl was sitting in the grass, close to the road. This owl has been hanging around the airport for a little over a month, but has been hard to locate. I immediately turned around and went over there. I’m glad I did, because it was about as close and good a look you would ever get of a Snowy Owl. She just sat there, rotating her head back and forth, hunting for prey. I watched her for about 15 minutes, and then went on my way, back to Whitnall Park. I never did see the hawk that day, but missed it by about ten minutes, after waiting around for it close to 6 hours. Here are some photos of the owl, sitting in the grass, hunting.
