The third Sailbirding trip of the season was made from the Milwaukee Community in Milwaukee this afternoon. Two sail boats were taken out and it was an exciting time for all! Bird counts in the study area were: 60 Double-crested Cormorants, 29 Ring-billed Gulls, 21 Herring Gulls. Out of the study, the control area just south along the breakwall, the bird of the day was a Lesser Black-backed Gull, along with 25 Herring Gulls, 22 Ring-billed Gulls and 41 Double-creasted Cormorants. Some other nice birds seen on our way out to the study area were 2 Sanderlings and a Surf Scoter. Some nice algae was present along the breakwall too. Participants on this sailbirding run included in sail boat #1, sailor and birder Carl Eisenberg, Jennifer Rutten, and Drew Shuster. In sailboat #2, sailor and birder Helen Bolgrien, Jym Mooney and I. It was a mostly cloudy day with a couple minutes of sun, winds around 10-12 mph. Images were taken on October 12, 2018.
NOTE: The purpose of this sailbirding trip today was to document bird species on a portion of the breakwaters (breakwall to some). This portion of the breakwall has been changed by the Army Corps of Engineering by strategically adding smaller rocks to the giant ones along the breakwall structure. The Army Corps has collaborated with UWM with hopes to create breakwall habitat for a variety of living creatures including birds. Announced today, Schlitz Audubon Nature Center is backing the Sailbirding Citizen Science!
Sailing out to the study area to do some sailbirding…
Approaching the study area, gulls were just flushed, we don’t know why…
The study area on the breakwall from the lighthouse right to where the rocks get larger…
Double-crested Cormorants in the study area…
Herring Gulls in the study area…
The other sailbirders looking intense for what birds they might see with sailor and birder Carl Eisenberg…
A Ring-billed Gull does a stretch in the study area…
The sailboat I am on, we are all counting birds and species…
Jym looks through his bins, looking for something different out there!
A Double-crested Cormorant does a flyover by the study area…
Sailor and birder Helen Bolgrien…she did an amazing job with the sailboat!
Bird of the day, a Lesser Black-backed Gull, with a darker back, in the control area…
Gulls galore!
A Herring Gull looks to the left in the control area…
Another view of the study area from the south…
Ring-billed Gulls loafing…
A wave to us from the other sailbirders…
Sailbirding north, the other sailbirders are in front of us…
2 Sanderlings seen on the way out to the study area feeding along the harbor rock wall…
Herring Gull coming in for a landing in the control area…
Sailbirding group…
Awesome adventure. Thanks for sharing your day. Must have been a bit chilly!!!
What a neat experience, and I’m glad you are sharing it with the rest of us! Enjoyable photos!
Nice to have a different perspective of your area.