An Eared Grebe was spotted along the shore of Lake Michigan, just below the bluff of Sheridan Park on Sunday 10/16. It was staying very close to the shoreline and sometimes hard to see from above. I decided to walk down the service road to the shoreline. I walked north from there about 100 yards, and it was swimming and diving between two of the jetties. I sat down on the rocky beach area and watched it for about 15 minutes. It was actively diving the entire time. After several dives, it popped up fairly close to me, stared me down and dove again. Every time it would go down and come up, then look at me and continue about its business. This bird appears to be a hatch year and in a plumage I have not seen before. I’m glad that it was reported and stuck around for the day. Enjoy!
I had just walked down the waterfall ravine at Lake Park to search for a Louisiana Waterthrush, when I received a text from a friend. It said, “at Lakeshore State Park”. I assumed a photo was coming next. When it finally came through, I clicked on it and said to myself, “Wow, our second Purple Sandpiper of the year!” This one was different though. Instead of the usual adults in winter plumage, this was a hatch year bird! I had never seen one before, so I quickly made my way back to the truck and headed down the street to LSSP. It was on the south end of the park feeding on the rocks, near the water’s edge. It was kind of hidden and not a good angle to the sun, so I walked out onto the large rocks to the very edge. I still couldn’t see it from that angle, but just stood and waited, hoping it would come around the rock that was blocking it. After several minutes, it flew right towards me and looked like it was going to land on the rock I was standing on! It saw me and looped around, landing only 25′ away. It looked at me, trying to figure out what I was, since I wasn’t moving and wearing a bright green shirt. A few waves crashed on it and then it started feeding. I watched it at close range for about 5 minutes and then it flew back to the original rock it was on. Guess I was really lucky that day! Photos below are from 9/15. Enjoy!
Yesterday an Eastern Whip-poor-will was found at the Northwestern Mutual Building downtown. It was probably a window strike during the night and flushed up in the morning, to sit on a ledge of the building. Later in the day, I saw a rare bird report that someone found it sitting in a Maple Tree. It was on my way home, so I decided to see if I could find it. I figured it couldn’t be that hard to find. I haven’t been there in a while and when I arrived, I realized just about every tree there was a Maple! I walked towards the building and then a little east, walking along the concrete walkway, and then turned to the south and there it was! I thought to myself, “wow that was easy!” Very rarely does it ever work out like that. It was only about 10′ off the ground and very cooperative. I had to walk back to my truck and grab my small lens, as it was way too close for the 600mm. There were several angles that provided decent views, but still covered by leaves. It’s been decades since I’ve seen one and I have never photographed one. It was still being seen today, but in a different tree. Today, it was about 25′ up on a dead branch, somewhat blocked by leaves from below, still camouflaged enough to be hidden. Enjoy!
A Limpkin finally showed up in Wisconsin, back in July. This will be the 1st state record, when accepted. Unfortunately, it was at a private residence, and they did not want swarms of people coming to their small, quiet neighborhood. However, I was lucky enough to get an invite, thank you John! The houses wrapped around a small pond, and this is where the bird was. I went on 7/24, and it had been there for several days before I saw it. The day I went, it was a dark gloomy day, with lots of misting type rain. Of course, it wasn’t ideal for taking photos, go figure! I watched it for at least an hour, probably closer to two. It mostly fed and moved about the edge of the water. It also walked up onto shore and preened for a while. After that it flew across the pond, to the side that I was on. It started feeding along the edge and walked towards me. It got close enough that I had to take off the extender on my lens. It continued even closer that I could no longer take photos, as it was too big to fit in my frame. Appeared to be just as tame as the Florida birds as well. Despite the crappy weather, a very exciting late morning and some excellent views at a new state bird! I think it stayed for a couple of weeks and then moved on. It’s certainly possible that this is the same bird being seen in Sheboygan County now. I see them every year in Florida, so not a life bird for me, but a state bird. They are a large, loud bird with huge feet and a heavy, thick bill. They eat apple snails, and this particular bird was finding snails in the pond. It appeared to also eat some type of worm from the water as well. It was hard to tell from the photos. Photos below are from the late morning/early afternoon on 7/24. Enjoy!
Worm-eating Warbler is uncommon in Wisconsin. However, I think Milwaukee County has gotten one the last several years. This year I saw two! One was along a creek at Whitnall Park (5/9), and the other was singing at Warnimont Park (5/15) in the wooded area, east of hole #6. I was able to track down the one at Warnimont and sneak quietly within 25′ of him. I watched him eat spiders, caterpillars and midges, and was also constantly singing. The song is a dry, almost insect-like trill, similar to Chipping Sparrow. It was very hard to get wide open views of him though, as he stayed very low and in patches of thick brush. I still managed decent photos considering the thickets and it was the first time I was able to get one singing, which I love. Northern Waterthrush & Ovenbird are very common in Wisconsin, especially in Milwaukee County during migration. On 5/1, I had 10 Northern Waterthrush and 9 on 5/10, both at Whitnall Park. They can be found anywhere near any kind of water. They are usually singing throughout the entire day. There are many variations of the song, but for the most part it is a loud, ringing, three-part sweet sweet sweet swee wee wee chew chew chew chew. I find that they are very skittish, unless you’re standing still, and they fly and land near you. As soon as you move though, so do they. As for Ovenbird, I had 7 on 5/9 and 6 on 5/10, both at Whitnall Park as well. Ovenbird is found walking the forest floor, picking through leaves and downed branches, looking for insects. They sing a rather loud song, starting quieter and getting louder with each note. It is a rapid, resounding tea-cher, Tea-cher, TEA-cher, TEA-CHER. The photos below were taken in May. Enjoy!
These four warblers are very common in the Milwaukee area during spring migration, and this year was excellent for them. All of them can be found almost anywhere. They are so abundant that I usually see males, females and first spring birds of each. I really enjoy photographing the different plumages of them all as well. Each photo in this post, as is in every post, labeled (male, female or 1st spring) if you click on them. This way you can check to see if you know the correct plumages of each. A Chestnut-sided Warbler arrived on 4/25, the first of the two consecutive fallout days at Warnimont Park. I think this will be a record early arrival for the state. On 5/11 at Warnimont, I had 45 of them and on 5/15 I had 32. Chestnut-sided Warblers sing short fast song sounding like, pleased, pleased, pleased to meetcha! I saw my first Black-and-white Warbler on 4/24, and numbers continued to grow until 5/11 when I found 27 at Warnimont. These warblers are usually found working along dead branches or tree trunks like a nuthatch or creeper. They sing a high-pitched, repetitive weesy, weesy, weesy, which may be difficult for some to hear. It is a very pretty song. I also saw my first Black-throated Green Warbler on 4/24 and my big day for them was also on 5/11, with 39. These warblers are constantly singing in spring and very easy to pick out. It is a rather loud, zee zee zee zee zo zee. I didn’t have my first Magnolia Warbler until 5/8 and on 5/11, I had 42 at Warnimont Park. I also had 33 on 5/15 at Warnimont as well. I find Magnolia Warblers, along with Chestnut-sided to have the most variable spring plumage, most likely because so many pass through the area. I see lots of females and first spring birds with both. Magnolia Warblers sing a very short song that is a whistled weta, weta, WETA, with last note being the loudest. All photos below are from the last 5 weeks in Milwaukee County. Enjoy!
Canada Warbler is my favorite! I love the color combination and their beautiful song. This was an excellent spring for them as well. My big day for them was on 5/15, when I saw 12 at Warnimont. They can be found just about anywhere, I usually see them in the low, thicker shrubs. Their song is a loud rapid warble of notes. Canada Warblers also linger late to the end of May. The Hooded Warbler is a very striking bird when seeing in the field. The black that surrounds the males face is very bold and unmistakable! Unfortunately, they aren’t very common, however there seems to be a decent amount that pass through Milwaukee County each spring. Warnimont Park in particular, gets one every year behind the archery range, which I’m willing to bet is the same one each year. This year, he showed up very early, 4/25 along with a bunch of other warblers that day, in our fallout at that park. He continued there for the next two days and was even joined by another as well. They have a very pretty song as well that is a clear weeta-weeta-weet-tee-o. On 5/1, I had a very cooperative female at Whitnall Park. She was along a creek in the middle of the park. Wilson’s Warblers are usually a little later, like the Canada and stay longer. There were lots of them this spring, as usual with 9 being seen on 5/11. 5/15 was also a great day with 8. Both of those days were at Warnimont Park. Photos below are from the last month in Milwaukee County. Enjoy!
These two warblers are a little more uncommon than most, but still seen throughout migration. Bay-breasted Warblers are beautiful, with their striking combination of colors! They are also hard to hear for a lot of people, because their song is a series of very high pitched, szee or teesi notes with the final note being accented. BBWA are usually found in the evergreens, and that is where I found most of the ones, I saw this year. The golf course at Warnimont has many groups of evergreens mixed in throughout the whole course and can be very good for them. That is where I found the majority of them this May. The high day for them this year was 5/15, when I had 14. Blackpoll Warblers can be found anywhere. Their bright orange legs really stand out, especially against their black and white body. I don’t have a special place to find them. I see them high in the canopy and low in the shrubs or in evergreens as well. They have a higher pitched song, but I find its louder than most and easier to hear. I often think they are closer than they really are. Their short song gently fades in, increases in volume, and then fades back out, tsit tsit tsit TSIT TSIT Tsit tsit tsit. BPLW are definitely easier to find in the fall, when it seems like every other warbler is a Blackpoll. The high day this spring for them was also on 5/15, when I had 8. Photos below are from the last few weeks. Enjoy!
These two are stunning! It was an excellent year for both of them. My best day for Northern Parula was on 5/11 at Warnimont Park, when I saw 35. They were everywhere that day! The rising buzzy trill was ringing through the park that day. A very loud song for a small warbler. If, you get to see a Yellow-throated Warbler in Milwaukee County, it’s always a bonus. This spring there were at least 4 of them, with the first sighting at Greenfield Park on 4/20. That bird was very cooperative and seen by many in the birding community. Then on 5/8 another was found at Warnimont Park and a couple days later another at Sheridan Park. On Sunday 5/22, one was seen singing at Whitnall Park, and I think it has been there for some time now. Maybe it will stay there? I grouped these two together because they can interbreed. In this rare case, it is called a Sutton’s Warbler. One of these was seen and photographed in Dane County on 5/6. I almost went out there to see it, and I wish I would have. Oh well, next time… Photos below are from the last month in the Milwaukee area. Enjoy!
Pine Warbler is one of my favorites. However, I only saw one male this spring, and only a handful of females. Since they are an early arriving one, it’s possible they just went past us with our strong SW and SSW winds the several nights in late April. The one male I did see was by the Grant Park feeders, which is probably the same one that stops there every year. There isn’t much to say about Palm and Yellow-rumped. They arrive early and before you know it, there are hundreds of each, as was the case on 4/26 at Warnimont. These are the two most common warblers in our area during migration. Photos below are from the last several weeks in the Milwaukee area. Enjoy!
