Spring 2015 – Lake Park Warbler Walks

Spring 2015 – Lake Park Warbler Walks

Saturdays 8:30 – 10:00 AM

 April 18

April 25

May 2

May 9

May 16

May 23

Meet on the WEST side of the Warming House near the tennis courts on the north end of the park: 43.071968, -87.870073 (map)

► Cancelled if weather forecast calls for thunderstorms or steady winds of over 20 mph.

·         These free, informal walks are open to the general public of all ages.

·         Recreational birders familiar with Lake Park volunteer to lead people of all skill levels to the best birding spots in the park.

·         Beginning birders are especially welcome. Camaraderie and discussion of diverse environmental issues are encouraged.

·         From bridges over ravines birders can look down on thrushes, sparrows,and warblers.

·         Red-headed Woodpeckers and Eastern Bluebirds occasionally visit the woodland edges.

·         Sandpipers, gulls and ducks migrate along the Lake Michigan shoreline.

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Map to the “Warming House” of Lake Park

Lake Park – Satellite view

GBBC 2015 Overview – Excerpt from Cornell

GBBC 2015  Overview

You did it! Once again participants from around the world set new records for the number of species identified during the four days of the Great Backyard Bird Count and for the number of checklists submitted.
 

Total checklists: 147,265 (up 3,156)
Total species: 5,090 (up 794)
Estimated participants: 143,941 (up 1,890)
 

Bad weather really had an impact on participation in the heavily populated northeastern quadrant of the United States and across Canada. Bitter temperatures, snow, and high winds produced a noticeable drop in the number of checklists submitted from those regions. Kudos to those who braved the elements to count (humans) and be counted (the birds)! And congratulations to our outstanding performers across the globe. Below are the Top 10 countries ranked by number of checklists submitted:
 

Country	Number of Species	Number of Checklists
United States	671	108,396
Canada	241	10,491
India	717	6,810
Australia	524	812
Mexico	653	425
Costa Rica	559	303
Portugal	197	193
New Zealand	126	161
Ecuador	784	138
Honduras	353	133

Read the 2015 GBBC summary on the website

Do some more exploring on your own. How many Snowy Owls were reported in your state or province? Did Pine Siskins show up in your county? How many species were identified in your country?

Use the “Explore a Region” tool to find out.
 

Still Have Checklists to Enter?

Although data entry has been closed on the GBBC website, you can still enter any lingering lists by going directly to the eBird online checklist program at www.eBird.org. You can use the same user name and password (which you have carefully saved for next year). Any observations entered in eBird for the GBBC dates, February 13-16, 2015, will be part of the count.

The Next GBBC is February 12-15, 2016

Keep Counting!

We hear the same lament every year: “I had some some really great birds just before (or after) the GBBC and I couldn’t report them.”

Yes, you can! Now that you’ve contributed to the Great Backyard Bird Count, you can report your birds anytime, anywhere by using eBird. Just use the same user name and password you set up for the GBBC and the data entry process is the same.

You’ll be in good company. eBird collects millions of sightings each month from around the world. Those observations have been put to use in generating the State of the Birds reports for the U.S. Department of the Interior and for targeting specific species for conservation based on when and where they will be appearing during migration. Your birds matter!

Signs of Spring 2015

Spring is JUST Around the Corner!

• Male turkey are starting to strut around hens. 
• Great horned owls and bald eagles are sitting on nests incubating eggs, 
• Common ravens are performing courtship flights,
• Greater prairie chickens are dancing in central Wisconsin and 
• Barred owls are performing duets statewide. 
• The warm weather forecast should accelerate spring migration so be on the lookout for the return of Sandhill cranes and Red-winged blackbirds.

It’s time to polish up the bird watching gear and ready it for the coming season.

To clean the body of a pair of binoculars…

Gently wipe off the barrels, focus wheels, eyepiece rims and other parts of the binoculars with a damp cloth, but avoid touching the lenses.

Use a can of compressed air to blow dust and debris from around the focus wheel and other crevices, but only use small puffs of air. A sustained blast can create moisture that will damage binoculars.

In general, the exterior of most binoculars requires very little care. Sturdy coatings, waterproofing and other manufacturing techniques help keep good quality optics protected and clean even with heavy birding use. The lenses of the optics, however, require much more attention to maximize binoculars’ performance.

To clean binocular lenses…

Gently brush loose dust and dirt away from the lens with a special lens brush or a soft, clean paintbrush. It is helpful to hold the binoculars upside down when doing this so particles will fall away from the delicate surfaces. Alternatively, use small puffs from a can of air to blow off dust, but avoid breathing on binoculars – the moisture in your breath will add to the dirt on the lenses. If the binoculars are waterproof, the lenses can be held under a gentle stream of water to rinse dust away.

Use a wet cotton swab to gently soak up any remaining dust or visible particles, but take care not to press the swab into the glass or rub it across the surface. The swab should be wet with water or optics cleaning solution, not glass cleaner or formulas for eyeglasses. Using improper chemicals can degrade binocular lens coatings.

Use a lens cleaning pen or a lint-free cloth to gently wipe the lenses with a circular motion to remove smudges, fingerprints or stubborn dirt. Do not apply more force than necessary, and clean the entire lens. If the dirt persists, change direction and keep wiping gently until it disappears. Microfiber cloths or special lens cleaning cloths are best to avoid unintentional scratches.

Tips to Keep Your Binoculars Clean:

1. To keep your binoculars clean as long as possible…
2. Use lens and eyepiece caps to protect delicate surfaces when not in use.
3. Store binoculars in a soft case and keep the case itself clean.
4. Always use clean tools – a lens pen or polishing cloth – when cleaning binoculars.
5. Do not apply sunscreen or insect spray near binoculars.
6. Only clean your binoculars when the visual quality is impaired – less frequent cleaning means less risk of accidentally scratching the lenses.
7. Proper bird identification often relies on having the best possible view of a bird to see tiny markings, subtle behaviors or unusual colors. Knowing how to clean binoculars properly can help birders ensure their equipment is always in the best possible shape so they never miss seeing a bird.

Source = ABOUT.COM –  Melissa Mayntz

The Great Backyard Bird Count – 2015

Launched in 1998 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society, the Great Backyard Bird Count was the first online citizen-science project to collect data on wild birds and to display results in near real-time.

Since then, more than 100,000 people of all ages and walks of life have joined the four-day count each February to create an annual snapshot of the distribution and abundance of birds.

We invite you to participate! Simply tally the numbers and kinds of birds you see for at least 15 minutes on one or more days of the count, February 13-16, 2015.You can count from any location, anywhere in the world!

If you’re new to the count, first register online then enter your checklist. If you have already participated in another Cornell Lab citizen-science project, you can use your existing login.

Click here for more info on how to get started.

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Making sure that they get enough energy and fresh water…

__________________________ GBBC 2015 Halftime Report by Marshall Iliff, eBird/GBBC February 15, 2015 We’re off to another great start this year, despite very trying winter weather conditions in some parts of the United States. (Currently -2° F, and -26° F with wind chill, here in Ithaca, N.Y.!) Thanks to all of you who have been out counting birds! The checklists are rolling in from around the globe and we’re hoping to surpass last year’s record Great Backyard Bird Count results.  Like many of us, Gary Mueller of Missouri and his birds have caught GBBC fever. See his great photo below! Photo by Gary Mueller, Missouri, 2015 GBBC As of mid-afternoon on Sunday, February 15, (eastern U.S. time zone) we have received checklists from 116 countries, including Australia, Kuwait, Iceland, India, South Africa, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Turkey, and many more. Below are the top 10 countries by numbers of checklists submitted along with their species tallies. Click on the country name to get the very latest totals in our “Explore a Region” tool.   Country  Number of Species   Number of Checklists  United States 620 42,862 Canada 227 4,029 India 589 3,119 Australia 481 499 Mexico 516 140 Portugal 165 110 New Zealand 109 88 Serbia 77 72 Costa Rica 325 65 United Kingdom 119 53 Last year participants tallied more than 40% of the world’s bird species and we’re wondering if we might reach 50% this year. It will be quite a challenge, but there’s still time to get out there and add new species!   The Snowy Owl invasion—round 2 Last year was an epic year for Snowy Owls, but winter 2014-2015 has brought a pretty impressive “echo” flight. Read more about the where Snowy Owls have been appearing this winter. Compare the February 2014 map (top) to this year (bottom). You’ll notice that both years have a lot of Snowy Owls and that the regions with snowies are pretty similar between years, but that there were more individuals reported in 2015—a classic “echo” flight. Zoom in on this map to see where Snowy Owls are being seen this month. Taking a non-birding friend out to see a Snowy Owl is one of the surest ways to get a new person interested in birding!   Snowy Owl eBird Reports February 2014            Snowy Owl eBird Reports February 2015             Winter finches are on the move this year, after an abysmal GBBC in 2014 when most winter finches stayed too far north in Canada to be counted. Watch the maps fill in for Common Redpoll and Pine Siskin, and see if you can find those species in your area!   Exciting rare birds Along the Pacific Coast there have been good numbers of Asian birds spending the winter. Some of the strong Pacific storms in the fall may have blown a few birds off course, and once on the North American landmass it seems that some species wandered south. A Rustic Bunting in San Francisco has been a star attraction for a few months now, and has been counted for the GBBC—the first ever for San Francisco and one of very few for California. (Photo of Rustic Bunting by Michael O’Brien, California) News just in today is that a backyard GBBCer in King County, Washington, photographed a Brambling at her feeders. A number of Bramblings reached the West Coast of the United States this year after the Pacific storms, but this is a super-exciting find for the GBBC—this is a species that is common in Eurasia and extremely rare in the Americas. The Arctic is changing, and while its overall effects on our climate and on the fragile Arctic ecosystem are still being studied, one thing seems clear: the thawing Arctic is allowing birds to move more freely around the poles. Slaty-backed Gull, Tufted Puffin, Northern Gannet, and a number of other species have appeared in the “wrong” oceans in recent years, presumably dispersing through open water corridors in northern Canada and maybe over the pole. This could be the explanation for north America’s first Common Scoter, which was first identified a few weeks ago in Crescent City, California. Since this is a European species, birders have been watching for it on the East Coast, and its appearance in the Pacific is a first-ever for the species and is very unexpected. It may headline as the most exciting bird counted for the GBBC in North America. Have a look at the GBBC checklist with a photo of the species. Last year we highlighted two Mexican species that are moving north and being found regularly in the border states now: Sinaloa Wren (so far, found only in Arizona) and Rufous-capped Warbler (Arizona and Texas). Both have been found during this year’s GBBC too, and there is a new one to add to the mix that few would have expected: Striped Sparrow. This Mexican endemic sparrow is almost towhee-sized and few experts would have predicted its appearance, especially so far from the border near Austin. Although how and why it has appeared in the U.S. is still unclear, intrepid GBBCers have gone out to make sure it has been counted and it represents a new bird for the count in the U.S. (Striped Sparrow by Dominic Sherony via Wikipedia Creative Commons)   International highlights Once again, India has been a lot of fun to watch during the GBBC! Indian birders have been abuzz on Facebook and other social media to promote the count and their great efforts are showing. This year we are seeing 598 species and 3,096 checklists (a huge increase over the 500 species and 1,184 checklists at this point last year!) Some 485 species have been found down under these past 2 days. Several of the top submitters have had more than 100 species–pretty impressive for the dead of summer for Oz! I bet they have been warmer than the Canadian eBirders/GBBCers, who have dressed warm and worked hard for their 228 species. Thank goodness for the comparatively temperate province of British Columbia, which is leading the way by contributing 80% of the species (184). Reifel Bird Sanctuary alone has contributed 76 species, more than provincial totals for all but Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia. Kudos to all Canadians who have braved the temperatures in the dead of winter to monitor bird populations! Birders in Mexico have surely been more comfortable as they have tallied 516 species (half of the country’s avifauna!) on their 147 checklists. With lots of endemic birds in the country, we hope a few more can be added to the global tally before the count closes out tomorrow. (Mauritius Fody by Varina Ramdonee, Mauritius, 2015 GBBC) New and growing eBird communities are becoming part of the GBBC. Malaysian birders are taking part this year for the first time. Their start is modest (17 lists and 190 species), but this is an area that had not been covered at all before, so this is a great beginning. Watch for Malaysia to take off in 2016! In the Philippines, birders have posted 34 lists and 154 species and like Malaysia, this includes a lot of unique species that cannot be found elsewhere. Portuguese birders are rising to the challenge too, and will be adding a custom version of eBird for their country very soon. As of midday Sunday, they have spotted 164 species on 102 checklists, with more still coming in. Taiwan, which will also be adding a version of eBird in Mandarin later this year, is another area rich in endemic birds, so the 33 checklists reporting 153 species include some key ones for the global total. Some excellent local promotion has made Serbia a surprise member of the leader board. Serbian birders have found 120 species so far in 2015, with 77 so far for the GBBC. Can they break 100 species on the final day of the GBBC? Let’s all join in cheering them towards that goal! There are many other areas pitching in: Argentina, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Kuwait, Thailand, New Zealand, and more. Try exploring yourself to see what others are seeing around the world. You can continue to enter your checklists through the GBBC website through the end of February. After that, you can still enter lists for the count by going directly to the eBird website, using your same user name and password. If you haven’t already, try some of these activities: Explore what’s being reported with the “Explore a Location” tool. You can see what species are being reported and how many checklists are being turned in at the county, state/province, and country levels. Just click “Explore Data” on the GBBC or eBird websites and you’ll see the “Explore a Location” tool at the top of the list. Go to ebird.org and try making a Targets list for your county or state in February. This may show what species are around that you have not yet reported. Click “map” to see where to find those birds and perhaps you’ll get to see and report them for the GBBC. Submit photos for the GBBC photo contest or just explore some of the fantastic images that are coming in! Sign up for the GBBC eNewsletter on the website homepage. This is the best way to stay on top of any updates and to get word of the 2014 count summary when it’s ready. Thanks for counting with us—let’s keep a good thing going!

Lake Michigan Duck Watch – 2015

View from the WPT

On a sub-zero day in January 2015, I drove the WPT east to the shores of bone-chilling Lake Michigan to see just what ducks were there.  It was overcast, gray and windy as I pulled up in the parking lot of the water station and strapped on my gear.  I was dressed in layers to help fight the cold, but my hands were having a tough time with the gloves I had chosen.  Mittens would have been smarter; but using a camera with no finger dexterity is difficult.  I waded through a freshly falled amount of powder and approached the lake.  Ice had formed to within 10 yards of the shore in chaotically layered islands.  A slow but determined wave motion sloshed up into small “bays” and cuts in the ice pack.  I needed to be extremely careful not to slip; but even more wary not to blunder into a disguised mini-gorge and into the ice water. There was virtually no one who would ever hear any pleas for help.  The only other person I saw was one of those psycho-runners tip-toeing on the icy public sidewalk near Lakeshore Drive…and I thought I was nuts.

Ooh boy it’s cold!

The predominant avian form seen this day was the Common goldeneye.  1. “Among Common Goldeneyes pair formation begins in midwinter, and until then the two sexes often form separate flocks. Indeed, males winter farther north than do the females. During its courtship display, the male stretches his head forward along the water and then snaps it rapidly upward over his back, bill pointed skyward, while uttering a shrill, two-noted call. Then he swings his orange feet forward, sending up a small shower in front of him. The wings of this species produce a loud whistling sound in flight, easily identified even when the birds cannot be seen; hunters call this species the “Whistler.” Goldeneyes can dive to depths of 20 feet (6 meters) or more, but generally limit themselves to about 10 feet (3 meters). In winter, goldeneyes feed mainly on mollusks; in summer, their diet shifts to aquatic plants and insects.

Common Goldeneye

This species is particularly hardy and often the last waterfowl species to leave the breeding grounds and the first to return. Migration peaks occur in November and March/April. The species migrates in small, loose flocks, concentrating at suitable stopover points, especially in spring when these are limited. River valleys tend to funnel inland migrants to some extent. All populations are migratory, even where the species occurs year-round. Individuals may migrate only as far as necessary to find open water. The winter range is contiguous with the breeding range except in south-coastal Alaska and extends from the Alaska Peninsula along the Pacific coast to southern British Columbia, then across southern Canada and the lower 48 (except inland southern areas and south Florida) into coastal and lowland northern Mexico. Adult males tend to remain farther north than adult females, which in turn remain north of juveniles. The species also breeds across northern Eurasia and winters south to the Mediterranean, Caspian Sea, and Japan.”

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Lake Michigan shoreline in January

1. Source: Boreal Birds.com about the Common Goldeneye

Christmas Bird Counting and More

The many, many CBC birding “circles” in North America

The 115th Annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count took place Dec 14, 2014 to January 5, 2015.  It is the longest running Citizen Science survey in the world, beginning around the turn of the 1900s. The Christmas Bird Count provides critical data on population trends. Tens of thousands of participants know how fun and challenging it can be.  This year’s installation was no different as Barbara and I stepped outside our Milwaukee apartment on the last official day of fall 2014, and into the chilly 28 degree air.  Opie was busily sniffing the air as all lucky dogs do that get to step outdoors; all the while we loaded the WPT with our birding gear.  You see, we decided that he could come along this year.  He agreed.

The many, many CBC birding “circles” in Wisconsin

Our little “corner” of the birding SE Wisconsin “WIMI” circle was again Area 20.  If you looked at a clock face and imagined that we were at about the number seven (7); you’d get close to finding the multiple city real estate where we were about to crisscross for the rest of the day.  Each count takes place in an established 15-mile wide diameter circle, and is organized by a count compiler.  Our WIMI circle is compiled by Andrea Szymczak and has been for the past several seasons.  If you are a beginning birder, you will be able to join a group that includes at least one experienced birdwatcher.  If your home is within the boundaries of a CBC circle, then you can stay at home and report the birds that visit your feeder on count day as long as you have made prior arrangement with the count compiler.  

Birds may be counted by sight or also by Voice ID (meaning that if you can positively identify the species by ear, you may include that species as being legitimately counted.)  This comes in handy when geography gets in the way of a line of sight ID.  Data from the over 2,300 circles are entered after the count officially ends each year and become available to query under the Data & Research link of the Audubon site.   Neither Barbara nor I were able to count the previous year due to holiday travel that took us well north of the area, so consequently the data I was comparing our 2014 observations to was from 2012’s count.  In that respect there was little comparison to those dismal (rainy-day) numbers.  Birds were everywhere we looked and very active.  True, there was no snow cover and food was plentiful, but I would have thought that at least the cold would keep their numbers down somewhat. 

Little Bird and Birdstud Count Birds

Jacobus Park (in the village of Wauwatosa) was our first stop.  With Opie trying to choke himself at the end of a 10-foot retractable leash; Barbara and I ticked off bunches of both American Goldfinch and Robins.  Downy woodpeckers zipped back and forth across the road and Dark-eyed juncos hopped in the brown leaves at the Menominee River’s edge in search of food.  The small pond in front of the community gathering structure was frozen over, though I would not guess solid.  As a result the only Mallards were on the free-flowing water of the river across the road.  The steep rough-hewn paths within the park were not covered with the often characteristic ice, so we were able to traverse them safely as we looked high in the trees for the squawking Red-bellied woodpecker. 

A murder of noisy American crows on the edge of a clearing piqued our interest enough to get a closer look.  Sure enough; a Cooper’s hawk tried its best to ignore the caw-cawphony, but eventually took to the skies with a jet black pursuer on his tail.  That was a particularly satisfying moment for me, as it’s great when you can use nature’s clues to get a sighting of a bird that is trying its best to stay hidden from view.  Crows are wonderful harbingers of nearby owl or raptor activity…use them to your advantage and don’t ignore their fussing.   Barbara and I met a nice woman named Rebecca Haefner and her Westy walking along the roadway who knew exactly what we were doing and called out as we drew nearer.  It turns out she is very active on the board of the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin and is affiliated with www.wisconservation.org.  After a total walk of three miles which included a northern pass through Doyne Park, we climbed into the WPT to find a smoky grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup back at the apartment.  No, we didn’t count that.

TMER & LCO

Once fueled again; I went it alone for the afternoon.  Opie was completely gassed and needed a nap. I began by driving to the extreme north edge of Wood National Cemetery to walk along the old No. 10 Milwaukee Streetcar route under a series of massive electrical power line steel towers, next to I-94. Apparently the Mourning doves and Northern cardinals I had seen in 2012 still called this little corridor their home, because there they were again.  I happily made a tick mark for each one as I walked along the grass and gravel of the route. American robins and Black-capped chickadees also could be seen in the leafless trees and scraggly evergreens that lined the path and narrow concrete roadway.  I was taking a photo of an old cast iron electrical access box lid with “TMER & LCO” embossed into the lid when my eye spotted a strange gray (box-like object) lying on the ground nearby.  I toed it with my hiking book to turn it over when I saw that it appeared to have a large round magnet screwed to the bottom.

Christmas Bird Counting in Wood Cemetery

Now, any birdwatcher worth his or her salt has accidentally come across geocache treasure boxes while scampering over rocks or climbing over structures on their way to a sighting, so I thought that perhaps this was what I had here.  Not wanting to disrupt the cache too greatly, but fearing it was already out of its intended (magnetic) placement as it was now lying on the ground near a chain link fence, I picked it up to investigate further.  There were four duct-taped tabs that gave me access to the “cover” of the (Tupperware-like) box, so I carefully unsnapped them.  Inside I discovered a clear plastic zip-top bag with the words “Letterbox Only” and “No Trades” written in black marker on the bag.  This really got my interest going, so I opened the zip-top to examine the contents of the bag. Inside one bag (inside the first bag) was a small notebook with an image of a streetcar on the front. On the streetcar was the letters, “TMER & L.”  I noted that these were the exact letters on the top of the electrical access box lid I was taking a picture of before I found the smaller box.  There could be no coincidence here; there must be a connection and certainly an interesting side-story to be chronicled in this here blog.

Letterbox

Inside the notebook was a small computer-printed explanation of what a “Letterbox” was and what one was to do when one found it.  It also had the website atlasquest.com on the tag, where a person could learn more about this curious hobby.  I jotted down the web address and the email address of the individual who had assembled this treasure.  The notebook was newer looking and had only one other entry.  On one of the first pages was a series of three “avatar stamps” of insects in different colors, a pseudonym of the stamper and the date that each was stamped; 8-25-14.  Just for fun I wrote on the next page that I was a bird watcher that had accidentally found this cache and my actual name before placing it gently back inside its own bag again.  The last bag contained a red-rubber reverse carved image of the streetcar wrapped in slightly damp paper toweling.  This was the “prize” if you will.  A fellow letterboxer would use their own inked stamp and print this image into their own notebook as proof that they had successfully located this particular box.  I found the entire concept fascinating and wanted to learn more.  HERE is more for you now to investigate if you wish; however suffice it to say that this has slowly become yet another world-wide hobby for adventurous travelers everywhere. 

Next was a stop at Hart Park in Wauwatosa, where I found a smaller group of American crows sitting on light poles and walking in the grass plus a large amount of Mallards on the river.  I was very surprised to see that many ducks at that time of year, however as the temperatures were mild and the water was moving briskly; they must have had plenty of whatever they needed right where they were.  

The balance of my time counting was never as interesting or fruitful as that morning period with Barbara.  I ultimately finished my day driving back and forth through the various neighborhoods with my windows down; listening and watching (but mostly listening).  This is an effective way to cover a large amount of territory in a short amount of time, as most “urban birds” will be hanging out in groups near convenient bird feeders, if they aren’t gathered in the larger open park and golf course areas.  Once I heard something interesting I would stop and walk around a bit to count what I saw.    

Here’s our 24 species list for the day, as reported to Andrea:

• 2    Canada Goose
• 92   Mallard
• 2    Common Merganser
• 4     Herring Gull
• 4    Ring-billed Gull
• 1    Cooper’s Hawk
• 3    Blue Jay
• 99   Rock Pigeon
• 18   American Crow
• 26   Mourning Dove
• 36   American Robin
• 6    Downy Robin
• 2    Hairy Woodpecker
• 1    Red-bellied Woodpecker
• 5    White-breasted Nuthatch
• 1    Northern Flicker
• 17   Black-capped Chickadee
• 7    House Finch
• 60   American Goldfinch
• 15   Northern Cardinal
• 7    Cedar Waxwing
• 96   European Starling
• 155 House Sparrow
• 17   Dark-eyed Junco

Another Year; Another Count – The Big Sit 2014

Bird Watcher’s Digest offers the chance to be a participant in their annual BIG SIT in October.  I decided to participate once again as I had the time and the weather looked marvelous.  If you recall; last year’s Big Sit was rainy and cold.  One does not get to match the weather with the chosen date.  From the BWD page, “Some people have called it a “tailgate party for birders.” Find a good spot for bird watching—preferably one with good views of a variety of habitats and lots of birds. Next, create a real or imaginary circle 17 feet in diameter and sit inside the circle for 24 hours, counting all the bird species you see or hear. That’s it. Find a spot, sit in it, have fun. Then submit your findings.”

I arrived at Havenwoods around 8:00 AM.  The sun shone brightly in the low western sky with nary a cloud as the day unfolded.  A shroud of geothermal mist drifted over the pond as I first approached the wooden bench that faces south.  Mallards tipped their backsides into the air as they dug for plants and other delicious nuggets of nourishment on the shallow pond bottom.  American robins flitted back and forth from tree to tree.  Eastern bluebirds joined the robins but had nothing but angst for them as they squawked their disapproval of each other’s proximity to the other.

One observation I made that day was of a “human nature” variety.  A group of people approached my circle

with three spunky young boys in the lead.  They rambunctiously ran ahead giggling and screaming as they passed me by and onto the bridge.  Another three people (a teenage girl and boy and one adult male) walked in their wake and also passed me by on their way to the other side of the bridge.  The adult shouted ahead to the youngest children to, “head left” and to one named Dominick; “you’re the fastest…try to beat the others to the trail!”  All I could do was to lament the lost opportunity of that small group of humans to experience the smallest bit of “nature.”  No one stopped to ask me what I was doing, looking at, etc.  The activity that they were engaged in (running through the forest) was one that could have taken place on any playground, parking lot, or shopping mall.  What have we become in this country?  Perhaps it is me?

Downy Woodpecker

Overall I didn’t have long to sit; but the time I was able to devote was sheer quality birdwatching indeed; and who needs more that that?

Team Information: BirdMilwaukee

Captain: Joseph Devereaux

Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin (United States)

Team Checklist

1. Pied-billed Grebe Podilymbus podiceps
2. Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias
3. Canada Goose Branta canadensis
4. Mallard Anas platyrhynchos
5. Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis
6. Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarensis
7. Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura
8. Belted Kingfisher Megaceryle alcyon
9. Red-bellied Woodpecker Melanerpes carolinus
10. Downy Woodpecker Picoides pubescens
11. Hairy Woodpecker Picoides villosus
12. Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus
13. Eastern Phoebe Sayornis phoebe
14. Blue Jay Cyanocitta cristata
15. American Crow Corvus brachyrhynchos
16. Black-capped Chickadee Poecile atricapillus
17. Red-breasted Nuthatch Sitta canadensis
18. Eastern Bluebird Sialia sialis
19. Veery Catharus fuscescens
20. Hermit Thrush Catharus guttatus
21. American Robin Turdus migratorius
22. Gray Catbird Dumetella carolinensis
23. European Starling Sturnus vulgaris
24. Cedar Waxwing Bombycilla cedrorum
25. Yellow-rumped Warbler Dendroica coronata
26. Yellow Warbler Dendroica petechia
27. Palm Warbler Dendroica palmarum
28. Fox Sparrow Passerella iliaca
29. Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia
30. Lincoln’s Sparrow Melospiza lincolnii
31. Swamp Sparrow Melospiza georgiana
32. White-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia leucophrys
33. White-throated Sparrow Zonotrichia albicollis
34. Dark-eyed Junco Junco hyemalis
35. Common Grackle Quiscalus quiscula
36. American Goldfinch Spinus tristis
37. House Sparrow Passer domesticus

Fox Sparrows

Two-Wheeled Bird Watching with Dog

On a rare (non-raining) but humid Saturday morning at the end of June 2014; Barbara, Opie and I headed west in the WPT to do some bicycling before the rains were supposed to roll into Milwaukee.  We gathered up all the other important things we use when preparing to ride our bikes, and then stopped for a quick shopping trip to our local Wal-Mart grocery; packing a nice picnic lunch into a small soft-sided cooler.

The easternmost end of the New Berlin Recreation Trail begins near Greenfield Park and 124th street and is an offshoot of the mighty Oak Leaf Trail.  We had decided to bike the entire length this morning; all seven miles there and back.  It’s a virtual straight shot paved trail that runs just to the south of the large metal power line towers (following them as they stretch west to Waukesha, WI and next to a quiet railroad track.

Dozens of Gray catbirds were in residence along both sides of the trail; screeching and meow-ing in the underbrush.  The mostly flat areas underneath the power towers were intermittently littered with Milkweed plants and eager Monarch butterflies flitting about in search of prime egg-laying territory.  The trail itself was busy.  Bicyclists of every shape, size and determination, were riding east and west calling out, “on your left” as they rode up behind us.  Opie was riding shotgun in his special fleece-lined basket on the front handlebars of Barbara’s mountain bike.  People always smile and say something kind when they see him in there.

A Great egret in breeding plumage sat upon a log to the south of the trail in the middle of a backwater estuary.  American robins would drop down to the asphalt to hop from one side to the other as we approached their positions.  Common grackle, Red-winged blackbird, Song sparrow, American goldfinch, and Northern cardinal were the predominant species we encountered.  I also heard Killdeer, Common yellow-throat, house wren, and Northern rough-winged swallows as we rode from mile marker to mile marker along the trail.  Several dangerous road crossings across busy multi-lane roadways caused us to be extremely careful and wary of danger.  Heck, just bicycling along such an obviously popular route made one stay on their toes for fear of either being struck, or at minimum; verbally shamed by a more expert cyclist to, “stay on your side of the path.”

The sun was slowly, but incrementally losing it’s dominance in the sky as we neared our picnic spot; two wooden tables underneath one tower in the parking area of a weekend shift -Waukesha factory.  People on roller blades, recumbent bikes, and on foot continued to pass by us as we ate our pre-packaged ham and cheese triangles paired with some peach ice tea and barbeque potato chip lunch.  Sure it was only 10:40 AM; but the seven mile ride, coupled with a natural spot in which to eat comfortably, caused it to make sense to us.  Opie needed to stretch and go to the bathroom anyway. 

Bicycling with your parrot?

A curious site unveiled itself as we sat munching on our food; a pair of cyclists out with their parrot (and I thought Opie’s bike rig was unique) was quite an eclectic sight to see indeed. Some jogger dude stopped them as they were riding by to chat; so I was able to snap a photo.  We eventually left our cozy table after about a half-hour break, to head back east from whence we had come.  The grade seemed to be slightly more in our (downhill) favor as we rode.  The sun was still cranking down and the slight breeze seemed to be in our face each way; which was weird.  We swung into Buena Park in New Berlin (which is directly off the trail) just to see what it was.  It was small but nice.  It had all the amenities of a good place to bring the kids; playground, ball diamond, tennis court, grassy field, etc.

The rest of the ride back was without incident.  We arrived back at the WPT to load the bikes at approximately 10:45 AM; just as thunder began to rumble in the distance.  After loading everything and our short drive back home; the rain began to fall by 11:30.  It seems we had timed it out just right. 🙂

Here’s the bird list for the trip:

1. Turkey vulture
2. Canada goose
3. American robin
4. American goldfinch
5. House finch
6. House sparrow
7. Song sparrow
8. Grasshopper sparrow
9. Killdeer
10. Common grackle
11. Great egret
12. Northern cardinal
13. Gray catbird
14. Northern rough-winged swallow
15. Mallard
16. Mourning dove
17. American crow
18. Red-winged blackbird
19. Black-capped chickadee
20. Lincoln’s sparrow
21. Blue jay
22. European starling

New Berlin Recreation Trail

Trailside Cycle – Calhoun Road Crossing

Hang in there…Don’t let "them" win!

…and now…time for a RANT!

Whether we wish to admit it (or even consider it); we humans have an ongoing love-hate relationship with animals.  From the dawn of time when the serpent tempted Eve and ruined her Garden party, to that pesky and thoroughly destructive Gray squirrel that gleefully nips the heads off your emerging spring tulips; animals can really piss you off sometimes.

Why would I even “go there?”  Well, the other day when I was in the rental’s storage area in the basement going through the camping gear for the first time this season; it came to me.  I was unloading things that I had carefully arranged on the built-in shelving, when I reached the top shelf.   This was where I had left the items specific to backpack-style camping; including a substantial amount of expensive dried meals.  My first indications that I had a “situation,” were the multiple piles of chocolate jimmies and shredded foil lying on the shelf.  I grabbed the bag that had previously contained what was supposed to be deliciously dehydrated, human food and instead discovered only the completely chewed up remains of the air-tight packaging, intermingled with the stench of vermin urine.  That made me mad!  I was mad first at the audacity of whatever tiny, whiskered interloper had fed itself all winter-long on premium dried camp-chow; and then at myself for my trust.  I mean, “C’Mon!”  Sure, I had culpability for placing the food on a basement shelf, but I sure as hell didn’t also place a “free meals for mice” sign on the containers.

As if the lost food wasn’t enough; the little shit (or shits) had made a nest and toilet facility out of my stuff-able Coleman camp pillow and a nearby tent bag.  I was fuming at the very injustice of this egregious and ruinous affront to my stuff as I swept, vacuumed, and tossed previously perfectly good items into the trash bin.  Also, imagine the irony on my way outside to the alley dumpsters as I noticed that even the avian-loving “Birdstud” isn’t immune to having birdshit on the hood of his vehicle.

This entire spring has also found me battling daily to regroup from the insane digging and pouch-full plantings of black-oil sunflower seeds by some damn Chipmunk that lives under the front porch.  Yes, I put the stupid seeds out (FOR THE BIRDS) but must I also suffer the consequences of this misguided rodent gardener.  For crying’ out loud “chippy,” what the hell exactly do you think you’re doing removing the soil from around freshly planted annuals, just to shove a soggy mouthful of seeds into the dirt, that will only sprout into more plants?!  If you thought this was effective seed-hoarding behavior; you’re wrong…not unless you are purposely doing your level best to grow even more plants for an eventual fall harvest!  Alas, you feed the birds; you also get rodents.

Who amongst you (dear reader) have not had your prized (such and such) plant nibbled to the ground by a feral bunny rabbit or lumbering woodchuck?  The residents of the Northwoods have to endure non-stop destruction of their beloved flora by a host of woodsy creatures.  Whitetail deer and Black bear are amongst the leading candidates of disdain when it comes to trying to be in harmony with Mother Nature while attempting to manage a stupid three-month garden.  People have spent tens of thousands each year re-planting, and re-purchasing in a vain struggle to enjoy the great outdoors and live in harmony with every living creature.  Skunks that spray inside your garage full of recreational equipment, cats that have litters of unplanned young in your pop-up camper,  horses that chew up your decorative woodwork, to bats and pigeons taking up residency in your attic and decorating your child’s box of saved artwork…it seems that nothing is sacred.  I haven’t even started on our beloved house pets!  Cats that spitefully piss in your closet on your fancy cowboy boot collection because they are irritated with you, and the dog that eats your brand new couch while you had the audacity to go to work and leave them alone.  THESE are the times that try men’s souls.

What are we (humans) to do?  Basically, there’s nothing we CAN do but keep rolling with the punches we receive from animals, insects, etc.  If you think about it (and you’ve seen the old Sci-fi movies, like Planet of the Apes, Logan’s Run, Day of the Triffids, Food of the Gods or Night of the Lepus) we are only a few months of doing no maintenance, from the natural world completely devouring up everything we have built and/or created.  Bugs, lizards, vines, tree roots, and dirt piles will eventually win the day if we give up, turn our backs, or let “them” win.  So, are you with me?  Step outside and yell the following with me, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!”

Beware!

Don’t let your guard down!

…there…I feel better already…

Weekend at Weborg

The week after Memorial Day was beautiful.  The weather was mild and sunny, and the rain held off until we needed to leave.  Thankfully, eleven months prior I had decided to set my alarm for a specific time to alert me to the fact that I needed to log into the Reserve America camping reservation site to grab a (highly prized) campsite at Weborg loop; Peninsula State Park, Fish Creek, WI.  These twelve specific State-run campsites are among the most highly coveted in all of Door County.  The reason is that they are more intimately situated far away from the vast majority of the other sites, all electric with their own toilet and shower facility, tout recently upgraded electrical infrastructure, have incredible views of nearby Fish Creek, WI across a beautiful bay, and are (wait for it…) privy to some of the park’s most desirable bird watching ecosystem.

Our site (106) was chosen because it exposed a lovely water-view and was on the “end” nearest the overflow parking lot.  It was a wide open spot with the most available clear, grass and dandelion landscape.  About the only drawback to the site only effects “tent” campers like us.  Unfortunately rules are rules and “camping” (via RV or tent) must only occur on the designated areas.  Well, the State-designated area for any tent is at the end of the gravel drive in a non-descript “circular area” of more gravel; that’s it.  What that means is that in order to have any smooth and soft area under your feet is to layer many tarps down under the tent before you set it up.  The second pain is that you’ll need heavy duty tent stakes (like landscaping nails) in order to anchor the tent corner loops through the hard-packed gravel substrate.  For your information; tent kits don’t generally contain that industrial-grade style of anchoring hardware…good luck.  Rule-followers that Barbara and I are; we complied even though our camp-neighbors didn’t seem to get the same memo.

Firewood is another bugaboo (pun intended) as you are no longer “allowed” by the State to transport any firewood INTO a State Park unless you can certify that it was purchased (according to their website) ten miles or less from that particular Park.  I state it that way, as a sign within the Park listed the (old) distance of 25 miles…go figure.  The rationale is that pesky Emerald Ash Borer and what it can do to a stand of trees if it is accidentally “imported” from one besieged woods to another unsuspecting glade of fresh and vulnerable trees….Mmmwhahahaha…  Anyway, obtaining firewood was now quite “locally” monopolized and everyone must pay the price; regardless.

I was standing next to the end of the obligatory State Park campsite-picnic table cooking bacon the first  morning in camp when I had an idea.  There was this old Coleman, white gas, single burner contraption that my friend Dave Dombrowski gave me; and I thought I’d see if it worked.  Dave, a habitual rummage-saler and scrounger; picked it up “cheap” somewhere and never used it.  He gave it and some other cool camping stuff to Barbara and me during a visit to their home.  Well, (I reasoned) it was kinda-sorta like the Coleman lantern I had along on this trip; pump it up to add pressure to the liquid gas so that it atomized at the point of flame contact.  How hard could it be to resurrect the old contraption?   I “pumped it up” and turned the gas valve to let the pressurized gas flow to the burner.  I held a stick lighter there and a small flame began to sputter.  I watched and thought, “oh, this may actually work as a small stove burner…,” when that sputtering flame began to build, and build, and flow underneath the burner to the gas tank, and build…I shut off the valve…it got bigger and bigger and bigger.  I panicked and grabbed the entire fire-engulfed thing and flung it to the grass behind me.  Just then I heard a sweet but concerned female voice call out, “Are you OK?”  Then, for whatever God-blessed reason, the antique rummage-sale-deal / turned-conflagration, blessedly self-extinguished as it tumbled along the lawn.  Whew!  I answered, “I am now,” in a sheepish but grateful voice as I looked over to the tent window where Barbara stood watching the exciting scene unfold.

One important factor that (in hindsight) I wish I’d been briefed upon, was the fact that clouds of mosquitos had recently hatched and were now hungrily awaiting fresh camper-grade hemoglobin.   This interesting factoid of nature is one that is not difficult to understand; birds eat lots of bugs = lots of bugs bring lots of birds.  The hard part of that simple equation is that undesirable bugs also enjoy bothering humans and pets while waiting being eagerly eaten by our desirable avian friends.  Enter Deep Woods Off wipes…LOTS of them!  Long pants and sweatshirts also help; but the temps predicated (at least my hot persona) the wearing of shorts and short sleeve shirts.  No problem, as the trade-off was the great outdoors and plentiful quantities and varieties of birds…just don’t accidentally lick your fingers…yuuuck!

I have written before in this blog about Peninsula StatePark, so I won’t belabor and regale you with rehashed specificities regarding the layout or amenities, as you can read about that yourself.  What I will say is that we both thoroughly enjoyed our time in camp for various reasons.  One such enjoyable time came on one early morning, when Barbara and I accidentally wandered into a “Nature Walk” that was about to start near the Weborg Marsh trail.  A small group of four women (three of which appeared to have on “official-looking” uniforms) stood talking near the roadway as we approached.  Two of the officials finished up their brief nature-walk primer to the third (youngest of the three) and the four of us (now) wandered east into the woods on a small grass and weed path led by that one remaining official State Park representative.  Her name is Katie and she explained to Barbara, me and the third nature-walk attendee that she was “new” and would do her best to impart some basic forest and avian knowledge.   She did fine.  Was she as knowledgeable as I am with birds?  No, but I am 52 years old and have been birding since 2003.  The few feathered facts she did know were more than enough for a casual camper to be fascinated with.  I did learn some plant and species information such as, what “Bloodroot” looks like and that a pretty, purple, smallish flower was called a “Dwarf-like Iris.”  I also remember something about a “Canada May-something-or-other” and that there are several types of Solomon’s seal varieties depending on the bloom; but she’d have to get her book to know which one.  I think I also know what Poison Ivy looks like compared to another plant which looks like Poison Ivy.  At least I hope I can tell the difference.  The tour lasted about 45 minutes and ended with all four of us chatting in the roadway next to our campsite.  Overall; Katie was youthfully delightful and energetically adequate as a tour guide in her wide-eyed “newness.”

Water in the bay on one of many sunny mornings sparkled like a million diamonds with the slight breeze encouraging it.  Bird watching (particularly warbler-watching) was amazing by late-May standards in Wisconsin.  I was fortunate to see many FOYs during the few days we camped.  The two of us (and sometimes Opie) saw birds while hiking and biking.  At one point; we even took a side trip into “town” (about six blocks) to a small hardly-used Town Park, to walk (with Opie) along the serpentine trail that extended out the back of the grounds.  On another day-trip we rode our bikes up a paved road in the State Park to the very peak of altitude to look from Sven’s Bluff, out onto Green Bay and the islands that can be seen from there.  I heard an unfamiliar bird sound.  Tracking it down eventually yielded a lovely Mourning warbler that was in the woods opposite the overlook.  Black-throated green warblers could also be heard high in the quickly leaf-advancing tree-tops.  The forest floor here was (in large patches) almost completely covered with Lily of the Valley and the beautifully cloying scent of them (my favorite scented flower) filled the air as we rode.  Trillium dotted the landscape and in certain areas had already turned to the signature pink shade as they had aged.  Garlic mustard seemed to be handled in most areas of the Park; however they still had large swaths to eradicate.  Poison had been sprayed on some sections and marked accordingly alongside the paved road as bicyclists of varying prowess and intelligence (the groups without any helmets) rode both their personal and rented machines.

Wood frogs and toads began to strike up their cacophonous marshland band just as the sun began to set along the Sunset Trail.  Spring peepers joined in and crickets happily added their voice to nature’s evening chorus.  The air was cool enough for us to run the electric “milkhouse heater” that Thomas Devereaux (my father) had gifted to us the fall before.  We were glad to have had it packed along for this spring trip.  Each night after a time in front of the campfire sipping adult beverages; we climbed aboard the S.S. Air-Mattress and attempted to overcome the permanent (gravel-provided) downhill list.  This meant dragging yourself incrementally uphill throughout your night to keep from falling off and or/being uncovered by the sheets.  Opie didn’t help either as he is always (middle-up) in-between us, as his place of preferential sleeping/security position.  Either way; through exhaustion or necessity, one finally does eventually drift off to sleep regardless of the unending natural noise, or pitch of the mattress.   Ahhh…all the creature comforts of home…and we paid good money to live like this for a time.

Here’s our birding species list for the four days:

1. Least flycatcher
2. Eastern kingbird
3. American redstart
4. Black-capped chickadee
5. Black and white warbler
6. Red-winged blackbird
7. Baltimore oriole
8. Common yellowthroat
9. Yellow warbler
10. American white pelican
11. American robin
12. Blue jay
13. Red-breasted nuthatch
14. American crow
15. Common grackle
16. Northern cardinal
17. Eastern phoebe
18. Herring gull
19. Northern flicker
20. Mourning dove
21. Common merganser
22. American goldfinch
23. Red-eyed vireo
24. Cedar waxwing
25. Song sparrow
26. Gray catbird
27. Turkey vulture
28. Northern rough-winged swallow
29. Great egret
30. Chestnut-sided warbler
31. Blackburnian warbler
32. Ovenbird
33. Indigo bunting
34. Black-throated Green warbler
35. Common loon
36. Great-crested flycatcher
37. Double-crested cormorant
38. Common nighthawk
39. Chimney swift
40. Chipping sparrow
41. Canada goose
42. Eastern wood pewee
43. Killdeer
44. Least flycatcher
45. Scarlet tanager
46. Wild turkey
47. Ruffed grouse
48. Barn swallow
49. Bald eagle
50. Hairy woodpecker
51. Ring-billed gull
52. Alder flycatcher
53. Red-bellied woodpecker
54. Common tern
55. White-breasted nuthatch
56. Pileated woodpecker
57. Solitary sandpiper
58. Mourning warbler