I birded my CBC route intensely today, in preparation for Saturday's actual Christmas Bird Count. Veterans Park lagoon frozen solid. Milwaukee harbor iced over. (See: http://bit.ly/i2rpVP). Lakeshore State Park lagoon and the Discovery World harbor were pretty much frozen solid, with small open patches at the entrance to the harbor, and beneath the bridge leading to the park.
Some highlights:
* There was a mass exodus of ducks and other waterfowl when Milwaukee's harbor iced over on Tuesday night. But I discovered today that they didn't go very far. There was a large raft of ducks at the mouth of the harbor closest to the McKinley Marina entrance. I'm estimating 6,000 ducks, and I probably didn't see others because my view was blocked by the breakwalls. In descending order of numbers: Scaup, Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Ruddys, Coots, etc. Vast majority were Scaup. Maybe 5-10% Goldeneyes.
* Absolutely NO Mallards behind the art museum (all iced up). This was a first-of-year experience for me. :-)
* Long-tailed Duck. One female. In the open water under the bridge leading to Lakeshore State Park. I first saw this bird Tuesday, but missed it yesterday. Another birder told me she saw it yesterday. I saw it again this morning.
* Eastern Meadowlark. Lakeshore State Park. I've been gunning for this bird ever since two other birders told me about seeing it over the past couple of days. Seemed *really* late for this species. I tend to think of meadowlarks as an insectivorous species. But, in checking BNA Online's range map, southeastern Wisconsin looks to be pretty close to the northern dividing line for year-round distribution. BNA's "Food Habits" section notes: "Main winter diet consists of noxious weed seeds and waste grains (mainly corn), supplemented to some degree with wild fruits." There's all kinds of seeds in the Lakeshore State Park prairie.
* About 200 ducks in open water at the entrance of the Discovery World harbor. Mostly Scaup, Goldeneyes, and Mallards, plus a few Coots.
* Redhead. Same area as above. Seems kinda late.
* Red-breasted Merganser. Same area as above.
* Eastern Bluebird. Several. In some small trees at the north entrance to Lakeshore State Park. First bluebirds I've ever seen in that park, I think.
* A flock of 45 raucous American Crows in Veterans Park. I believe that's the most crows I've seen since I moved to Milwaukee.
* Lots of American Tree Sparrows on the east side of the Veterans Park lagoon.
* 10-15 Dark-eyed Juncos in the flock of tree sparrows.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Milwaukee's Bradford Beach and North Point icing up
I went up to Bradford Beach and North Point yesterday afternoon and was surprised by how things were freezing up. There were several rafts of ducks thickly packed together in small patches of open water along the beach and North Point. I'm estimating maybe 6,000 birds total. Mostly Scaups, but with Buffleheads, Goldeneyes, etc.
Looks like there's ice away from shore, and the water near the shore has the consistency of a convenience store slushy drink. At one point I noticed a flock of distressed Mallards near the shore. The icy water was too thick to swim in, and too thin to stand on.
As I left in late afternoon, the patches of open water seemed to be getting smaller, and the rafts of ducks seemed more tightly packed.
Here are a few photos to give you a feel for the icy conditions:
http://bit.ly/gUKv4i
http://bit.ly/i1q2G9
http://bit.ly/hGhNuH
http://bit.ly/dYrslc
Looks like there's ice away from shore, and the water near the shore has the consistency of a convenience store slushy drink. At one point I noticed a flock of distressed Mallards near the shore. The icy water was too thick to swim in, and too thin to stand on.
As I left in late afternoon, the patches of open water seemed to be getting smaller, and the rafts of ducks seemed more tightly packed.
Here are a few photos to give you a feel for the icy conditions:
http://bit.ly/gUKv4i
http://bit.ly/i1q2G9
http://bit.ly/hGhNuH
http://bit.ly/dYrslc
Bradford Beach Barrow's Goldeneye, 12/15/10
I was chatting with a guy with a scope next to the parking lot south of Milwaukee's Bradford Beach yesterday afternoon. I asked if he'd seen anything interesting in the raft of ducks off of the beach. He said "female Barrow's Goldeneye". He looked around for it for about ten minutes and refound it. I took a look through his scope and it sure looked like a female Barrow's. Head was an overall darker brown than a female Common Goldeneye, and bill was mostly yellow.
This birder was from Germany, and was headed back home tomorrow. He'd been here on a work assignment for two weeks. Seemed like a pretty serious and knowlegdeable international birder.
That's MilWALKee BIGBY species #191 and 2010 "combo" BIGBY species #230.
This birder was from Germany, and was headed back home tomorrow. He'd been here on a work assignment for two weeks. Seemed like a pretty serious and knowlegdeable international birder.
That's MilWALKee BIGBY species #191 and 2010 "combo" BIGBY species #230.
Milwaukee Lakefront, 12/14 - Turkey, Harlequin and Long-tailed Ducks
Tuesday I surveyed my Milwaukee CBC route (the south end of my regular BIGBY route). I was out for 3+ hours in single digit wind chills. Brrrr!
I saw a turkey in Veterans Park! Unfortunately, I can't add it to my BIGBY list. See here to find out why: http://bit.ly/easYXO :-)
Must have been some big waves with this past weekend's storm, judging from the ice on the railings behind Milwaukee's art museum. See here for an idea of what the railings usually look like, sans ice: http://bit.ly/ebPo77. Then see here for a section of the railing encased in ice and icicles: http://bit.ly/fu80Ux
Speaking of ice, the Veterans Park lagoon and McKinley Marina are pretty much frozen over. The Discovery World harbor and Lakeshore State Park lagoon are, as well, with a few patches of open water. But the Milwaukee Harbor is wide open...that's where I'm pinning my hopes for my Saturday CBC route!
Some highlights from today:
* Many, many, many ducks in Milwaukee's harbor (off of Veterans Park, behind the art museum, and off of Lakeshore State Park). I am estimating 10,000-12,000 ducks. Mostly Scaups, but with quite a few Common Goldeneyes. It was a really amazing sight to me. I stood still on the rocks in Lakeshore State Park and soaked in this scene for 10-15 minutes.
* While I was admiring the Scaups, I noticed another creature doing the same. One of the park's resident Red Foxes was sitting on a rock and staring wistfully at all the ducks, some of which were quite close to shore. The park's foxes are on a largely vegetarian diet right now, judging from the scats I've examined. I imagined the fox thinking "come closer, come closer"! :-)
* Harlequin Duck. One female, in the mix of ducks behind the art museum.
* Long-tailed Duck. One female, in a small area of open water in the Lakeshore State Park lagoon.
* Ruddy Ducks. A dozen or two, behind the art museum.
* Mergansers, both Common and Red-breasted.
Looking forward to my first Wisconsin CBC!
I saw a turkey in Veterans Park! Unfortunately, I can't add it to my BIGBY list. See here to find out why: http://bit.ly/easYXO :-)
Must have been some big waves with this past weekend's storm, judging from the ice on the railings behind Milwaukee's art museum. See here for an idea of what the railings usually look like, sans ice: http://bit.ly/ebPo77. Then see here for a section of the railing encased in ice and icicles: http://bit.ly/fu80Ux
Speaking of ice, the Veterans Park lagoon and McKinley Marina are pretty much frozen over. The Discovery World harbor and Lakeshore State Park lagoon are, as well, with a few patches of open water. But the Milwaukee Harbor is wide open...that's where I'm pinning my hopes for my Saturday CBC route!
Some highlights from today:
* Many, many, many ducks in Milwaukee's harbor (off of Veterans Park, behind the art museum, and off of Lakeshore State Park). I am estimating 10,000-12,000 ducks. Mostly Scaups, but with quite a few Common Goldeneyes. It was a really amazing sight to me. I stood still on the rocks in Lakeshore State Park and soaked in this scene for 10-15 minutes.
* While I was admiring the Scaups, I noticed another creature doing the same. One of the park's resident Red Foxes was sitting on a rock and staring wistfully at all the ducks, some of which were quite close to shore. The park's foxes are on a largely vegetarian diet right now, judging from the scats I've examined. I imagined the fox thinking "come closer, come closer"! :-)
* Harlequin Duck. One female, in the mix of ducks behind the art museum.
* Long-tailed Duck. One female, in a small area of open water in the Lakeshore State Park lagoon.
* Ruddy Ducks. A dozen or two, behind the art museum.
* Mergansers, both Common and Red-breasted.
Looking forward to my first Wisconsin CBC!
Friday, December 10, 2010
Milwaukee Lakefront, this week in review - Two new BIGBY species
I'd just about given up hope of finding any new 2010 BIGBY species when, lo and behold, two new species pretty much fell into my lap. Brings my MilWALKee BIGBY count to 190 species, and my 2010 "combo" BIGBY species count to 229.
Some highlights:
* I'll start with a mystery. Small gull, black bill, bright yellow legs, white chest and head, light gray wings/back. Any ideas?
* Lots of gulls hanging out on the lakefront. 400-500 birds on the ice in Lakeshore State Park. 2,000+ over the harbor at the mouth of the Milwaukee River. Several thousand on the ice at McKinley Marina. There has to be something interesting out there! :-)
* Scaups everywhere. 7,500 off of Bradford Beach on Monday. 4,000 on Wednesday. 500+ behind the art museum today.
* 20-25 Ruddy Ducks behind the art museum today, including the first two males I've seen this season. I'm just about ready to declare the Ruddy Duck as the "cutest North American duck". :-)
* The other day I saw the biggest Cackling Goose I've ever seen. It had the stubby bill and rounded head of cacklers, but it was pretty much the same size of the Canadas around it. Hybrid?
* Saw a flock of 25 American Robins along Lincoln Memorial Drive on Tuesday. First robins I've seen in a while.
* Two Eastern Bluebirds in Veterans Park on Wednesday. First bluebirds I've seen in that park,I think.
* Snow Goose. Blue phase. McKinley Marina. Hanging out with Canadas. MilWALKee BIGBY species #189. 2010 "combo" BIGBY species #228.
* Red-breasted Merganser. Several birds hanging out in the raft of ducks behind the art museum. Pretty close to shore. Got good looks. MilWALKee BIGBY species #190. 2010 "combo" BIGBY species #229.
Some highlights:
* I'll start with a mystery. Small gull, black bill, bright yellow legs, white chest and head, light gray wings/back. Any ideas?
* Lots of gulls hanging out on the lakefront. 400-500 birds on the ice in Lakeshore State Park. 2,000+ over the harbor at the mouth of the Milwaukee River. Several thousand on the ice at McKinley Marina. There has to be something interesting out there! :-)
* Scaups everywhere. 7,500 off of Bradford Beach on Monday. 4,000 on Wednesday. 500+ behind the art museum today.
* 20-25 Ruddy Ducks behind the art museum today, including the first two males I've seen this season. I'm just about ready to declare the Ruddy Duck as the "cutest North American duck". :-)
* The other day I saw the biggest Cackling Goose I've ever seen. It had the stubby bill and rounded head of cacklers, but it was pretty much the same size of the Canadas around it. Hybrid?
* Saw a flock of 25 American Robins along Lincoln Memorial Drive on Tuesday. First robins I've seen in a while.
* Two Eastern Bluebirds in Veterans Park on Wednesday. First bluebirds I've seen in that park,I think.
* Snow Goose. Blue phase. McKinley Marina. Hanging out with Canadas. MilWALKee BIGBY species #189. 2010 "combo" BIGBY species #228.
* Red-breasted Merganser. Several birds hanging out in the raft of ducks behind the art museum. Pretty close to shore. Got good looks. MilWALKee BIGBY species #190. 2010 "combo" BIGBY species #229.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Milwaukee radio station manager shares passion for birding
Great OnMilwaukee.com article about Tom Crawford. He's the station manager at WMSE radio (91.7 FM), and a lifelong birder:
http://bit.ly/hq2oiw
http://bit.ly/hq2oiw
Documentary film on New York City's "Redtails in Love" gets mixed reviews
Many of you are no doubt familiar with the story of the Red-tailed Hawks that nested in New York City. Their story inspired Marie Winn's 1998 book "Red-Tails in Love: A Wildlife Drama in Central Park", as well a 2007 PBS "Nature" television episode.
Now Belgian filmmaker Frederic Lilien has chronicled this story in the documentary film: "The Legend of Pale Male". Here's the film's web site: http://www.thelegendofpalemale.com/HOME.html
This movie has received mixed reviews. Here are the reviews listed at imdb.com as of 12/9/10:
Now Belgian filmmaker Frederic Lilien has chronicled this story in the documentary film: "The Legend of Pale Male". Here's the film's web site: http://www.thelegendofpalemale.com/HOME.html
This movie has received mixed reviews. Here are the reviews listed at imdb.com as of 12/9/10:
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