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 its 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
Birding along the Fox River in downtown Waukesha today produced a pair of adult Hooded Mergansers, males. They briefly gave nice views when hanging out with Mallards, but then at times moved short distances up and down the river by themselves. There were still ~50 Common Goldeneye on the river … Continue reading
A stop at Bender Park in Milwaukee County this morning gave nice views of a adult female Long-tailed Duck. Considered a diving duck, this duck dove for food most of the time while I was present. I think a cool looking duck anytime of the year. Other stops I made … Continue reading
