"excerpted with permission from
All of This and Robins Too:
A Guide to the 50 or So Best Places to Find Birds in Wisconsin,
copyright 2008 Steve Betchkal" gonebirding88@hotmail
Read a review by Bill Mueller:
http://bluebirdslaugh.blogspot.com/2008/09/more-good-reading.html

1. Bradford Beach and Lake Park, Milwaukee County
(Best of Both Worlds Before Work)

The Shortlist: Peregrine Falcon, White-eyed Vireo, Carolina Wren,
Black-throated Blue Warbler, Red Phalarope, Horned Grebe, Red-headed
Woodpecker, gulls, sparrows.
Reputation for Rarities = High, including Red Phalarope, Purple
Sandpiper, King Eider, Barrow's Goldeneye, White-eyed Vireo, Northern
Mockingbird, Summer Tanager, Lark Bunting.
SPIT = 75

The Best Strategy: Hate to start off with a negative, but don't
leave any valuables in your car. I wouldn't leave my scope sitting on
the front seat while I went off to bird here.
Okay. Now let's focus on the positives of this otherwise user-
friendly site...
Lake Park and its partner in crime Bradford Beach pack a powerful
one-two birding punch. There's no place in Wisconsin that's as pretty
or productive as this economically compact, user-friendly and well-
positioned pair of public parks tucked away in the most populated
city in the state.
I can't tell you the number of people I've heard rave about
"birding Lake Park before work". It's an As the pairing suggests,
there are two components to this site: the park atop the hill, and
the lakeshore below. It's such a simple yet potent combo.
Because of its placement atop a "bluff", Lake Park is an
advantageous place to catch the morning's first bird activity. The
sun, as it clears the lake, warms the treetops and attracts feeding
arboreal species. Maintained feeding stations are notorious for
drawing concentrations of easy-to-view ground-hugging sparrows.
Supplement with waterfowl, gulls, and shorebirds, and you have the
recipe for a great beginning to any workday.
Here's how it works:
Follow Ravine "up"/W from Lincoln Memorial Drive and take it to
Lake Park Rd. Turn R, and park in the terminal parking area to walk
the trees and check out the feeders, AND/OR take lake Park Drive
around L/S to the big parking lot in front of/W of the restaurant
(often referred to as the Lake Pavilion) (-87.86985, 43.06814).
There is a "Grand Staircase" on the opposite side of the
restaurant that allows a sweeping view of Bradford Beach and the lake
as well as treetop level views of migrant Northern Parula, Blackpoll,
Blackburnian, and other warblers, and Yellow-bellied and Olive-sided
Flycatcher. Lake Park is dependable for finding Blue-headed and
Philadelphia Vireo, and all of the thrush species during migration
too. At any time of year there may be Red-headed Nuthcatch.
Even if there are no birds around, the planted gardens alone make
the view worthwhile. Carolina Wren have been found along the top of
the bluff near the restaurant. You can descend the steps, bird the
lawn/tree edge S, dive into a rugby scrum on the playing field, AND/
OR carefully cross the road to Bradford Beach, AND/OR head back up to
the lot and follow the walkway S to the General Wolcott statue
(-87.870189, 43.066568).
I'm sure somebody else will be willing to tell you who General
Wolcott was and what tremendous feats of bravery elevated him to
General Wolcott status. What I can tell you is that the well-stocked
feeders here are always drawing birds like Fox, White-throated and
White-crowned Sparrows – but also oddities like Clay-colored, Field,
Lincoln, Harris's, and Swamp during migration. Just about anything
moving along the shoreline can pop up here. In addition to Indigo
Bunting, there have been Lark Bunting. Orchard Oriole mix it up with
Baltimore Oriole. Meanwhile the trees, on a prime day in May, are
infested with blessed neotropical migrants. In addition to all this
(and robins too), the park plays host to Red-headed Woodpecker
(beginning in April).
To the north of the restaurant, a concrete footbridge crosses
over Ravine Road. The asphalt path continues N to a R turn onto
another (rustic) footbridge over Locust Ravine that takes you in the
direction of the playground and Warming House. Be sure to "drag" the
ravines themselves for Cooper's Hawk, Louisiana Waterthrush, Canada
Warbler, and White-eyed Vireo.
If you happen to be in sporting mood, you might be tempted to
join in a pick-up game of lawn bowling or shoot a round on what
appears to be the world's smallest golf course. Otherwise "par-use"
the feeders at the N end of the bridge for more seed-eating birds.
(Note: the Lake Park Friends welcomes contributions to its feeder fund!)
Bradford Beach is renowned for fine sightings too. The North
Point parking area at the (ironically) south end of the beach cranks
out uncommon duck species like Harlequin, King Eider, and all three
scoter species in addition to Horned Grebe (April and again in the
fall), Greater (and Lesser) Scaup, Common Goldeneye, Red-breasted
Merganser, and sooner or later just about every other kind of duck
known to civilized birdwatching.
Bradford is also fine for shorebirds, but particularly famous for
turning up Purple Sandpiper and Red Phalarope. Obviously there won't
be a Red Phalarope waiting for you every time you stop by, but any
place with a history like Lake Park is magic waiting to happen. Oh,
and just in case you were worried, that's Cladophora (algae) you're
smelling, not your upper lip.
This area is also the happy hunting ground of Milwaukee's
Peregrine Falcon population. The birds nest on the taller buildings
downtown, but venture outward to nab pigeons and ducks.
There. Not a bad bit of breakfast birding. Whoa! Time to get to
work.
Directions: Take I-794 E from I-43 and peel L/N onto N Lincoln
Memorial Dr when the four-lane disintegrates at the lake. Follow N
Lincoln Memorial north for a mile-and-a-half and North Point
(-87.87850, 43.058781)/Bradford Beach will appear on your R. The
first L past North Point is Ravine Rd (-87.86793, 43.06872)