May! What we’ve all been waiting for! With mass migrations of warblers and shorebirds, the return of flycatchers and vireos, rarities everywhere, and 70+ species days, there’s always somewhere to go in May.

Lake Park/Linnwood Water Treatment Plant

Lake Park can practically get any non-shorebird migrant that comes through, with rarities abounding throughout the month. This is also one of the best parks to go when a “fallout” occurs, as the golf course can be covered with birds.

Key species: Cerulean Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush, Connecticut Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, Kentucky Warbler (and all other normally occurring warblers), Northern Mockingbird, Grasshopper Sparrow, Henslow’s Sparrow, LeConte’s Sparrow, Lark Sparrow, Harris’s Sparrow, Pileated Woodpecker, Summer Tanager, White-eyed Vireo, Lazuli Bunting, Yellow-headed Blackbird.

Grant Park

At Grant, Wil-o-way is great for a variety of warblers. The tennis court pond gets herons (Yellow-crowned Night-Heron this year), and the beach is a good place to check for shorebirds on a day when the inland hotspots aren’t flooded. Piping Plovers have been spotted here in the past but not for a couple of years now.

Key species: Yellow-throated Warbler, Connecticut Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush (and all other normally occurring warblers), Dunlin, Ruddy Turnstone, Semipalmated Plover, Piping Plover, Black-bellied Plover, Whimbrel, American Avocet, Long-billed Dowitcher, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, Pileated Woodpecker, Northern Mockingbird, Laughing Gull, Franklin’s Gull, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Harris’s Sparrow, Summer Tanager.

Warnimont County Park/Sheridan Park

Warnimont, along with Bender Park, is one of the most reliable places in the county to find a Yellow-breasted Chat, which has been a yearly visitor among the two parks in recent years. Sheridan is great for warblers along the bluffs, and the pond can get rails, rarer herons, and a… Black-bellied Whistling-Duck!

Key species: Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Connecticut Warbler, Cerulean Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, Prairie Warbler (and all other normally occurring warblers), Yellow-breasted Chat, White-eyed Vireo, Bell’s Vireo, American White Pelican, Summer Tanager, Blue Grosbeak, Northern Mockingbird, LeConte’s Sparrow, Lark Sparrow, Henslow’s Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow.

Wehr Nature Center

Wehr is the most reliable spot for Mourning and Prothonotary Warblers in the county. The log jam and warbler bridge areas are loaded with warblers each May, and recently the flowering trees at the intersection of College and 92nd street have been very good as well, although all these areas get quite crowded with photographers, and it can be more productive to search for birds elsewhere if you want room to wander.

Key species: Cerulean Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush, Prothonotary Warbler (and all other normally occurring warblers), Yellow-breasted Chat, Northern Mockingbird, Summer Tanager, White-eyed Vireo.

Oak Creek Pkwy #15/Root River Pkwy #18

This is the one inland shorebird spot that you don’t need a scope for. It was also one of the most reliable places for Bobolink last year.

Key species: Dunlin, Short-billed Dowitcher, Long-billed Dowitcher, Stilt Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Semipalmated Plover, Black-bellied Plover, American Golden-Plover, Pectoral Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Bobolink.

Oak Creek Pkwy #8/Pennsylvania Avenue

Black – Root River Pkwy #13, Blue – Pennsylvania Avenue, Red – Root River Pkwy #18

On the days when it’s flooded, Pennsylvania is a good place check for rare shorebirds. A great inland trip for shorebirds is Root River Pkwy #13, Pennsylvania, and Root River Pkwy #18, which should turn up all expected shorebirds in the month.

Key species: Black-bellied Plover, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Dunlin, Pectoral Sandpiper, Short-billed Dowitcher, Long-billed Dowitcher, Willet, Wilson’s Phalarope, White-rumped Sandpiper, Stilt Sandpiper, Solitary Sandpiper, Marbled Godwit, American Bittern, Sora.

Milwaukee Lakeshore Beaches (McKinley, Bradford, Lakeshore SP)

As mentioned in April, Lakeshore usually gets Avocets and/or Godwits in late April or early May. McKinley will get the usual suspects, and the Breakwall and Bradford have gotten Piping Plovers the past few years (not visible data on Ebird). Oddly enough, the beaches have been quite reliable for rarer sparrows the past few years as well.

Key species: American White Pelican, Sanderling, Dunlin, Ruddy Turnstone, Marbled Godwit, Hudsonian Godwit, Semipalmated Plover, Piping Plover, Short-billed Dowitcher, American Avocet, Least Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Franklin’s Gull, Sora, Lark Sparrow, Yellow-headed Blackbird.