Birding along the lakefront in Milwaukee today I ran into John Miller who in talking had never seen a Horned Grebe. I said I had seen 3 at McKinley Marina on the about an hour ago. We were at Lake Park and it was quiet so we meet over at … Continue reading
One of my birding stops today was at Humboldt Park in Milwaukee. There have been a couple of Great Egrets hanging around there and they were still present today. They did a little fishing but for the most part remained perched in some trees on one of the islands there. … Continue reading
My first stop of the day was in downtown Waukesha at the Fox River just north of the dam. Four Ruddy Ducks, 3 males and one female have been hanging around the last couple of days. They were moving around a lot and at times would be following the female … Continue reading
Birding along the Milwaukee lakefront I found my first Caspian Terns of the year. From the parking lot I saw 3 on the beach nearby a flock of Ring-billed Gulls. When I got on the beach area, 1 lone tern was present as pedestrians were in the area and must … Continue reading
While birding Lake Park in Milwaukee one of the highlights was watching the Northern Flickers, yellow-shafted feeding on a couple of clumps of Staghorn Sumac plantings in a ravine. 3 or 4 different Northern Flickers hit these plants hard for seeds probably with anticipated snow coming and the ground having … Continue reading
One of my birding stops today was Lake Park in Milwaukee. As I stood on a ravine top, out of the corner of my eye a bird flew up from below and landed a couple hundred feet away. I knew this was a new bird to the area. From a … Continue reading
Stopping at McKinley Beach this morning gave nice views of Bonaparte’s Gulls feeding in the wave action hitting the shore. We see them for a very short time in spring in migration so I tried to capture some of what they do while they make brief stops in the area … Continue reading
Doing some birding along the lakefront in Milwaukee right after a good snow I did not except to see much. 6 Long-tailed Ducks were doing some feeding at the McKinley Marina was probably the highlight for the day. It looked like 2 males and 4 females, they were spread out … Continue reading
With the snowy day outdoors I stayed home but I did get some nice birds right out the kitchen window. 2 Song Sparrows which hung around all day. 2 Fox Sparrows showed up around noon and are still here. A Brown Thrasher showed up in the late afternoon for about … Continue reading
Even though it was a gloomy and rainy day I birded along a small part of the Milwaukee lakefront. Beaches Mckinley, Bradford and Lakeshore State Park had only a hand full of Ring-billed Gulls. A glance at Veterans Park provided distant views across the lagoon of a single Black-crowned Night-Heron. … Continue reading
On a second stop of the day at this location birding on the Fox River in Waukesha appeared a Hooded Merganser. This stunning male spent his time checking out the female Mallards one by one. I think this could be the famous Hooded Merganser “Hollyhood” that was here just over … Continue reading
I stopped at the Fox River in Waukesha late morning to see if anything new had come in since yesterday. A stunning Horned Grebe almost in full breeding plumage gave nice views for a couple of minutes and then moved north on the river. Another new species present were a … Continue reading
A beautiful Great Horned Owl in the spot light in Milwaukee County Wisconsin on March 23, 2018
Doing some birding in the South Kettle Moraine today the highlight was a FOY Eastern Phoebe. It was at Paradise Springs off in a distance actively feeding, eating some type of insects above the water, the few that were there. The short time I saw it, it was perched most … Continue reading
Birding Lake Park this morning in Milwaukee the highlight was a Black-capped Chickadee eating Staghorn Sumac seeds at a group of plants. An American Robin also made a brief appearance for some seeds but did not hang around. What a great native plant as this species provides food for so … Continue reading
Doing a little birding at Greenfield Park around noon I came across an American Robin working on a worm. It pulled it out of the ground just before I arrived but then I watch it stab the worm numerous times killing it. The story ends as it ate the worm … Continue reading
Nice to see this Eastern Screech Owl in Milwaukee County. The owl came up from in the hole and gave nice views but never opened their eyes while I was there. Just looking cozy up in a natural cavity. It was a beautiful morning out with plenty of sunshine and … Continue reading
A little birding along the lakefront in Milwaukee this morning provided nice views of a Snow Goose juvenile at Lakeshore State Park. The Snow Goose hung out with about 20-25 Canada Geese. They all grazed on the short turf grass while I was there. Eventually the flock thinned out as … Continue reading
Doing some birding along the lakefront in Milwaukee this morning I came across my FOY Killdeer. Always nice to see these as it seems like winter is behind us. Usually I hear the distinct call from this species before I seeing it, today I saw the bird first. This bird … Continue reading
I made a run up to Port Washington in Ozaukee County early this morning in hopes to see the Laughing Gull that was reported yesterday. Upon arriving at 7:00 am, I could see the adult Laughing Gull after making about 10 steps away from the car. Wow, what a stunning … Continue reading
