The same day that I saw the Black Scoter in the previous post, I was able to watch a male Hooded Merganser catch a Crawfish (crayfish) and eat it. This was quite an action sequence, as he needed to keep moving it around to avoid getting a claw to the bill. He ended up taking it down, facing away from me, so I never really saw if he swallowed it whole or just bit pieces off. All of this was a little farther out than I would prefer, but I think enough detail comes through in the photos, especially with bad lighting for the day. Photos were taken on Saturday 1/27. Enjoy!
Behind the Milwaukee Art Museum a few weeks ago, there were 1500+ ducks! There was an excellent variety of them as well, with the water still being open. There were 11 duck species including a very cool hybrid, Common Goldeneye x Hooded Merganser. One of the species was a beautiful male Black Scoter in full breeding plumage. I had never seen one like that before, only in basic plumage. When I saw him, he was closer to the north side of Veteran’s Park. He was hanging with a smaller group of ducks diving and feeding. At one point, he was even calling and appeared to be courting a female Greater Scaup. He must have had a long Friday night! The other duck species present were, Mallard, Canvasback, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Greater & Lesser Scaup, White-winged Scoter, Common Goldeneye, Hooded Merganser and Red-breasted Merganser. The photos below are from Saturday 1/27. Enjoy!
I stopped by Bender Park last week and saw a few ducks in the boat launch area. I drove down close to the water and shut off my truck. I counted 3 Red-breasted Merganser, 3 Common Goldeneye, 1 Common Merganser all swimming, along with 2 Mallard sleeping on the sand bar. I have stopped here dozens of times before and I know that if you park close to the water, shut off you truck and be quiet, the ducks will come back, close to shore. On this particular day, the Common Merganser swam in, slightly off the newly formed sand bar, and started diving. After the first dive, she popped up with a something and I got my camera on her. I thought it was a fish, and I started snapping photos in a burst, so that I wouldn’t miss anything. After the sequence was done and I looked at some photos, I realized it was actually a frog she caught. I was quite surprised by this. After a few more dives, I saw her pop up with another frog! This time though, a male Red-breasted Merganser started chasing her. After about 100′ feet of scooting through the water, he got really close, and she dropped the frog. He grabbed it and enjoyed her catch. The photos below show these events happening and I tried to capture the entire sequences. However, not all photos are in focus during the event, so I picked the ones that were. The photos below were taken on 1/11 in the late afternoon. Enjoy!
Yesterday afternoon, a beautiful male Mandarin Duck was photographed at South Shore Yacht Club in Bayview. I thought I would head down at sunrise today and see if it was still around. It was! This is an incredibly gorgeous bird! About 5 minutes after I arrived, all of the ducks took off and flew to the other side of the breakwall. Turns out, a Peregrine Falcon came in from the north and I didn’t see it at first, but the birds always see predators right away. Within 20 minutes, the ducks all came back and so did the Mandarin Duck. As soon as they landed, a Bald Eagle came circling in from the north. They got up, flew around but came right back. The eagle landed on the rocks of the breakwall, and never bothered the ducks. For the next couple of hours, it moved about between the water and the shore. A great morning to be out! Photos below are from today. Enjoy!
Yesterday afternoon there was a beautiful male Northern Pintail at the yacht club. He was hanging out with 50 or so Mallards and 4 American Black Ducks, near the boat launch. This was the best view of a male that I ever had. So close and really tame! If someone would walk past or drive by, he swam out a little bit, but always came right back to the shore. I just wish I would’ve had some sunlight for the photos. I sat in my truck and watched the ducks for a little over and hour. Spring migration is definitely underway, with new birds arriving daily. Pictures are from the afternoon. Enjoy!
A Tufted Duck was found on Sunday 12/26, at the Hoan Bridge Harbor/Petroleum Pier in Milwaukee. It was still present as of today, 1/1. This bird has been enjoyed my many people from different states. I think it will be the third state record. Unfortunately, it’s usually far out and a scope is needed for good looks at it. I’m only 15 minutes away from the area and had off of work last week, so I was able to check every day for it. Finally, yesterday morning it came rather close when moving from the South end to the North end. I was able to get fairly decent photos of it. Of course, the sun was nonexistent for most of the week, so lighting was terrible which is typical for winter in Wisconsin. It’s nice that it stuck around for people to see, and it seems like it will be here for a while, as long as there is open water. I’m sure most people have seen it that wanted too, if not, good luck if you try for it! Photos below are from the week. Enjoy!
* Help to view the Tufted Duck… There are 3 access points underneath the Hoan Bridge. The southern one is usually locked. The middle one is usually open and gives you access to 75% of the area. The Northern one is right in front of the Petroleum Pier and gives you access to the last 25%. The Tufted Duck prefers to hang around the pier area, sometimes going on the north side of it, with very little view and no access. I have seen the duck on the southern end twice, so they all move around. It’s usually 100-200 yards out.
For anyone that doesn’t already know, the male Harlequin Duck in Sheboygan is finally in full breeding plumage. He has been there for almost a year now. In spring on his first molt attempt, he acquired about 50% of his plumage. I was really hoping that he would stick around until the fall, so I could see him in all his glory. Well… he did and he is absolutely stunning!!! It is worth the trip to Sheboygan, if you have the chance. The only time I’ve seen one like this, is at the zoo. Now if you do go, you need to have patience and check the entire area, as he moves around quite a bit. I saw him right in the marina, just north of the public boat launch. I walked right past him, only 15′ away. Others have had him closer to North Point, by the jetties. He also likes to sleep on the docks and also on the rocks, both out by the break and right next to shore. If at first you don’t see him, keep looking. Good luck if you try for him and if you need motivation, check out the photos below. 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!
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!
