Birding along the lakefront in Milwaukee this morning one of the highlights was a female White-winged Scoter neat the Petroleum Pier. It dove while I was there coming up with mussels to eat. A drab duck but always nice to see something different this time of year. Another species to … Continue reading
A Townsend’s Solitaire, a rare visitor was recently reported at the Boerner Botanical Gardens. I thought with birding slow in general it was a good opportunity check for this one. After about 2 1/2 hours the Townsend’s Solitaire came out of no where from the west and dropped into a … Continue reading
It was a fun morning for everyone counting birds for the Christmas Bird Count at the Wehr Nature Center. The highlight during my counting was a stunning adult Red-tailed Hawk perched in a tree hunting. The hawk gave nice views for a few moments with eyes always moving around waiting … Continue reading
Birding Lakeshore State Park this morning in Milwaukee I came across a Snowy Owl sitting on a deck. I hide out of sight and took a couple of shots. A walker with a dog on a leash near the area must have caught the eyes of the Snowy Owl as … Continue reading
Birding along the lakefront in Milwaukee this morning it was a nice surprise to find a Snowy Owl. 1st one of the winter for me. It was resting and I let it be. I did take a couple of images at a safe distance to share. It was cloudy this … Continue reading
An early stop at the Fox River in Waukesha provided nice views of a female Ruddy Duck. It has been hanging around for a couple of days just sleeping in the middle of the river. This morning it was moving around with some Mallards. Sorta drab duck, the males in … Continue reading
Albino Squirrels are not common at all so I took advantage of getting some images of one of two in Waukesha County when I had the opportunity. They are storing nuts for the winter and working on a nest too. I was a pretty nice morning with some sun, mild … Continue reading
One of my birding stops today in Waukesha County along a river. It had a stunning male Hooded Merganser that was hanging out with Mallards. The Hooded Merganser gave nice views, I witnessed very little feeding, only once I saw part of a crayfish in its bill when it came … Continue reading
Nothing goes to waste! Amazing what will show up on a trail cam if White-tailed Deer insides are left in a field after dressing the animal. A friend offered me insides from a deer that he just shot with a bow. I said why not. I set the insides in … Continue reading
One of my birding stops today was Port Washington. Literally 100’s of Red-breasted Mergansers provided action in the harbor but the highlight was Cedar Waxwings eating Red Cedar berries at Coal Dock Park. The waxwings for the most part just perched in a few trees and occasion would go for … Continue reading
While out birding in Milwaukee County I stumbled upon two raccoons peeking out of their home, a hole in a tree. They moved around some in their hole with one trying to climb up into the tree hole out of sight. After awhile one managed and the other in sight … Continue reading
While birding Lakeshore State Park in Milwaukee the highlight of the walk were two adult Horned Larks feeding on seeds in the grass in the snow. On one occasion I saw one eat an insect, so they are not strictly seed eaters. They pulled seeds off of plants and ate … Continue reading
A stop at McKinley Beach in Milwaukee along the lakefront provided views of 2 American Pipits. Thinking these are 1st winter birds…They fed along the beach clutter along the shore finding things to eat. Ring-billed Gulls were in the same area and slightly harassed the pipits on occasion flushing them. … Continue reading
A tour of fall colors on a road trip at the Porcupine Mountain Wilderness State Park in Michigan’s UP provided some of the most stunning fall colors ever witnessed. It was only a one day tour for a few hours on a day I would have called PEAK season for … Continue reading
While birding Lakeshore State Park a cute little American Mink caught my eye. It was grooming itself and scratching its back on the pier, rolling over, it was having a great time. I was a ways off and I don’t think it saw me, it was so cute, what a … Continue reading
On a walk this morning at Lakeshore State Park I noticed a Pied-billed Grebe feeding along the cattails. It did its normal feeding routine of diving for 15-30 seconds presumably getting something to eat and then resurfacing for a longer time. A fairly quiet day at the park other than … Continue reading
Once again a Snow Goose has stopped for a visit at Greenfield Park. I found this adult hanging out with Canada Geese, typically of what one will do when visiting. The Snow Goose was not in the lagoon but on shore. Minimum action from this species in shots but still … Continue reading
While birding Lakeshore State Park in Milwaukee the highlight of the walk were 3 Marsh Wrens at the small detention ponds. There are a few areas of cattails there and the Marsh Wrens were in and out of each area every couple minutes getting insects. They were quick up and … Continue reading
The Chukar, a Eurasian species introduced here in the US is considered a released game bird here in Wisconsin. I found this adult feeding along a roadside in Racine County this morning eating seeds. It put on a nice show eating seeds as I watched it at a distance. I … Continue reading
After a tip from a friend about a Mississippi Kite here in Wisconsin, I decided to check it out. I arrived early and found this male bird perched in a dead tree in the area it might be found. I watched it for awhile as it repeatedly went for large … Continue reading
