The second Sailbirding trip was made from the Milwaukee Community in Milwaukee this afternoon. It was an exciting time for all! Bird counts in the study area were: 1 Ruddy Turnstone being the highlight, 1 Sanderling, 30 Double-crested Cormorants, 40 Ring-billed Gulls, 25 Herring Gulls, 2 Mallards and 2 Sparrow … Continue reading
On a birding walk through Lakeshore State Park one of the highlights was watching a Red-winged Blackbird eating seeds from the native grass Big Bluestem. This female bird did not seem to mind me watching the show. Nothing goes to waste, as it knocked some seeds on a rock below … Continue reading
Birding the beach at Lakeshore State Park just after sunrise gave nice views of a Black-bellied Plover. I would call this a juvenile bird. It fed back and forth along the beach area finding things to eat. It was the highlight of the day there. It was a beautiful morning, … Continue reading
While birding Lake Park in Milwaukee this morning one could not miss the 1000,s of Green Darner Dragonflies that filled the air feeding on small insects. Walking near a woodland edge while birding and having a 100 Green Darner Dragonflies come out at you was quiet impressive, a sight to … Continue reading
One of my birding stops this morning was Lake Park in Milwaukee. I had went there with warblers on my mind but the excitement was the Chimney Swifts high above the tree tops at the park. 100’s of them present eating gazillions of gnat’s I would assume. I have seen … Continue reading
One of my birding stops this morning was Lakeshore State Park in Milwaukee. As I was scoping out a group of about 75 Ring-billed Gulls picking through a grassy area for things to eat, I spotted 2 sandpipers. Getting a closer look at them, they were Pectoral Sandpipers. They were … Continue reading
One of my first birding stops in the morning was Bradford Beach in Milwaukee. You never know what will be there. 8 Sanderlings were present across the whole shore of the beach. Walkers on the beach not even knowingly flush the feeding birds around which is very typical. The Sanderlings … Continue reading
One of my birding stops today was the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center in Milwaukee County. The highlight was watching a juvenile Green Heron fishing for something to eat. The Green Heron was perched on some downed branches in water near Mystery Lake. A Golden Shiner minnow came swimming by the … Continue reading
A first for everything I guess! Sailbirding, birding and bird watching from a sail boat! It took place today at the Milwaukee Community Sailing Center from a moving sail boat. The purpose of this sail birding trip today was to document bird species on a portion of the breakwaters (breakwall … Continue reading
I arrived at North Beach in Racine at sunrise with hopes to see the Red Knot that was reported yesterday. After 45 minutes of walking the entire beach from the north to the south, I found this juvenile bird right near the pier on the south end. After only a … Continue reading
A couple of Ruby-throated Hummingbirds have been hanging around the yard all summer and I thought I would take a couple of minutes today to photograph the action. They made repeated stops for nectar at the Bottle Gentian so I took some shots there. They get nectar from all over … Continue reading
Monarch Butterflies roost though the state of Wisconsin in the fall of the year during their migration south. I was fortunate enough to get a call from Bruce that he had a tip on a roost location. There were numerous trees loaded up with the Monarch Butterflies at the location. … Continue reading
A stop this morning at Veterans Park along the lakefront in Milwaukee provided some nice views of 2 Pectoral Sandpipers. These birds were in a wet grassy area in the park. They rested some and fed too. I did not hang around long as probably have come along way so … Continue reading
While birding Greenfield Park in Milwaukee County this morning the highlight was a scuffle with two Great Blue Herons. The two Great Blue Herons came around a corner of an island at the pond and after they landed, the scuffle began and they gave great views of the interaction between … Continue reading
One of my birding stops this morning was Bender Park on the south side of Milwaukee County. The highlight there was nice views of a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk sitting a top a small oak tree hunting. The Red-tailed Hawks eyes caught or heard something a short distance off and it … Continue reading
With rain falling on my way to the Milwaukee lakefront I was expecting a quiet day birding. Halfway in I received a text from Mike W that a couple of the rare Piping Plovers were present at Bradford Beach. When I arrived at the beach they were still hanging around … Continue reading
While birding Lakeshore State Park this morning in Milwaukee in search of shorebirds, I came across a juvenile Black-crowned Night-Heron. This heron put on an amazing show while I watch it. Some of the excitement was producing a pellet, eating a vole and some exercises. Herons are known to produce … Continue reading
I have hit the lakefront in Milwaukee a few times in the last week or so with hopes to see some migrating shorebirds. McKinley Beach was the hot spot this morning. Today was the first sighting of them for me for the fall migration here and it was a fun … Continue reading
A birding stop at Greenfield Park in Milwaukee County this morning provided nice views of an adult Osprey. Ospreys are seldom seen at Greenfield Park so it was a real treat. The bird flew in and tried twice for something to eat. The first attempt for food failed but on … Continue reading
Doing some birding in Milwaukee County along the Menominee River Parkway, I came across a Great Egret in a small pond. The adult Great Egret did some hunting for food, caught some food, ate food and did some preening too. It ate crayfish, minnows and some larger fish. A beautiful … Continue reading
