Sunday June 2 8:00 Cudahy Nature Preserve 501 E College Ave in Oak Creek. Called Cudahy Woods SNA in eBird has a Beech forest and a lowlands hardwood area with a total of 1 mile of trails. Edee Daniels of a Wealth of Nature blog recently wrote about it being part of Old-Growth Forest Network

Part two of Sunday morning will be checking out Wilson Park. With woods, grassy fields and a pond we should be able to round out out morning bird lists. Wilson Park is at Howard Ave and South 13th. Entrance to the parking lot is off of 13th.

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Native Plant Sales:
June 1 Wehr Nature Center from 10-1
June 9 Schlitz Audubon Nature Center from 9-1

What was your spark bird? WUWM Chirp Chat wants to know! Take a minute and tell them

For additional SE Wisconsin Bird Walks – scroll all the way down!

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Last Week:
We had a wonderful and wet boat ride through Horicon Marsh. A few of us started at the Palmatory Overlook. We both overlooked and walked down to checkout the impoundment ponds. We were able to see numerous swallows, Black Terns, Dunlin, Pelicans, a Black-Necked Stilt, close-up of a Marsh Wren and more (List). This a great Horicon stop with restrooms and a covered picnic area that has views of the marsh. It connects to the main building with a 2-mile trail.

With cups of hot coffee we boarded the pontoon boat at Blue Heron Landing. The bench seats were comfortable and we all had good views. While the sky was pretty overcast, we left with hopes that the rain would hold off for two hours. Many swallows of all flavors were there to start our trip. Going under the bridge we could see Cliff Swallows on nests. Soon it was all the expected birds: Great-Blue Herons, Kingbirds, Yellow Warblers, Common Yellowthroats, American White Pelicans, Double-crested Cormorants (List). Just a lot of birds and fun. At the turnaround point, the rain really got going. We huddled under the covered portion of the boat while our captain took us back.

Even though we were a little wet in spots and a tad cold, we drove over to Ledge Road to see what was there. By now the rain was steady and the birds were laying low. We did not spend a lot of time there. Old Marsh Road opens this weekend, we’ll be heading back out to walk(or bike) along there. Stay tuned for those dates.

Milwaukee parks that need birding this week

The county tracks every parkland and records to see if there are surveys recorded on eBird. Every year they identify priority parks by week. A park could be a priority because there are no surveys done in that week; or because there are surveys but they think there may be more species there than previously identified.

Based on the spreadsheet they create, Wisconsin Metro Audubon Society curates suggested locations based on accessibility to the property (some of the parkway locations are difficult to access) and availability on the ebird hotspots tool. Click on the triangle to see this week’s list.

Milwaukee Parks that need birding this week

• Barnard Park
• Cambridge Woods
• Chippewa Park
• Currie Park
• Dineen Park
• Doyne Park
• Franklin Savanna (wear rubber boots)
• Madison Park
• Melody View Preserve
• Mitchell Blvd Park
• Oak Creek Pkwy #1 (called Oak Creek Parkway Trail in ebird)
• Pulaski- Cudahy
• Pulaski – Milwaukee
• Rawson Park
• Root River Pkwy #10
• Southwood Glen

Please track your time spent! At the end of the year WMAS provides hours to the county. Find a park and a park map: https://county.milwaukee.gov/EN/Parks/Explore/Find-a-Park

Note- even if it’s already been birded this week, going another day (or a different time of day) helps. The parks department has a number of surveys it wants for each park, so birding more than once this week is very helpful!

Ongoing Bird Walks:

Sundays 8:00am Wisconsin Metro Audubon Society Bird Walk (WMAS)
Wehr Nature Center 9701 W College Ave. No registration required.

Second Sundays 10:00-11:30am The Art of Birding with Chuck Stebelton at Lynden Sculpture Gardens will run April through August. Register for walks HERE by the Friday before

Tues 8:00am Menomonee Valley Urban Ecology Center (UEC), 3700 W Pierce St
Wed 8:00am Washington Park Urban Ecology Center (UEC) 4023 W Galena St
Thurs 8:00am Riverside Park Urban Ecology Center (UEC) 1500 E Park Place

Fridays 7:30am Riveredge Nature Center Migration Bird Walks in May

Fridays 8:00am Bird walks at Retzer Nature Center walks with Goss Bird Club

Third Saturdays 8:00am Schlitz Audubon Nature Center 1111 E Brown Deer Rd, Registration required, https://www.schlitzaudubon.org/event/saturday-morning-bird-walk-15/

Saturdays 7:00am Goss Bird Club bird around Waukesha County. See Field Trip Schedule – Next event Saturday at Monches Woods

Saturdays 8:30 Lake Park Warbler walks run April 20 through end of May

Check out Chirp Chat episodes all about birding Milwaukee

Nearby Bird Clubs to checkout:
Benjamin F. Goss Bird Club meets at Retzer Nature Center.
Hoy Audubon Society meets in Racine
Ozaukee Washington Birding Coalition meets at Riveredge Nature Center, Lac Lawrann in West Bend, Mequon Nature Preserve and Cedarburg Bog
Schlitz Audubon Nature Center Bird Club second Wednesday at 6:30pm
Wisconsin Metro Audubon Society (WMAS), third Wednesday at 7:00pm Wehr Nature Center

Upcoming:

Have a birding event to share? Let me know, share on the Contact Page

May

UWM Field Station at Cedarburg Bog starting in May. Click on class link for more information and to register:

1. Introduction to Bird Song, Thursdays 6:00-7:30pm, May 02 – June 06, 2024
2. Field Herpetology: Amphibians and Reptiles of Wisconsin, May 31-June 01, 2024
3. Sedges of Wisconsin, June 07-08, 2024
4. Experiences in Great Lakes Ethnobotany, June 28-29, 2024
5. Frolic, Fetch & Sketch, July 26-27, 2024
6. Got Algae? Algal Diversity of the Kettle Moraine, August 02-03, 2024
7. Wetland Delineation, August 09-10, 2024
8. Restoring Upland Plant Communities, August 23-24, 2024
9. Understanding Bird Populations and How They Change,
   Thursdays 6:00-7:30pm, September 12 – October 17, 2024

June

Black Birders Week Hike with Sierra Taliaferro and Nearby Nature
Saturday June 1 8:30am at Hopkins Hollow 4410 N Hopkins St
Honoring Black Birder’s Week, Nearby Nature is featuring a guided bird walk in Hopkins Hollow led by our illustrious board member Sierra Taliaferro. Black Birders Week got its start in 2020 as a way for Black Birders to help create a safe space in the outdoors for people of color. According to a press statement by http://www.BlackAFinSTEM, they seek to normalize the historically overlooked presence of Black birders, scientists and nature enthusiasts and make the natural sciences more inclusive, diverse and welcoming. We welcome all our friends to join us in this outing. Bring your binoculars or borrow a pair of ours. We’ll also be talking about our summer plans for wildlife monitoring and land stewardship. Please register here: https://forms.gle/7Qxw6EY974vmKbpo8
We are starting early, both to see more birds, but also so we can join the Promise Zone Bike Ride at 10 am

Cicadas!
Walworth County, Big Foot Beach State Park
1550 S Lake Shore Drive, Lake Geneva, WI 53147
Date TBA – Tentative 6/1/24  or  6/8/24 – 11:00 AM – 1:30  PM
We will be meeting at the park. Send an email to wimetrobird@gmail.com to receive updates.
Register on this Form: https://shorturl.at/FZ249

2024 is an especially exciting year for the 17 year cicada. This year Brood XIII will emerge in Northern Illinois and a few areas in the Lake Geneva, WI area. According to Cicada Mania, not since the Thomas Jefferson presidency (1803) has a 13 year cicada, Brood XIX also emerged in Illinois and Indiana at the same time.

WSO Field Trip Northern Kettle Moraine
Saturday June 1
Details and registration HERE

Birding Exploration
Sunday June 2 8:00-9:30am Schlitz Audubon Nature Center
$17-23
This outdoor hike led by Schlitz Audubon naturalists will teach you how to locate and identify birds from our trails. We will focus on identification characteristics such as size, shape, color, pattern, behavior, song, and habitat preference. You will also learn how to practice looking and listening for birds to get a better view without disturbing them. https://www.schlitzaudubon.org/event/birding-exploration/

Cedar Grove Ornithology Reserve at Lac Lawrann Nature Conservancy in West Bend
Wednesday, June 12 7:00-8:30pm
“The History, Research, Thrills and Surprise Findings at the Cedar Grove Ornithological Research Station” by station manager Danny Erickson. The western shore of Lake Michigan has long been known to concentrate birds of prey during their annual southward migration each Fall. To study this movement, scientists long ago established the Cedar Grove Ornithological Research Station, the longest continuing raptor banding operation in North America, to band migrating raptors and track avian migratory trends. Erickson will discuss CGORS history, the thrills of raptor migration and the exciting research findings helping us to better understand and conserve raptors in the western Great Lakes region.
More info and Zoom link: https://www.riveredgenaturecenter.org/event/owbc-cedar-grove-ornithology-reserve/

Stroll with a Naturalist: Birding by Ear
Thursday June 13 10:00am-12:30pm Riveredge Nature Center
https://www.riveredgenaturecenter.org/event/stroll-with-a-naturalist-birding-by-ear/

Milwaukee Public Museum BioBlitz
June 21-22 Mequon Nature Preserve
Twenty-four hours of documenting all biologic species on site. More about it here: https://www.mpm.edu/bioblitz

Stroll with a Naturalist: Nesting Birds
Thursday June 27 10:00am-12:30pm Riveredge Nature Center
https://www.riveredgenaturecenter.org/event/stroll-with-a-naturalist-nesting-birds-2/

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