CORRECTION: SATURDAY, Oct 7
No organized walk Sunday this week

Choose your start time, length of sit and location:
Wehr Nature Center 7:00am-Noon
OR
Forest Beach Migratory Preserve 6:30am-6:30pm

Wehr Nature Center with Wisconsin Metro Audubon Society
9701 W College Avenue Franklin
7:00am-Noon, Come anytime, stay as long as you want
Join us for part or all of our big sit! A big sit is where we hang out in one spot and tally up the birds we see while there. This is a global big day activity. Meet at the 2nd dock (not the white one, the next one). We will have a scope and a couple of extra binoculars. Beginners welcome! The nature center opens at 8:30 (restrooms etc). Parking in the lot is free for Friends of Wehr members, otherwise $5.

AND/OR

Forest Beach Migratory Preserve
4970 Country Club Rd., Port Washington
Beginning 6:30 a.m. – Come anytime, stay as long as you want
The Noel J. Cutright Bird Club, in cooperation with the Western Great Lakes Bird and Bat Observatory, will host its 15th annual “Big Sit!” at Forest Beach Migratory Preserve, five miles north of Port Washington, on Saturday, Oct.7. The count will begin at 6:30 a.m. on the Bill Cowart Memorial Hawk Watch Platform at the northeast corner of the preserve. If the simple joy of birding is not enough to attract your participation, those arriving for the early morning shift will find bagels and donuts on hand. BYO on beverages. Not an early bird yourself? Arrive anytime and stay as long as you can.
“Big Sit!” events are held at multiple locations each Fall in Wisconsin as part of an annual, international, noncompetitive birding event held during the second weekend in October. The “Big Sit!” is like a “Big Day” or a birdathon in that the object is to tally as many species as can be seen or heard within 24 hours. The difference lies in the area limitation from which you may observe. Some people have called it a “tailgate party for birders.” Find a good spot for bird watching, preferably one with good views of a variety of habitats. Next, create a real or imaginary circle 17 feet in diameter and sit inside the circle for as long as 24 hours, counting all the bird species you see or hear and recording them via eBird. The Sit’s 17-foot circle is on the perfectly-sized hawk watch platform.
Forest Beach Migratory Preserve is one of the largest tracts of open land remaining in Ozaukee County along Lake Michigan. Since 2007, birders have recorded a total of 262 species at Forest Beach. The 116-acre site and its unique location and geography make it a great place to stage a Big Sit. Join us for a half- hour, or a half-day, or more — whatever suits your fancy and your schedule!

Finding the Hawk Watch Platform. Start in parking lot (A) follow trail to platform (B)

Report and Follow-up from last week

It was beautiful Sunday – clear skies, perfect temps! And golly, did we have birds! We hadn’t gone too far into the Striech Family Wetlands when we began hearing “spring is here.” We soon saw 4 Eastern Meadowlarks! Our attention was quickly spun to a Pileated Woodpecker. In between, we had a mystery bird – every good bird walk has a mystery – see Jeff’s picture below.

It is a Bobolink! A beautiful bird, even without the the dramatic breeding coloration. We had seen the Pileated fly north and we followed heading up the hill. Soon after entering Harvey’s Woods we saw two Pileateds! Near the tower two accipiters circled over head. Final surprise came when we were counting Mallards. A startled American Bittern flew from the south edge of Christine’s Painted Pond. There were also Red-Winged Blackbirds, American Robins and American Goldfinches. See our full list here: hh (those of you there last week, I shared a new list with the added Bobolink including Jeff’s pics)

Ongoing Bird Walks:

Saturdays 8:30am Fall Warbler Walks Lake Park 2975 Lake Park Rd. Meet at bird feeder south of playground Duck Watch will start in November – details to follow
Sundays 8:00am Wisconsin Metro Audubon Society Bird Walk Wehr Nature Center 9701 W College Ave
Tuesdays 8:00am Urban Ecology Center, Menomonee Valley 3700 W Pierce St
Wednesdays 8:00am Urban Ecology Center Washington Park 4023 W Galena St
Thursdays 8:00am Urban Ecology Center Riverside Park 1500 E Park Place

Upcoming Events:

Saturday Oct 14, Fall World Migratory Bird Day
Jackson Park
8:00am-Noon, Come anytime, stay as long as you want
Come help us interest new birders! We’ll have spotting scopes and extra binoculars and need help showing people how to use them. Play “What’s This Bird?” Share information about the importance of clean water for migrating birds.
If you can ID a cardinal and are enthusiastic about birding – you can help! Contact Donna or Katie for more info!