July 13, Lakeshore State Park 8:00-10:00am
Meet at the south end (red arrow on pic)
A great place to bird in any season: The lagoon by Summerfest grounds often has a number of ducks. The short grass prairies host a number of birds. The shrubs and trees hold lots of birdy visitors. In the summer, there are nesting Purple Martins, Eastern Bluebirds and Tree Swallows in the boxes.
eBird site: https://ebird.org/hotspot/L386716
Trails: Paved sidewalks, no elevation change.
Restrooms: PortaPotty available, Discovery World restrooms open after 9:00am
Website: https://friendslsp.org/events/
Join us! Walks are free and open to all levels of birders
Subscribe! Each week, you’ll receive an email with where we’ll be birding next. Posts may go to your “Social” folder if using gmail
Milwaukee Birding News:
SUMMER MID-WEEK BIRDING:
Horicon Marsh, Tuesday July 8 8:00am
Meet at the east end of Old Marsh Rd, along Point Rd (blue P on map)
We will either be walking all of Old Marsh Road from Point Rd (just north of Bud Cook Hiking Area) east to Egret Trail parking lot on the west. Or doing an out and back on portions of the east and west end. All the way is 3.5 miles of gravel surface and level terrain. Bring a hat, sunscreen, water, and bug spray.
Old Marsh Rd cuts through the northern part of Horicon Marsh, on the south side are large mud flats with shorebirds including Black-neck Stilts, Yellow-headed Blackbirds, a variety of sandpipers, herons, egrets and bitterns. Looking north off Old Marsh, are deeper ponds with swans, American White Pelicans, Coots, and more. Rarer birds we will hope for are Whooping Cranes and White-faced Ibis. Report from last summer’s WSO field trip on Old Marsh Rd
Carpool/Caravan. Meet at Estabrook Park Beer Garden lot at 6:40am
eBird: https://ebird.org/hotspot/L573127
Even Small Natural Spaces Matter for Birds. Yard rain gardens, hedgerows, and public swale gardens all help absorb rainwater and provide excellent food and cover to a variety of birds, butterflies, frogs, and other animals. The presence of these small, natural areas contributes to a healthy ecosystem and provides us with the delights of birds, fireflies, and natural plantings. We have a chance to help preserve one of these small natural areas in Whitefish Bay’s Cahill Park. Learn more about the project and send an email to village leaders. Thanks to Charlotte C for identifying, documenting and mobilizing to save this bit of wild!
Report dead birds to WI DNR. As we know Avian flu is spreading through duck flocks and other species. Help DNR track the virus by reporting numerous sick or dead birds on their website: https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/WildlifeHabitat/wildlifehealth
For additional SE Wisconsin Bird Walks – scroll all the way down!
Last Week:
What we learned last week: Pleasant View Neighborhood Park has Meadowlarks, the Starbucks at Drexel and 6th is a great spot to dry out, and that Rawson Gardens and the Runway Dog Park are closed to the public. The nice sherfiff we talked to said he’d be on the lookout for Boblinks, but we would not be. At this point, it was raining hard and we needed to regroup. After some coffee, we headed to Pleasant View Park and Burchbender Trail.
In the Pleasant View parking lot, the eleven of us were greeted by another squad car (this one just on break) and a singing Eastern Meadowlark. The tall grasses, clovers, milkweeds, and coneflowers along the paved trail, hid a Field Sparrow, Savannah Sparrows, Song Sparrows, and American Goldfinch. We also saw or heard Indigo Buntings, Northern Cardinals, Northern Flickers, Cedar Waxwings, Yellow Warblers, Eastern Kingbirds and Common Yellowthroats. Flyovers by Green and Great-blue Herons were fun to see as well. Merlin picked up Dickcissel and Bobolink at different times, but none of us saw one. The sky stayed overcast, while heat and humdity brought a sauna-like feel to the morning. We ended with 37 species between the two spots, that was three new species for Burchbender Trail and 13 new species for Pleasant View! See more pictures at Signs of Life at Estabrook Park.
Why are there so few places with Bobolinks? They have very specific wants: large grassy fields (under 30″ tall) with some leaf litter (less than 4″). They do not like woody edges, preferring lots of open space, at least 25 acres and 75 acres is better per the species Management Guidance from Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
eBird Burchbender Trail: https://ebird.org/checklist/S257611348
eBird Pleasant View Neighborhood Park: https://ebird.org/checklist/S257611357
Pic: John Kaspar
Pic John Kaspar
Pic John Kaspar
Ongoing FREE GUIDED Bird Walks:
Sundays Milwaukee Birders
Location and time varies – see this week’s location above.
Free walks – open to all levels of birders
Sundays 8:00am
Wisconsin Metro Audubon Society Bird Walk (WMAS)
Wehr Nature Center 9701 W College Ave. Mix of mulched, wooded, grass and boardwalk paths. Follow WMAS on Facebook for additional walk announcements
Second Sundays 8:00-10:00am Birding at Lakeshore State Park with Milwaukee Birders. Meet at the south park entrance. See Friends of LSSP for details. Walking on paved surfaces, maybe some uneven, grassy paths but can avoid those. Portapotty always open and Discovery World restrooms after 9:00. All ages and abilities welcome.
Mondays 8:00am Estabrook Park
4600 Estabrook Parkway
Meet in the north parking lot. Mulched and dirt paths, stairs to river path which can be muddy. Portapotty
Tuesdays 8:00am Menomonee Valley
Urban Ecology Center (UEC),
Please register: https://www.urbanecologycenter.org/calendar?
3700 W Pierce St
Mostly paved trails. Restrooms available
Wednesdays 8:00am Washington Park
Urban Ecology Center (UEC)
Please register: https://www.urbanecologycenter.org/calendar?
4023 W Galena St
Mostly grass and paved paths. Restrooms available
Thursdays 8:00am Riverside Park
Urban Ecology Center (UEC)
Please register: https://www.urbanecologycenter.org/calendar?
1500 E Park Place
Mulched and dirt paths. Stairs to river path which can be muddy. Restrooms available
Fridays 8:30am Warnimont Park,
6100 S Lake Dr, Cudahy
Meet-up by the Kelly Senior Center parking lot. A mix of paved and grassy trails that go through woods, fields and along the bluff for lake views. Mostly flat. Parking also available at Warnimont Dog Park immediately south of Kelly Senior Center. Seasonal bathrooms
Second Saturdays 8:30-10:30 Havenwoods
6141 N Hopkins St, Milwaukee
Join Milwaukee Birders at Havenwoods. State park sticker NOT needed. Meet in front of the building (Restrooms available). Binoculars available to borrow. Flat trails go along gravel, wood, grass and mulched paths. Walk wind through grassland, woods, along shrubby borders and to a pond. Really nice variety of birds. https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/parks/havenwoods
Third Saturdays, 8:00-9:15 Schlitz Audubon Nature Center
1111 E Brown Deer Rd, Bayside
Loop through woods, grasslands and around Mystery Lake for a variety of habitats. Free, registration required https://www.schlitzaudubon.org/calendar/
Check out Chirp Chat episodes by Xcaret Nuñez. It’s all about birding Milwaukee area on WUWM 89.7 last Wednesday of the month
Upcoming Area Bird Talks & walks Registration and fees:
Have a birding event to share? Let me know, email us on the Contact Page
july
Beginner Birding at UEC Washington Park
Saturday, July 19
Details and registration: https://www.urbanecologycenter.org/calendar/event?id=2782
Birding Pulaski Park with KK River Neighbors in Action sponsored by BIPOC Bird Club
Sunday, July 20
Led by Rita Flores-Wiskowski, details https://www.bipocbirdingclub.org/events/kk-river-neighbors
Birding Kozciusko Park with KK River Neighbors in Action sponsored by BIPOC Bird Club
Sunday, July 27
Led by Rita Flores-Wiskowski, details https://www.bipocbirdingclub.org/events/kk-river-neighbors-b8cfn
Urban Bird Hike at Lakeshore State Park
Sunday, July 27 from 4:00-5:00pm (South Entrance)
Lakeshore State Park is home to over 70 native and migratory species of birds, and the spring is an excellent time to spot some of our returning friends! Join us on a morning hike to learn the basics of bird watching and seek out some of these beautiful species. Each bird hike is unique as migration causes our residents to change throughout the year. All ages and abilities are welcome, meet at the park’s south entrance. We recommend bringing your own binoculars, but a small number are available to those who need them. Free, No Registration. Please inquire by June 26 to reserve a pair! Coordinates to the meeting point are 43.029180, -87.895858.
** Follow Bird City Milwaukee on Facebook!
Milwaukee parks that need birding this week
The county needs eBird records throughout the year for every park and natural area. Every week there are priority parks needing eBird lists. A park could be a priority because no surveys have been done for that week. Alternatively, it could be prioritized because there are surveys, but MKE Parks suspect more species might reside there than previously identified.
We can help MKE Parks! Pick a priority park, go bird, eBird it and note time spent there.
- For July 1-7
- Baran Park
- Currie Park
- Honey Creek Parkway 3,4
- Pulaski (Cudahy)
- Root River 15
- Servite Park
Based on the spreadsheet MKE Parks create, Wisconsin Metro Audubon Society (Thanks Colleen!) curates suggested locations based on accessibility to the property and availability on the ebird hotspots tool. Please track your time spent! At the end of the year WMAS provides hours to the county.
Follow Wisconsin Metro Audubon on Facebook for their weekly park posts.
Note- even if it’s already been birded this week, going another day or even a different time of day helps. The parks department wants a number of surveys for each park. Birding more than once in a week is very helpful!
Find a park and a park map: https://county.milwaukee.gov/EN/Parks/Explore/Find-a-Park
And our Waukesha Parks…
Share your ebird list with their ebird account: WaukeshaCountyBirding
JULY bird surveys needed at these locations- all are ebird hotspots
- Berg Property – free – address S102W33451 CTH LO should get you there or very close.
- Ashippun Lake (at the boat launch, no fee required)
- Ice Age Trail- Monches segment
- Monches County Park (pass or daily fee)
- Naga-Waukee Park (pass or daily permit fee required)
- New Berlin Recreation Trail – bike path from Greenfield Park to Waukesha!
- Mukwonago Park (pass or daily permit fee required- note they have camping!)
- Muskego Park (pass or daily permit- note they have camping!)
Milwaukee Birders 