I have put together a collection of some of the Wisconsin birding moments from the year 2016. The collection includes vagrants, special visitors, or just the beautiful birds that nest here or migrate through the state of Wisconsin. All images were taken in 2016. It was a very exciting year … Continue reading
Doing some birding today in Waukesha County I came across something I had never seen before. A Opossum in a crab apple eating the fruit. It was there for a good 30 minutes and then I left. Images were taken on December 28, 2016. Opossum Binomial name: Didelphia virginiana Category: … Continue reading
Eastern Screech-Owl, adult red morph in Waukesha County on December 28, 2016
I started birding the lakefront in Milwaukee mid morning and my first stop moving south was the Petroleum Pier. Lots of ducks but nothing odd. I ran into Jym M there and he said he just saw a Kumlien’s Iceland Gull at South Shore Yacht Club. After hitting a few … Continue reading
On a routine bird run along the lakefront in Milwaukee this morning the highlight was the Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon Junco) at Grant Park in Milwaukee County. It was mixed in with about a dozen Common Dark-eyed Juncos. The Oregon is a subspecies of the Dark-eyed Junco who’s normal range is … Continue reading
I made the run up to Green Bay early morning to see if the juvenile Black-legged Kittiwake was still present. It was at light broke in the bay area. The bird circled around the east side of the river opening near the old pier walk structure. Typically what I noticed … Continue reading
I made the trip up to Kewaunee this morning with hopes to see the very rare visitor to Wisconsin, the Townsend’s Warbler. It has been visiting a feeder in a yard there for at least a week now. It is not seen often but visits daily. This bird is a … Continue reading
I got a email late morning from Jennifer the homeowner of the rare Anna’s Hummingbird that was reported in Wauwatosa the earlier part of November. It was still present today December 7th she said, wow! That would make at least 42 day there. Jennifer first saw the bird on October … Continue reading
Birding along Milwaukee’s lakefront this morning, the highlight was an adult male American Kestrel coming in for a landing to a tree. The rest of the lakefront was very quiet with only a few winter ducks. The King Eider was still being seen off of Northpoint but very far out. … Continue reading
I got an email from a friend Kathi R. that a Anna’s Hummingbird was visiting her friend Jennifer’s yard in Wauwatosa Wisconsin. This rare visiting bird is a young male. Jennifer wanted images of the bird and asked me to try for some. Jennifer for many reasons could not have … Continue reading
3 Mute Swans have been hanging around along the lake shore on Lake Michigan in Bay View the last few days. I actually stumbled across them feeding while birding today. Took a few shots to share as not much else was going on today along the lake. This exotic species … Continue reading
I made a run to the lakefront early this morning to see what was going on. McKinley Beach had 2 Dunlins and a Sanderling. I hung out there for awhile as the feed along the beach, preened, etc. After a while it just looked like these birds were ready for … Continue reading
I made a run down to Milwaukee’s lakefront this morning to see if the Western Grebe was still present. It was, and I located the bird east of Discovery World but it was on the move and headed south. It spent the rest of the morning at the south end … Continue reading
I had wanted to see the Western Grebe that was recently reported on Milwaukee’s Lakefront but was tied up until today. I went down to the lakefront early this morning and found the Western Grebe northeast of the Art Museum. The normal range for this bird is the dakotas and … Continue reading
The beautiful adult Purple Gallinule was present when I arrived in Mauston this morning. The normal range for this bird is Florida, so very rare for Wisconsin. Someone said, was it the recent hurricane? The Purple Gallinule hung with a couple of Mallard Ducks and an Indian Runner Duck. At … Continue reading
While watching the Great Egrets at Echo Park in Burlington Wisconsin this morning we were side tracked by a bird at the edge of a grassy small island. Janet S spotted the bird, thank you! When it came out into the open more I immediately knew it was a Rusty … Continue reading
I made a couple of stops out at Echo Park in Burlington Wisconsin as some Great Egrets were being reported there at the dam. Nice numbers of 10-15 were present when I was there. I think numbers are down from a few days ago. These birds put on an amazing … Continue reading
I made the run up with Bill G and Ryan S to Wisconsin Point in Superior Wisconsin for a taste of what Jaegerfest, the coming weekend was all about. It was a great time watching at least 4 Parasitic Jaegers chase gulls for the food they were carrying. After leaving … Continue reading
We still have Ruby-throated Hummingbirds hanging around the yard here in Waukesha County. The hummers have favored the Scarlet Sage and Zinna plants for the most part but often frequent the nectar feeders too. Ruby-throated Hummingbird Binomial name: Archilochus colubris Category: Hummingbirds Description: Metallic green feathers on back, grayish-white on … Continue reading
When I arrived at Greenfield Park in the early morning a group of 5 White-tailed Deer had just finished gathering around a watering hole at the park. Some feeding was done there, splashing around some and then they headed for the lake. Arriving at the lake they lined up and … Continue reading
