Tag Archives: BadgerlandBirding

2019 Birding Blog

Birding Rainy Milwaukee

May 3, 2019 rmsallmanngmailcom Leave a comment

On a cold Thursday in May, a report came through of Willets and American Avocets at Lakeshore State Park in Milwaukee. In spite of the fact that the temperature was in the 40s and a steady rain poured over the entirety of southern Wisconsin, we decided to brave the weather and go see these annual, but still difficult to find birds.

When we arrived we could see numerous Herring Gulls dotting the grass and sand but couldn’t make out anything that looked like shorebirds. As we got closer, we noticed two dark shapes a few feet out from the beach. We were excited to see that these were American Avocets. We then noticed a group of five Willets that were tucked behind a large boulder and just now coming out. We stayed to enjoy these interesting birds for as long as we could until we were soaked to the point where we feared that our cameras would get too waterlogged.

We moved up the coast of Milwaukee to McKinley Beach. Here we found many Caspian Terns and two significantly smaller Common Terns. Also out over the water were hundreds of migrating Double-crested Cormorants.

Further north, we surveyed the area near Linwood treatment plant where we had a nice variety of sparrows including Swamp, Savannah, Song, and White-crowned. We also located Hermit Thrushes, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Bonaparte’s Gulls, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and our first of year Black and White Warbler. Perhaps the biggest surprise was a lone male Bobolink calling from a large tree. I have had them in this location before so perhaps its a more common area for them than I realize.

Our final stop of the afternoon was Lake Park. Here we found White-crowned Sparrows, Northern Flickers, more Hermit Thrushes, and a Brown Thrasher. In the trees was a large group of warblers but the persistent rain and dark sky made them appear to be nothing more but black shadows against gray. A few of them dropped low enough for us to start distinguishing some features. The only non yellow-rumped in the group was an Orange-crowned Warbler. At this location, the most interesting bird was a Wilson’s Snipe that was feeding in some of the puddles in the grass.

Overall, for such a nasty weather day, we had a pretty good time birding. Even so, we were happy to go back home and change into some dry clothes.

2018 Birding Blog

Horicon Marsh in Early August

August 15, 2018 rmsallmanngmailcom Leave a comment

On Saturday, I met Derek up at Horicon Marsh. Lately, the best shorebird habitat has been at Horicon and some rare species have been located. One of the rarest has been the a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper that has been seen off and on for the past week. While the sandpiper didn’t make an appearance there was still plenty to see.

When I arrived on highway 49 I saw an incredibly large number of birds on the mudflats to the south. Many were too far out to identify, but some of the closer birds turned out to be decent finds. Some notables were Wilson’s Phalaropes, Black-necked Stilts, and Short-billed Dowitchers.

On the north side of highway 49 were many Great Egrets and Great-blue Herons feeding on fish left behind by the drying water. Among the Egrets and Herons was a single Snowy Egret (a rare bird for the state with only a few reports each year). A few Least Sandpipers and Killdeer were also present.

After another quick scan of the south side oh 49 yielded no new birds, Derek headed out while I continued to the Auto Tour. I parked in the Auto Tour lot and walked down Old Marsh Road. Within 50 feet of walking I noticed a Least Bittern perched up on the reeds. This was the closest I had ever been to a Least Bittern so even though they aren’t rare it was a nice surprise. Farther down the road I added Sora, Virginia Rail, and Black Tern to my day list. On the way out of the auto tour I located a juvenile Common Gallinule.

Overall, I found several year birds with the Snowy Egret being the rarest. While the Sharp-tailed Sandpiper couldn’t be found, it was still a great day to be out.

2018 Birding Blog, Chasing Birds

Isabella, Minnesota: Search for the Boreal Chickadee

March 2, 2018 rmsallmanngmailcom Leave a comment

On our second day in Minnesota we ventured north in search of the elusive Boreal Chickadee. Our destination was the tiny town of Isabella where the highest congregation of e bird reports were. After a two hour drive, the clear skies of Duluth had given way to a windy blizzard.

As we drove the back roads we saw few birds other than a few Black-capped Chickadees, American Crows, and Common Ravens. We did have an exciting sighting of a pure white Snowshoe Hair which most of us had never seen before.

We finally arrived at the Isabella Café where several reports of Boreal Chickadees had been logged. We walked around the café and saw some Black-capped Chickadees which gave us hope that Boreal Chickadees may not be far behind. We located two very friendly Gray Jays that came right up to us and ate scraps left out by the restaurant. A singing Pine Grosbeak flew in to check us out for a few minutes as well.

After failing to find what we were looking for we continued on the snow covered back roads of northern Lake County stopping and listening any time we found nice looking habitat. After many stops without hearing a sound, Derek spotted a Boreal Chickadee. We excitedly got out of the car and tried getting photos and videos of the fast moving chickadee. We noticed not one but two of them flitting around in the trees. Almost as soon as they had arrived, they departed back into the thick conifers.

We had to work extremely hard to find our target bird but on the way back we marveled at the fact that we were actually able to find not one but two of these birds. Overall, our trip to Minnesota went better than any of us had anticipated and we went home content with our weekend of birding.

2017 Birding Blog, Habitat Highlights

Boston Commons Birding

August 24, 2017 rmsallmanngmailcom Leave a comment

Badgerland Birding has officially reached the east coast. Boston, Massachusetts to be more specific. Even in the heart of one of the largest cities in the world there are birds to be found. Yesterday I stopped at the Boston Commons and Boston Public Gardens in search of some possible early migrants. The Boston Commons and Public Gardens are essentially the closest thing the city has to New York’s Central Park where there are ponds, grass, and trees. The two areas make up one large section of greenery in a sea of human civilization and are separated by a single road running in between.

The first birds I noticed were classic big city birds: The Rock Pigeon. These birds can be found all over the city and fly from building to building searching for scraps of food. Two other feral species were also present in large numbers, the European Starling and the House Sparrow. These three species easily made up over 75 percent of the individual birds in the Commons but there were some other more natural species as well. In the Public Garden the high pitched call of Cedar Waxwings could be heard. In the trees near the Waxwings were some warblers including Yellow, Black-and-white, and two feisty Common Yellowthroats that kept chasing Common Grackles away from their tree.

The trees where most of the birds were congregating surrounded a lagoon that also played host to many birds. Most of the birds on the water were Mallards but some Double-crested Cormorants were able to find spots to dry their wings. Also in the area was a single Mute Swan. The swan didn’t appear injured but was still on the lagoon later in the day so it may be a regular visitor.

Late in the day when the sun was starting to go down, I went back to look at some of the monuments and statues near the lagoon and the garden was buzzing with the chattering of hundreds of Chimney Swifts flying overhead.

Overall, the birds at the Boston Commons and the Boston Public Gardens were numerous, but the diversity was lacking. The area provides a stop for migrant birds flying over stretches of city and creates a permanent home for other birds more accustomed to urbanization.

2017 Birding Blog

Top 5 Most Annoying Things That Can Happen On Your Birding Trip

August 18, 2017 Dereksallmann 1 Comment

Birding is a great thing. It takes people to places they wouldn’t normally go to see and lets people get in touch with the natural world. While birding can be extremely fun, there are some annoying things that can happen when birding. Here are the top five most annoying things that happen when birding for photographers and birders alike.

5. The Bird Won’t Sit Still

We’ve all been there. The Golden-crowned Kinglet was perched out in the open, on the branch overhanging the creek. Light shimmering down illuminate the colors on the top of the head in just the perfect way. Just as you press the button to take the shot, into the brush he goes. You spend the next twenty minutes trying to get a nice picture but end up with only blurry, obscured photos, and a solid “butt-shot.” But you’re also convinced the next picture will be “the one”.

4. Empid Flycatchers

Even if you get a perfect picture of it, you still may not be able to tell exactly what species it is without hearing it call.

3. When The Bugs Are So Bad It Ruins Your Trip

It’s almost impossible to enjoy a birding trip when a million things are buzzing in your ear, dive bombing your head, and/or biting you. If you see the bird you’re looking for it’s worth it. If you don’t, you never want to go outside again.

2. YOU FORGOT YOUR SD CARD (or other piece of valuable equipment)

You finally get to your favorite shorebird spot and can see the hundreds of peeps moving around way out there. Time to get out the trusty scope. Uh oh…Why is it not in the back seat? You always double check that you have everything, but today you were so excited that you forgot! What a horrible day. (Or you just didn’t have your camera on you when that Northern Goshawk swoops in and sits for 10 minutes on the branch in front of you). No way your friends are gonna believe this one.

1. When You “Just Missed It”

Everyone’s been here before. You drive 6 hours to see a rare bird only to be told “it was just here 5 minutes ago, I’m sure it will come back”. But it never does. The group who had been watching it for the past hour is laughing and joking and having a grand old time while you sit there in silence, knowing if you’d skipped having that bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios this morning, you would have seen the dang thing. You drive home wondering “what could have been.”

Is there anything about birding that annoys you that we didn’t list? Mention it in the comments below.

2017 Birding Blog

Birds Of Watonwan County, Minnesota

July 6, 2017 rmsallmanngmailcom Leave a comment

This weekend I traveled to Watonwan County in Minnesota for a wedding. Based on the ebird statistics, Watonwan doesn’t appear to be birded very frequently with the exception of a few individuals. Due to wedding festivities my birding efforts were mostly incidental, but I was still able to get over 20 species in the short time I had.

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We stayed on a farm surrounded on all sides by corn fields. Driving down the long gravel driveway the first birds I noticed were the many Killdeer scurrying along the sides of the roads as we passed. Also on the roads were the occasional Horned Lark. Driving past the cornfields there wasn’t much in terms of avian life with the exception of the occasional Red-Winged Blackbird popping up from the low corn stalks or Barn Swallow flying overhead. The farm house was in a grove of trees creating a small forest island otherwise completely surrounded by fields. This small oasis was where the majority of the birds could be found. Black-Capped Chickadees, American Goldfinches, Downy Woodpeckers, Common Grackles, ad White-Breasted Nuthatches were routine feeder visitors and Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks and Baltimore Orioles were present but made fewer appearances.

The noisiest birds on the property were the House Wrens. They chattered from all sides of the house and occasionally perched out in the open, never for very long though. Some other loud species in the surrounding woods were the Great-Crested Flycatchers and Eastern Wood-Pewees. I could hear at least two of each species.

We drove a few miles down the county roads through the corn fields in order to get to some tennis courts in the small town of St. James. On the way, we stopped by a field where long grasses were growing and a small creek intersected the gravel road. This section of the road seemed to be the epicenter of bird activity as many Red-Winged Blackbirds were flying around the field and landing on the corn stalks that lined the edge of the field. A Belted Kingfisher suddenly perched up on a wire near the creek and an Eastern Kingbird landed in the middle of the road and caught an insect. At least two Dickcissel could be heard calling in the field. One of them ended up perching in a nearby deciduous plant.

We continued to the St. James tennis courts after watching the field for about ten minutes. Even when playing tennis I’m always keeping an eye on the birds. There were House Sparrows, Mourning Doves, and American Robins in the trees and other structures around the courts. Overhead there were six Chimney Swifts clicking and chattering.

In my limited time birding I came up with 26 species. None of them would be considered rare, but it was still a nice experience finding birds in the open fields of southern Minnesota.

2017 Birding Blog, Habitat Highlights

Retzer Nature Center In June

June 6, 2017 rmsallmanngmailcom Leave a comment

Yesterday I took a quick walk through one of my favorite local birding locations: Retzer Nature Center. Retzer is on a relatively small piece of land but has many types of habitat including deciduous woods, coniferous woods, and prairie. Many different bird species call Retzer home so birding there is always an enjoyable experience.

From the parking lot I started out walking south into the deciduous forest. After a short time I got eyes on a few Indigo Buntings calling in the trees and heard a few Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers. The wooded area has not been as good in recent years but Blue-Winged Warblers, Common Yellowthroats, and Eastern Towhees can often be found there.

I eventually walked out of the forest after tallying a few species and started up the large hill on the eastern part of the nature center. This area opens into an oak savanna with trees periodically pooping up out of the golden grasses. This is where I usually find the most bird numbers and diversity. Today was no exception. The first bird I spotted was a Field Sparrow hopping around the branches of a small Oak tree. Near the sparrow was a very chattery House Wren perched on a dead branch. Almost directly above me was an Eastern Kingbird that was kind enough to pose for a few photos.

I continued up the hill further where I found more Field Sparrows and heard some Eastern Bluebirds. One surprise was an immature Orchard Oriole perched on one of the top branches of a dead tree. Before this, i had never seen that species present before at the nature center.

I stopped at a bench at the top of the hill and listened for other field birds. I could easily hear the call of at least three Henslow’s Sparrows and the buzzing of Clay-Colored Sparrows. none of the Henslow’s decided to make an appearance but they are still fun to listen to. Off in the distance, the distinctive metallic and bubbly call of the Bobolink could be heard. They are annual nesters at Retzer and one of my favorite birds simply because of their interesting call. I was able to spot one up at the top of a medium sized oak.

I continued north on the hill to where a tractor lane intersects the trail. This is where I heard two calls out to west that I recognized as Dickcissel. Dickcissel are another species that has been known to nest at Retzer. They are very sensitive when nesting so I didn’t get too close. Fortunately one was calling from a tall tree that could get a clear view of.

After watching the Dickcissel for a few minutes I moved into the trail that cuts through the tall green grass on the east side of the hill. Here there were three more Henslow’s Sparrows calling, Tree Swallows, Savannah Sparrows, and more Bobolinks calling than I could keep track of. They were constantly flying up out of the grass while making their bubbling call and landing back in a different spot only to disappear completely.

I eventually headed out of the prairie and into another small wooded area near the parking lot. Here I heard and eventually caught a glimpse of an Eastern Towhee.

I left with a total of 24 species after just an hour of birding. Not a bad day at all bird wise and a great day to be out at one of my favorite local nature centers.