Bird Sightings in 2003 to 2005 in Lake Park

Return to: . . . . Birding Activities in Lake Park . . . . BIRDS OF LAKE PARK
... This page is http://home.roadrunner.com/~phunter1/03_to_05_Bird_Sightings_in_Lake_Park.html
Table of Species seen on 2003, 2004, and 2005 Warbler Walks

Reports of Warbler Walks in 2003: May 24 . . Sept 6 . . Sept 20 . . Oct 4
Reports of Warbler Walks in 2004: April 24 . . May 15 . . May 22 . . Sept 11 . . Sept 28 in Kletzsch and Lincoln Parks . . Oct 2 . . Oct 9
Reports of Warbler Walks in 2005: April 23 . . May 14 . . May 28 . . Sept 10 . . Sept 24 . . Oct 1

Reports of Duck Watches in 2005: 11AM - 1PM; Saturdays Oct 29 . . Nov 19 . . Dec 3, 2005

Other Sighting in Fall 2005


Report of Warbler Walk
May 24, 2003, about 7:30 - 10 AM
Lake Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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Written by Paul Hunter

About twenty people saw over forty species of birds from about 7:30 to 9 am on Sat May 24th at Lake Park in Milwaukee. We may have found the nest hole of the Red-headed Woodpecker. 12 species of warblers still lingered in the park.

Paul Hunter took about ten people down to the shore of Lake Michigan to introduce beginning birders to basic gull identification (i.e. Ring-billed vs Herring vs Bonaparte's Gulls). Fortunately one Caspian Tern also flew by.

Judith Huf and ten other more experienced birders stayed on the top of the bluff and avoided warbler-neck by scanning the ravines from the bridges.

Thanks to Dolores Knopfelmacher and Lake Park Friends for the coffee.
Thanks to Mike Goodman and the Lake Park Bird Feeders Alliance for stocking the feeders in Locust Ravine.

Double-crested Cormorant
Mallard
Cooper's Hawk
Killdeer
Bonaparte's Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Caspian Tern
Chimney Swift
Red-headed Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Eastern Kingbird
 Yellow-throated Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
American Robin
European Starling
Orange-crowned Warbler
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
 Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Palm Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Black & white Warbler
American Redstart
Wilson's Warbler
Northern Cardinal
Indigo Bunting
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
House Finch
American Goldfinch


Report of Warbler Walk
Saturday, September 6, 2003, about 7:30 - 10 AM
Lake Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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11 birders saw 22 species at Lake Park in Milwaukee from 7:30 - 10 AM on Sat., Sept. 6, 2003. We continued the social nature of past birding events with news about park events and even a discussion of public affairs.

Dolores Knopfelmacher, board member of Lake Park Friends, started off the morning inside the warming house with an introduction to upcoming Nature Committee events including an evening talk on bats later in September. Call 962-1680 for more info.

Mike Goodman described the renewed efforts of the Lake Park Bird Feeder Alliance, especially with the loss of park staff maintaining the feeder at the Golf Services Building .

With steady mild southwesterly winds the morning warmed pleasantly, but the birds were few and far between till we reached the base of the bluff. There near the Girl Scout [Waterfall] Ravine we saw a few migrant warbler species, the brown female Indigo Bunting, and the woodpecker, nuthatch and chickdees.

Just across Lincoln Memorial Drive, feeding and preening on the odorous Cladophora "algae" mat on the lake shore (http://www.jsonline.com/news/Metro/jul02/57241.asp) were several basic (winter) plumaged Sanderlings, a few dark-legged Semipalmated Sandpipers, and a few Semipalmated Plovers. Some of us studied these birds closely through my scope and listened to others discussed the lack of public support to finance park maintenance.

Jim McGinity of the Urban Ecology Center participated in the hike. He also organizes bird banding and leads weekly bird hikes on Thursday mornings .

Submitted by Paul Hunter

Canada Goose
Double-breasted Cormorant
Mallard
Semipalmated Plover
Sanderling
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Chimney Swift
Downy Woodpecker
Red-headed Woodpecker
 Red-eyed Vireo
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
Cedar Waxwing
Magnolia Warbler
American Redstart
Ovenbird
Northern Waterthrush
Indigo Bunting
Northern Cardinal
American Goldfinch



Report of Warbler Walk
Saturday ,September 20, 2003, about 7:30 - 10 AM
Lake Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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Four birders saw twenty-eight species.

Marge Kieckhefer and I (Paul Hunter) met outside the Warming House at 7:30 AM and scouted out the nearby feeders at the Locust Ravine before swinging back past the Warming House toward the North Ravine. There we had a few peeks at warblers flitting in the heavy foliage. After walking the length of the North Ravine, we crossed Lincoln Memorial Drive and found a few more warblers on the weedy bluff along the western fence of the Linnwood Water Treatment Plant. Along the Lake Michigan shoreline we enjoyed the very calm air and water with clear views of downtown. We saw our personal first Kingfisher and Great Blue Heron on the shoreline along with the gulls and noisily squawking Caspian Terns. A loose V-formation of about 150 Cormorants flew overhead on its way south.

Marge had to move on at 9 AM after we met up with Judith Huf at the top of Girl Scout Ravine. Judith had seen the Black-throated Blue Warbler earlier in Locust Ravine. She mentioned that another birder had been looking for the hike. Judith and I walked past the Wolcott statue and Lighthouse and saw our first Red-breasted Nuthatch of the year eating spruce cone seeds with chickadees at a 6-foot-high tree next to the maintenance shed feeder.

Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
Bonaparte's Gull (Larus philadelphia)
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)
Caspian Tern (Sterna caspia)
Belted Kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon)
Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)
 Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis)
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)
Black-throated Blue Warbler (Dendroica caerulescens)
Palm Warbler (Dendroica palmarum)
Blackpoll Warbler (Dendroica striata)
Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia)
American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla)
Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla)
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis)
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)


Report of Warbler Walk
Saturday ,October 4, 2003, about 7:30 - 10 AM
Lake Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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Seven birders saw twenty-five to thirty species of birds on this clear cool day with gentle northwesterly winds.

Warblers, sparrows, thrushes and woodpeckers enlivened Locust Ravine near the Warming House. Yellow-rumped Warblers were ubiquitous. Georgia Lukitsch identified a Blackburnian Warbler drinking sap from the holes just drilled by an apparent family of 3 adult and immature Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers. One of several White-throated Sparrows sang once. A cooperative thrush showed us its lack of eye-ring and whitish spotted breast, so we called it a Gray-cheeked Thrush. I (Paul Hunter) saw a white-breasted, wing-barred, unstreaked, small, greenish warbler the could have been a Chestnut-sided Warbler. Cathy Dermody got a good look at small fluttering passerine she identified as a Golden-crowned Kinglet.

At the base of the grand staircase (at the intersection of Ravine Road and Lincoln Memorial Drive) a few Palm Warblers and Chipping Sparrows joined a dozen or so Yellow-rumped Warblers on the grass and in the bushes. After long looks in good light, we decided that the small, grayish Empidonax flycatcher with no yellow on its belly (that was flitting between low branches and occasionally perching on tall flowers) was a Least Flycatcher. The tail-wagging Eastern Phoebe with its dark bill and without wing bars was a bit easier to reach a consensus on.

The lakeshore was relatively quiet. Most of the party turned back to the Warming House, since it was already almost 9:30 AM. The Girls Scout Ravine was also quiet. Georgia Lukitsch saw a small hawk dart out of a small tree just as we reached the golf course. We presumed it was a Cooper's Hawk. It was also quiet near the Wolcott statue, so we walked toward a noisy group of American Crows at the east end of the North Lighthouse Ravine that we presumed had located the hawk. Thanks to Georgia Lukitsch's sharp eyes we found instead a Great Horned Owl being given fairly wide berth at the top of a very leafy oak.

As we crossed the golf course on the way back to the warming house, Cathy Dermody located and identified a Great Crested Flycatcher and Eastern Wood-Pewee that we all got good looks at. More Yellow-rumped and Palm Warblers flitted on the lawns and evergreens. Chimney Swifts circled in increasing numbers throughout the morning.

Paul Hunter

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)
Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)
Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica)
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius)
Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)
Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus)
Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens)
Least Flycatcher (Empidonax minimus)
Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe)
Great Crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus)
Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa)
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
 Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)
Brown Creeper (Certhia americana)
Gray-cheeked Thrush (Catharus minimus)
Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)
Chestnut-sided Warbler (Dendroica pensylvanica)
Blackburnian Warbler (Dendroica fusca)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata)
Black-throated Green Warbler (Dendroica virens)
Palm Warbler (Dendroica palmarum)
Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina)
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis)



Report of Warbler Walk
Saturday, April 24, 2004, about 7:30 - 10 AM
Lake Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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About a dozen birders saw two dozen species.
Mostly sunny with a brisk northerly breeze.
No Wild Turkey
No Red-headed Woodpecker

Bonaparte's Gulls
. . . about 1000 at Bradford Beach
Cooper's Hawk
. . . nesting at Shepard and Locust
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Ruby-crowned Kinglets
. . . flashing crowns and singing
 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1
Pine Warbler 1
. . . just above eye level at Ravine Road footbridge
Chipping Sparrow
. . . mainly on the golf course
White-throated Sparrows
Swamp Sparrow
Report of Warbler Walk
Saturday, May 15, 2004, about 7:30 - 10:30 AM
Lake Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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(see other birds this week at the bottom)

About a dozen birders saw about 50 species of birds on this clear cool day with gentle northeasterly winds.

Warblers were very active and numerous in the ravines. The bridges over the Locust Ravine and Ravine Road Ravine helped elevate us into the midstory of the trees putting the warblers more on eye level. We covered little ground as we stood pointing out new species to each other. Many warblers were singing loudly, giving us more reason to listen to our CDs and tapes again early next spring.

The call of an Eastern Bluebird set us off across the wet baseball field where we saw it shimmering midway up an ash tree. On the high dead limb of an oak tree next to the Indian mound first a Red-headed then a Red-bellied Woodpecker explored the flaking bark. Nice looks at a Least Flycatcher and a probable Gray-cheeked Thrush were had along the North Ravine north of the tennis courts.

A few of us continued on to the Ravine Road footbridge for more close-up looks at warblers and vireos on eye-level. Girl Scout Ravine was quiet except for a Swainson's Thrush. Near Wolcott's statue an Indigo Bunting sang. Along Lake Michigan terns patrolled and chased successful fishers among themselves.

Some of the birders on the walk were: Cathy Dermody, Jym Mooney, Kathy Bond, Jean Casper, Bill and Eva Rumpf, Mary Shley, Dolores Knopfelmacher, Nancy (? from Washington State), and myself (Paul Hunter)

Mallard
Double-crested Cormorant
Ring-billed Gull
Caspian Tern
Forster's Tern
Chimney Swift
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Least Flycatcher
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Blue-headed Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue Jay
American Crow
Tree Swallow
 Black-capped Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Eastern Bluebird
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Magnolia Warbler
Cape May Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
 Palm Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
American Redstart
Common Yellowthroat
Wilson's Warbler
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow


Other birds seen this week:
Cerulean Warbler 1/2 block north of the park by Nancy from Washington State
Green Heron in North Ravine by Nancy
Cooper's Hawk still on nest at Locust and Shepard
Scarlet Tanagers 4
Screech Owls 4 photographed by Kathy Bond's husband
Killdeer
Black-billed Cuckoo
Summer Tanager? (yellow female?)
by Paul Hunter
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Hooded Warbler
by Judith Huf
White-eyed Vireo
by Karen Johnson and Paul Hunter



Report of Warbler Walk
Saturday, May 22, 2004
Lake Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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The bird walk on 5/22/04 was cancelled based on prediction of 80% chance of thunderstorms.

See http://home.roadrunner.com/~phunter1/lakeparkbirdhike.html:
"Cancelled if weather forecast at http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=53211
the night before the hike calls for winds of 15 - 20 mph or higher or thunderstorms."

I called Dolores Knopfelmacher last night. Sorry that I didn't get an email out.

See also a report of birding on 5/20/04 in northeast and southeast Milwaukee.

Paul Hunter, 5/22/04
============================================
5/22 Tom PRESTBY wrote:
I did some birding in Milwaukee this afternoon at Whitnall and Lake Park and had very good results with migrant passerines at both parks.
At Lake Park the highlight was a CONNECTICUT WARBLER on the wooded hillside near the birdfeeder across from the Walter Moncott Statue. Lake Park was filled with warblers near here and also in the ravine by the playground. Several CANADAS, some BLACKBURNIANS, BLACKPOLL, WILSON'S, CAPE MAY, PHILADELPHIA VIREO, and many more. There was also a YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER near the playground.
.....Good Birding,
Tom Prestby, Milwaukee
------------------------------------------------------
5/22 Cathleen J Dermody wrote:
Bill [Rumpf] and I [Cathy Dermody] made a short try at birding in the rain this morning at Lake Park. Lighting was miserable for identifying warblers! We did get to see the Redheaded Woodpecker and Downy. The Robins were taking full advantage of there being plenty of worms There was a crow we both swore was a raptor. He was sitting upright to keep the rain draining off his back probably, very unlike a crow! White-breasted Nuthatch put in a quick appearance, but we soon decided it was too much of an uphill battle to continue.
Keep in bailing water! We will get through this!
Cathy Dermody
------------------------------------------------------------------
5/22 Jym Mooney wrote:
Since it was raining pretty hard early this morning, I bypassed the scheduled Lake Park Birdwalk (did it happen anyway?) and went to Horicon, because, as they say, it was great weather, if you're a duck. Saw many ducks and other waterfowl.....
Getting back to Milwaukee it had stopped raining, so I stopped in for a relatively brief survey of Lake Park. Saw great-crested flycatcher, eastern wood peewee, two different types of small flycatcher (don't ask me which, though), veery, Swainson's thrush, BB cuckoo, chipping sparrow, BG gnatcatcher, and eight warblers: Am. redstart, Canada, Wilson's, magnolia, black and white, BT green, common yellowthroat, and chestnut- sided. I also decided that my mystery warbler of the other day was probably a female redstart seen from below only.
Jym Mooney, Milwaukee


Report of Warbler Walk
Saturday, September 11, 2004
Lake Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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Seven birders saw 18 species of birds in the northern third of Lake Park from 7:30 to 9:15 AM on Saturday, September 11, 2004.

An expedition a block north of the park yielded a mixed flock of chickadees, a few red-breasted nuthatches, a few American redstarts, and a red-eyed vireo in the backyard of one of the birders on the walk. One birder spotted the first of his two hummingbirds as we mused about whether to attempt eradicate invasive garlic mustard and elderberry from the steep bluff in the extreme northeastern corner of the park adjacent to the park administrative building.

We encountered another mixed flock of warblers, chickadees, nuthatches and a woodpecker in a tall dead tree at the edge of Locust Ravine not far from the Lake Park Friends Office. AWilson's and one or two black-throated green warblers hid behind thick foliage most of the time. A pewee called a few times fairly weakly. The strongly streaked breast of juvenile chipping sparrows required thorough consultation of field guides.

Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica
Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)
Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens)
Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus)
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)
Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis)
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
Black-throated Green Warbler (Dendroica virens)
American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla)
Wilson's Warbler (Wilsonia pusilla)
Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina)
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus)
American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis)
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)


[5/22/04 by Paul Hunter:
In the ravines expect to see a few migrant warbler species, Indigo Bunting, and woodpeckers.
On the lakeshore Sanderlings, 'peep" sandpipers, and Semipalmated Plovers are possible.]



Report of Paul Hunter birding in Lincoln and Kletsch Parks along the Milwaukee River
in northeastern Milwaukee County, Wisconsin on Tuesday, September 28, 2004 from 9:30 - 11 AM.
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Brisk northernly winds ushered in clear skies, cool temperatures, and woodland birds of late fall, but not hawks.

At Lincoln Park warblers and golden-crowned kinglets were concentrated at the two most southerly footings for the cables of the radio/TV tower in the oxbow of the Milwaukee River.

At Kletsch Park the horizon was devoid of hawks though the view was nice from the top of the sledding hill near the archery range. There were pockets of activity in the woods and the Milwaukee River near the stone wall/dike at the north end of the park near the bridge.

LK Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
K 3 Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)
K Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
K Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)
K 2 Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)
L Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius)
LK Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)
K American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
K Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)
L White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)
L Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa)
K Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula)
K Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)
L American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
KL Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata)
L Black-throated Green Warbler (Dendroica virens)
L Palm Warbler (Dendroica palmarum)
L Bay-breasted Warbler (Dendroica castanea)
L Blackpoll Warbler (Dendroica striata)
K American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla)
L Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla)
K Lincoln's Sparrow (Melospiza lincolnii)
LK White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)
K Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)
L Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)

Report of Warbler Walk
Saturday, October 2, 2004

Lake Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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Ten birders saw 27 species of birds in the northern half of Lake Park and along the lakeshore from 7:30 to 10:00 AM on Saturday, October 2, 2004.

The larger than expected group from all four corners of Milwaukee County and from near the Racine-Kenosha county line gathered east of the "warming house" on this chilly (40 degrees Fahrenheit) clear morning. 3-4 yellow-bellied sapsuckers flew from trunk to trunk nearby as we inspected the crabapples riddled with their holes. We again strayed a block north of the park to the same backyard courtyard where one of our party had heard a great-horned owl the night before. No owl or pellets were seen but red-breasted nuthatches hung upside-down on spruce cones.

A few Palm warblers skittered ahead of us low in the shrubs on the north end of the soccer fields (old gun club). Several male mallards taught us all the phases of molting from their drab summer duds to their bright fall to spring suits. One adult herring gull with its neck streaked in "basic" plumage stood next to the one second year ring-billed gull. Adult ring-billed gulls in basic "winter" plumage dined on the odorous Cladophora "algae" mat.

Half the group returned via the Girl Scout Ravine where some of us saw a dark, mouse-like winter wren occasionally poke its head and cocked tail out of crevices in fallen logs. Later just north of the bridge over Ravine Road, while struggling to find and identify an impossibly drab warbler, a large (female?) Cooper's hawk flashed overhead and onto a perch under the canopy of the trees in Locust Ravine. At the rustic wooden bridge near the feeders in Locust Ravine we met back with the other half of the group that had just seen a red-bellied woodpecker and hermit thrushes.
[PH 10/2/04]
Mallard
Double-crested Cormorant
Cooper's Hawk
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Blue Jay
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Winter Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Magnolia Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Palm Warbler
American Redstart
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
House Sparrow
Report of Warbler Walk
Saturday, October 9, 2004
Lake Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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Oops ... I never posted the list for this day. Paul Hunter April 24, 2005.
Report of Warbler Walk
By Paul Hunter
Saturday, April 23, 2005
Lake Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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This walk technically should have been cancelled because the north-northwesterly winds blew at about 20 miles per hour. However, five hardy birders (KF, PH, DK, GM, CW) left the shelter of the warming house to brave the wind chill.

A rufous-capped, clear-breasted Chipping Sparrow gave us good viewing as it perched on the bird feeder in Locust Street Ravine. 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets flitted nearby. A Brown Creeper scuttled up tree trunks as White-breasted Nuthatches called overhead.

A Northern Flicker probed the ground near the running track just south and east of the Pavilion (restaurant and Community Room). At the base of the bluff there we were out of the wind. From that protected spot we watched 30 or 40 Bonaparte's Gulls flash their white primaries as they struggled north, low over the water just off shore on Lake Michigan. (The swallows skimmed the surface of the lake too.) A Common Tern showed us its uniformly gray primaries, thin bill and thin black cap as it slowly made its way northward also.

Mallard Anas platyrhynchos
Greater Scaup Aythya marila
Bufflehead Bucephala albeola
Red-breasted Merganser Mergus serrator
Bonaparte's Gull Larus philadelphia
Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarensis
Herring Gull Larus argentatus
Common Tern Sterna hirundo
Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus
American Crow Corvus brachyrhynchos
Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
Tree Swallow Tachycineta bicolor
White-breasted Nuthatch Sitta carolinensis
Brown Creeper Certhia americana
Ruby-crowned Kinglet Regulus calendula
Chipping Sparrow Spizella passerina
Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis
Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater


Report of Warbler Walk
By Paul Hunter
Saturday, May 14, 2005
Lake Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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Up to 18 birders saw up to 57 species on this cool, partly cloudy, humid, calm morning. This surpasses the previous high of 54 species on May 15, 2004.

The Red-headed Woodpecker was back! We also got very good looks at a very red-faced and red-breasted, Red-bellied Woodpecker near the copper topped feeder by the rustic wooden footbridge over Locust Ravine.

We were treated to nice looks down at warblers from the bridges over the Locust Street, Ravine Road, and North Ravines. Up to three different male Black-throated Blue Warblers and one female were the highlight.

Some birds were singing enough to get to know their songs better, including White-crowned Sparrows and Black-throated Green Warblers. A couple dozen Blue Jays migrated north just over the tree tops.

Several nice conversations included a review of the new movie "Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill", diurnal (hawks and jays) versus nocturnal (warblers and thrushes) migrants, and controlling feral cats with "trap-neuter-release" programs.


Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator)
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)
Caspian Tern (Sterna caspia)
Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica)
Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus)
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)
Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)
Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus)
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)
Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus)
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)
Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis)
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)
House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula)
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea)
Gray-cheeked Thrush (Catharus minimus)
Swainson's Thrush (Catharus ustulatus)
Veery (Catharus fuscescens)
Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina)
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 		Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)
Nashville Warbler (Vermivora ruficapilla)
Golden-winged Warbler (Vermivora chrysoptera)
Chestnut-sided Warbler (Dendroica pensylvanica)
Magnolia Warbler (Dendroica magnolia)
Black-throated Blue Warbler (Dendroica caerulescens)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata)
Black-throated Green Warbler (Dendroica virens)
Palm Warbler (Dendroica palmarum)
Blackburnian Warbler (Dendroica fusca)
Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petechia)
American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla)
Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia)
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)
Ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla)
Wilson's Warbler (Wilsonia pusilla)
Northern Waterthrush (Seiurus noveboracensis)
Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina)
Lincoln's Sparrow (Melospiza lincolnii)
White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus)
Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea)
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)
Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea)
House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus)
American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis)


Report of Warbler Walk
By Paul Hunter
Saturday, May 28, 2005
Lake Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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About 19 birders saw about 35 species on this clear, bright and calm late spring morning. Many trees had fully developed leaves for the warblers to hide behind.

A pair of Hairy Woodpeckers eyed us suspiciously as they entered their nest hole in the ash just south of the Warming House. From the Rustic Bridge we heard and saw a Canada Warbler, but not the Connecticut Warbler seen the day before by Tom Prestby. The Red-headed Woodpecker hopped on to the ground from a large trunk at the east end of the Locust Ravine.

Join us again in fall.

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)
Caspian Tern (Sterna caspia)
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica)
Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus)
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)
Hairy Woodpecker (Picoides villosus)
Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens)
Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus)
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea)
Swainson's Thrush (Catharus ustulatus)
 American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)
Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petechia)
Chestnut-sided Warbler (Dendroica pensylvanica)
Magnolia Warbler (Dendroica magnolia)
Black-throated Green Warbler (Dendroica virens)
Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia)
American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla)
Wilson's Warbler (Wilsonia pusilla)
Canada Warbler (Wilsonia canadensis)
Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina)
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea)
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)
Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula)
House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus)
American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis)
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)

Other reports from the same day:
J Mooney - Herring Gull
CJ Dermody - Black-throated Blue Warbler


Report of Warbler Walk
By Paul Hunter
Saturday, September 10, 2005
Lake Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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About 16 birders saw and heard about 30 species from 7:30 till almost 10 AM.

After discussing how to revise the Lake Park checklist, we struck out on the almost completed new path in Locust Ravine, passing under the bridges from which we usually look down upon warblers. Swainson's thrushes darted among the shadows. Cedar waxwings whistled overhead. A few white-throated sparrows called.

We walked along Ravine Road and across Lincoln Memorial Drive to scan the shore of Lake Michigan. Several molting mallard paddled in the fragrant, decomposing algae, where a sanderling had foraged earlier in the morning. Nearby, eastern bluebirds swooped down to the lawn from small trees. We saw bluebirds only on one other walk since spring 2003. The juvenile suggests that they MAY have nested in Lake Park. Very near the bluebirds, a mixed flock of yellow-rumped and palm warblers and chipping sparrows along dined on the dry lawn and sought protection in the trees.

A single northern waterthrush prowled the dry streambed in Girl Scout Ravine. A singing red-eyed vireo and a silent magnolia warbler patrolled the branches closer to eye level on the foot bridge over Ravine Road. 3 drab warblers with wing bars gleaned the branches of a bare low hawthorne tree for several minutes, giving us enough time to determine they were blackpoll warblers.

Unfortunately we did NOT see our signature species, the red-headed woodpeckers, which have been seen several times this summer, once with gray-headed juveniles. Tim Vargo of the Urban Ecology Center joined the walk and updated us on his banding efforts. Bill Mueller, Conservation Chair for the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology, provided thought insight about the habitat the birds we were seeing need to survive. Dolores Knopfelmacher, Co-chair of the Nature Committee of Lake Park Friends, arranged refreshments and provided details of how actions of park management and employees influence the habitat at Lake Park. I also made connections with a teacher at Hartford AvenueUniversity K-8 School and may lead her fourth graders on bird walks this winter and spring.

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)
Sanderling (Calidris alba) - 1
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)
Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica) - 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens) - heard only
unknown Empidonax flycatcher
?? Blue-headed Vireo (Vireo solitarius)
Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus)
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)
Winter Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes)
 Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis) - 6 including juvenile
Veery (Catharus fuscescens) - heard only
Swainson's Thrush (Catharus ustulatus)
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)
Magnolia Warbler (Dendroica magnolia)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata)
Palm Warbler (Dendroica palmarum)
American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla)
Blackpoll Warbler (Dendroica striata)
Northern Waterthrush (Seiurus noveboracensis)
Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina)
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) - heard only
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis)


Report of Warbler Walk
By Paul Hunter
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Lake Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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About 12 birders saw and heard about 17 species from 7:30 till almost 10 AM. The weather was not as cool, damp, or windy as expected, perhaps because of overcast skies and a light southerly breeze. The arrival of juncos and white-throated sparrows signaled the coming winter, but lingering palm and yellow-rumped warbler showed that summer is not long gone.

A few brown creepers cooperated briefly in spiralling up the trunks of nearby trees near the baseball field. Several golden-crowned kinglets aggravated most of us by staying high in the same trees and backlit by bright overcast clouds. The 2 sapsuckers and couple of Swainson's thrushes frequented the same cherry tree for sap and fruit respectively. All these birds scattered when a large (female?) Cooper's hawk to a nearby treetop and briefly surveyed potential dinner, before 4-5 crows quietly chases the hawk away.

A discussion of hawk families led to a game of identify the silohoutte on the inside cover of Peterson's field guide. The lecture continued with the official terms alternate and basic plumage and how to identify immature gulls. The dedication and skill of serious birders was apparent as we tried to identify a small group of distant ducks that may have been scoters. No kittiwakes, jaegers, or frigatebirds were seen, but a Caspian tern flew by North Point.


Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
unknown duck species - possibly scoter - 7
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)
Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)
Caspian Tern (Sterna caspia)
Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica) - 1
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius)
Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) 		Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)
Brown Creeper (Certhia americana)
Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa)
Swainson's Thrush (Catharus ustulatus)
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata)
Palm Warbler (Dendroica palmarum)
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis)



Report of Warbler Walk
By Paul Hunter
Saturday, October 1, 2005
Lake Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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About ten birders saw about 36 species on this cool breezy day. We were privileged to have our first elementary school student attend as well as other old and new friends.

Near the Warming House at the top of tall ash trees two pewees flitted silently, straining our identification skills. A red-bellied woodpecker called noisily nearby and flashed its red nape. White-throated sparrows gave a few feeble attempts at singing as they fed below the copper-topped feeder next to Locust Ravine.

In the lee of the steady westerly wind, at the Grand Staircase near the Pavilion (AKA restaurant), warblers, nuthatches, creepers and kinglets delighted us with a taste of late summer mixed with early winter. There we were joined by Tim Vargo of who updated us on his recent banding efforts at the Urban Ecology Center. Similar species were seen at the base of the bluff near the running track just west of Lincoln Memorial Drive and south of Ravine Road, plus the vireo.

After carefully crossing Lincoln Memorial Drive we tested our gull and duck identification skills. Early gadwalls gave us fairly up close looks. A small flock of 5 scoters definitely did not have any white in their wings and may have had white on their heads, so we called them Surf Scoters, a first for the bird walks. Ironically another first was the Rock Pigeon nearby.

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
Gadwall (Anas strepera)
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata)
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)
Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)
Rock Pigeon (Columba livia)
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica)
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)
Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)
Eastern Wood-Pewee (Contopus virens)
Blue-headed Vireo (Vireo solitarius)
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)
Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis)
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)
Brown Creeper (Certhia americana)
Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula)
Tennessee Warbler (Vermivora peregrina)
Magnolia Warbler (Dendroica magnolia)
Cape May Warbler (Dendroica tigrina)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata)
Black-throated Green Warbler (Dendroica virens)
Palm Warbler (Dendroica palmarum)
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)
White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)
Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis)
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)


Duck Watches: 11AM - 1PM; Saturdays

Oct 29
Report of Duck Watch
By Paul Hunter
Saturday, October 29, 2005
Lake Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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The inaugural Duck Watch provided more excitement than expected.

Bill Mueller first sighted a Short-eared Owl as it flew from the lake into a still leafed out tree on the shore in line with Ravine Road. As I ran up for a closer look, the main group at North Point may have seen a second Short-eared Owl fly up into the bluff in the park. I got a good look at the long wings and moth-like flight of this life bird when it briefly flushed.

As I sought out the owl, Bill Mueller identified a first year Great Black Backed Gull by its massive size and muscular shape as it flew close by shore.

We all got good looks at 100 or more Snow Buntings as they flew like snow flakes, swirling around the rugby field just south of the water filtration plant (the old gun club).

Wait a second, wasn't this a DUCK Watch? Two Black Scoters stuck close to two Surf Scoters. Both were conveniently just 40-50 meters offshore in very good light. The several Horned Grebes were farther off and frequently diving, but their bright white throats and dark napes and slender bills were distintive. Few if any scaup were present, but a small raft of a few dozen Buffleheads swam in the water just south of the water filtration plant. About 40 Gadwalls, 80 Mallards, 20 Ring-billed Gulls and 4 Herring Gulls, 2 Dark-eyed Juncos, 3 American Goldfinches, and 1 American Crow were also present.

Two birders, Bill Mueller and Judith Huf, were quoted in a light feature story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about people on the lakefront enjoying the warm weather.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/oct05/366779.asp



Nov 19 , Report of Duck Watch
By Paul Hunter
Saturday, November 19, 2005
11 AM - 1 PM
Lake Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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While Tim Vargo and members of the Urban Ecology Center were watching thousands of sandhill cranes congregate in the marshes of the Jasper-Pulaski Wildlife Area in Indiana, about 20 birders of all ages and levels of experience gathered along the Lake Michigan shoreline at Lake Park We enjoyed bright sunshine, temperature in the low to mid 40s and a southerly breeze.

Bill Mueller sighted a couple Black Scoters and several White-winged Scoters and pointed them out to newcomers as we gathered north of Bradford Beach at North Point.

Robin Squier, 4th grade teacher from nearby Hartford Avenue School pointed out two female Northern Shovelers. Her pupil correctly pointed out a Herring Gull and a Ring-billed Gull and distinguished them as having "square" and "round" heads respectively. I informed him that he would be leading Lake Park birding events in ten years.

A professionally dressed woman got out of her car to ask what were the hundreds of little duck with white bellies that she saw fly in the night before. I gave her my binoculars and she pointed out female Buffleheads and thanked us for helping. Then we saw another female Bufflehead in the open on the algae mat, still as a "sitting duck". Worried that she was ill, we approached. She lumbered away, listing leftward and flopping her wings clumsily. We saw no other ill-appearing birds. Several college students from Lutheran Campus Ministry who were collecting trash on the rocks said they only saw a dead gull.

As Bill Mueller held the fort at North Point, I lead the crew slowly north to the soccer field. Judith Huf and Jym Mooney scouted ahead and found a Red Phalarope spinning in the waves just 25 meters from shore at the north end of the soccer field, just south of the water filtration plant. Jym said this bird appeared less buffy than the individual seen on 10/19-23 farther south between Bradford Beach and Ravine Road. We also saw the bird on the grass below the soccer field preening itself, quite a different habitat than its high artic breeding ground or open ocean wintering quarters. Roxanne Schrank took these photos.

As we marveled at this "life bird" for many of us, Dennis Casper sighted a Red-breasted Merganser within a 100 meters of shore. Bill Mueller caught up with us and identified two whitish spots about 300 meters out as probable Red-throated and Common Loons. Roxanne, whom I hope will be leading birding events sooner than ten years from now, agreed that she would enter our list into eBird.

Thanks to Gil Walter, Co-chair of Nature Committee, Lake Park Friends, for joining us. He and his co-chair, Dolores Knopfelmacher, are patiently enduring the passion of avid birders (Bill Mueller and myself) for picayune details as they edit and prepare to publish a brochure with the checklist of birds in Lake Park.

50 Gadwall (Anas strepera)
300 Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)
2 Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata)
300 Greater Scaup (Aythya marila)
6 White-winged Scoter (Melanitta fusca)
2 Black Scoter (Melanitta nigra)
200 Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)
3 Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula)
2 Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus)
7 Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator)
1? Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellata)
1? Common Loon (Gavia immer)
1 Red Phalarope ** (Phalaropus fulicarius)
40 Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)
10 Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)
6 American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis)

Subject: Re: Red Phalarope Milwaukee
From: "John Idzikowski" <idzikoj@uwm.edu>
Date: Sat, 19 Nov 2005 15:04:06 -0600
http://my.execpc.com/CE/5F/idzikoj/waders/redphal111905.jpg
http://my.execpc.com/CE/5F/idzikoj/waders/redphal111905b.jpg
http://my.execpc.com/CE/5F/idzikoj/waders/redphal111905c.jpg
Still 50 yards south of the Linnwood filtr. plant at N Point most of the afternoon.
John I, Milwaukee
Subject: Milw red phalarope
From: "Marilyn Bontly" <mbontly@wi.rr.com>
Date: Sun, 20 Nov 2005 08:39:18 -0600

This bird was still present between 7:30 and 8:00 am today south of the filtration plant, at the end of Ravine Rd in Lake Park. It was mostly feeding on the algae covered rocks along the shore.

Marilyn Bontly, Bayside
From: "Mike McDowell" <mmcdowell@tds.net>
Date: Sun, 20 Nov 2005 15:55:45 -0600

WisBirders, ... As reported this morning, the RED PHALAROPE remained at North Point /Milwaukee: http://www.birddigiscoping.com/redphalarope.jpg

Mike McDowell, Waunakee - Dane County, http://www.birddigiscoping.com/
From:"Robert Hambley" <rhambley@wi.rr.com>
Date:Mon, 21 Nov 2005 23:23:12 -0600

This morning I toured Grant Park. I started in Wil-o-way.. And had fun with the WB and RB Nuthatches. ...
After hanging out for a while, I moved up to the Lake Park Shoreline. I got the following, which I believe was the previously reported Red
Phalarope. I am looking for confirmation of the ID. http://tinyurl.com/c6oed

Robert Hambley, St. Francis, WI, Milwaukee County, www.rlhambleyphotography.com
Photo by Bruce Schultz, November 23rd 2005, with webbed feet visible.
A different Red Phalarope was 10/19-21/05 and 10/23 at Lake Park between Bradford Beach and Ravine Road.
This is the 24th record for Wisconsin. The middle to end of October is the typical time to find this species in Wisconsin.
Another Red Phalarope was seen several years ago in the same spot.
Photos: http://my.execpc.com/CE/5F/idzikoj/waders/redphal102005b.jpg
http://my.execpc.com/CE/5F/idzikoj/waders/redphal102005c.jpg
http://community.webshots.com/photo/485248234/485248234yJCKWK


Dec 3, 2005

Report of Duck Watch
By Paul Hunter
Saturday, December 3, 2005
Lake Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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A Long-tailed Duck at North Point and a Snowy Owl on a side trip to the Coast Guard Impoundment highlighted this Duck Watch.

Over 15 birders with at least six scopes gathered in the light snow and light wind and shivered in the 20 degree weather along Lake Michigan north of Bradford Beach from 11 AM to noon. The male Long-tailed Duck provided several views of its white-capped and -naped winter plumage as it dived along with it compatriate Common Goldeyes some 80-90 meters offshore. Bill Mueller saw a Black Scoter and several Redheads. John Meyer (spelling?) pointed out a Hooded Merganser not far off the northern end of Bradford Beach. Hundreds of Greater Scaup flashed their long white wings stripes and they flew low and northward in small groups. Red breasted Mergansers and Buffleheads dived 50 - 150 meters out and Mallards and Gadwalls dabbled close to shore.

At noon Bill Mueller led the group to the Snowy Owl he found the day before. We drove south on Lincoln Memorial Dr to the southern end of the Hoan Bridge and into the parking lot of the Lake Express Ferry. The owl sat motionless on the breakwall some 70-80 meters away, facing out to Lake Michigan.

Bill and I continued on to South Shore Marina and saw American Coots, American Black Ducks, a Ruddy Duck, and hundreds of Ring-billed and Herring Gulls. Mainly "wild" plumaged Rock Pigeons and a actively feeding Mute Swan represented invasive and exotic species. As they loaded decoys onto their boats, two duck hunters explained the three levels of permitting required to shoot up to six ducks (only one female) per day outside of Milwaukee city limits.

Subject: more Lake Michigan birds - Milwaukee
From: "William Mueller" <iltlawas AT earthlink.net>
Date: Sat, 3 Dec 2005

It seems that everyone birding the Milwaukee lakefront today had something a little different. The Lake Park "Duck Watch" at North Point had (in addition to the birds Daryl found) one Black Scoter, one male Long-tailed Duck, 6-7 Redheads, and one Hooded Merganser.

The group moved to the ferry dock where we all saw the Snowy Owl that was found there on Friday (and it seems John I. must have had a second bird on the Govt. Pier, because he and we were at these locations nearly simultaneously). Sadly we missed the California Gull(s!). Between Bay View, the inner harbor and the treatment plant just north of North Point, there were hundreds of goldeneyes, hundreds more Bufflehead, the Ruddies, Gadwalls, and Mute Swan Daryl already mentioned, hundreds of Red-breasted Mergs well offshore, and approx. 5-6000 Greater Scaup - thus maybe 8-10,000 waterfowl in all now in
the Milwaukee Embayment, and another several thousand Herring Gulls, along with (just) hundreds of Ring-billed Gulls.

(....and I'll be going back tomorrow in search of those Californias....)

William P. Mueller, Milwaukee, WI , (414) 643-7279
E-mail: iltlawas AT earthlink.net, On the web: http://home.earthlink.net/~iltlawas/index.html


############################################################

Subject: Lake Michigan "run"
From: Daryl Tessen <bhaunts AT core.com>
Date: Sat, 3 Dec 2005

I decided I needed to do some birding, and get away from all the Christmas shopping, etc. Started at Milwaukee's South Shore Park early this morning--around 8. Besides a nice variety of waterfowl, all pushed close to the boat landing due to the duck hunters farther out, was an adult CALIFORNIA GULL. It is interesting that John had a 2nd year bird later in the day further north along the lake. The bird at South Shore had the dark eye, darker mantle, mottled head-- winter plumage, longer wings when it briefly flew and its size was noticeably smaller than a nearby Herring, and somewhat larger than the numerous adjacent Ring-billeds. Was able to watch it for 20+ minutes. A pleasant surprise!! Other birds there were 1 Mute Swan, 1 Pintail, 1 Redhead, 1 Hooded Merganser, numerous Coots, scaup, about 10 Ruddy Ducks, etc.

North Point had thousands of scaup, mainly south of the point, goldeneyes, Gadwalls, etc.---no scoters.

Virmond Park had nothing out of the ordinary. Port Washington was likewise quiet except for an adult Great Black-backed Gull.

While Harrington Beach SP itself was quiet because of the darn duck hunters, the area to the south and north was good. Off Sandy Beach Rd (this is the first road south of Cedar Beach Rd which is the south boundary of the park) there was a Black Scoter, a Red-throated Loon, 2 Red-necked Grebes and a Surf Scoter among others.

Off Jay Rd (north of Harrington Beach SP) there was a Common Loon and the Barrow's Goldeneye. For the latter you definitely need a scope.

Sheboygan had 2 Killdeer, 1 Black Scoter and excellent Purple Sandpiper habitat but not the bird. However anyone in this area should check the beach from the north breakwall north to the point. Maybe one will show up one of these days.

The Cleveland area had thousands of gulls, the only noteworthy was a Glaucous Gull and some standard diving ducks. I had hoped to check Manitowoc/Two Rivers and possibly Green Bay but I had spent too much time elsewhere so had to head westward after Cleveland.

Daryl Tessen, Appleton, WI



Other Sighting in Fall 2005 in Lake Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Return to top of page.

9/9/05: 1000 Chimney Swifts seen at St. Robert's Church on Capitol and Maryland in Shorewood
10/19-21/05 and 10/23/05: One Red Phalarope was at Lake Park between Bradford Beach and Ravine Road.

10/26/05: 3-5 Surf Scoters and a dozen or so Gadwall have been paddling near the shore of Lake Michigan between Bradford Beach and Ravine Road since early October. A Thayer's Gull was seen flying close to shore there also. Numbers of (Greater) Scaup have increased at the end of October off of Bradford Beach. A Bufflehead has already been seen. [PH]

11/13/05 Cave Swallow : First Ever Reported Sighting in Wisconsin was at Lake Park at 9:25 AM on Sun

11/19/05: Another Red Phalarope was seen just south of the Water Filtration Plant, only 25 meters off shore.
A few Common Goldeneyes and 2 N. Shovelers joined hundreds of Greater Scaup, Bufflehead, Gadwalls and Mallards.

12/17/05: Saw-whet Owl at 5 PM in Locust Park Ravine.
Great Tit at Locust Ravine feeder, Dennis Casper
50 Canada Geese migrating. See 2005 Christmas Bird Count
Red-shouldered Hawk and Northern Harrier migrating southward, (reported by Robert Hughes of Chicago)
Black Scoter - 1 female, White-winged Scoter - 1 female, Long-tailed Duck - 1 adult male,
12/31/05: Carolina Wren and Red-bellied Woodpecker at Locust Ravine feeder. (Jym Mooney)