Sunday June 16 Mangan Woods. Park at the Ross Lodge lot off 92nd . If the small lot is full park across the street in the Whitnall lot.
We’re going to find some flycatchers! Trail map It is a fun park with lots of history, Eddee Daniels Wealth of Nature blog has a nice review.
eBird for Mangan Woods: https://ebird.org/hotspot/L3138774
Optional: Car caravan to SE corner of the Franklin Landfill at 112th and County Line for Dickcissels after birding Mangan Woods
Follow-Up Items:
Plenty of openings on Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin Field Trips: https://www.wisconservation.org/field-trips/
See all the upcoming Lakefront and Milwaukee festivals HERE
Butterfly and Dragonfly Count at Riveredge Nature Center on June 29
Many of the nature centers we visit are in the midst of their silent auction fundraisers. Browse these beautiful items, fun experiences and bid:
Glacial Lakes Conservancy
Schlitz Audubon Nature Center
Urban Ecology Center
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!
Last Week:
Beautiful blue skies, a gentle breeze and the sweet song of a Field Sparrow started our walk at Retzer Nature Center on June 9. The ten of us agreed to go straight to the Bobolinks. As we went up the south hill trail we could hear the fabulous R2D2 sounds. At the vista overlook we could see male and female Bobolinks flying about. We also spied Turkey Vultures, Wild Turkeys, a Sandhill Crane, Savannah Sparrow, Kingbirds and a few Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrels. We headed down the west side and wound through the woods, walked along Retzer Creek coming back to the parking lot from the pond. Their prairie flowers are ahead of ours with coneflowers blooming already.
In addition to a number of birds, we were treated to Fritillary butterflies getting some nutritional salts from a coyote dung pile, “they gain extra nitrogen and sodium which are needed for reproduction and are scarce in their typical sugary fare of flower nectar (Lederhouse et al. 1990)” (from https://naturenotesblog.blogspot.com/2017/08/why-do-butterflies-eat-dung.html)
eBird list: Retzer Nature Center
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
- Baran Park
Cudahy Park
Currie Park
Honey Creek Pkwy #2.3,4,5
Little Menomonee River #3,6
Kern Park
Menomonee River Pkwy #7,8
Pulaski- Cudahy
Pulaski – Milwaukee
Root River Pkwy #15
Uihlein Park
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 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 –
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 . Click on class link for more information and to register:
- Experiences in Great Lakes Ethnobotany, June 28-29, 2024
- Frolic, Fetch & Sketch, July 26-27, 2024
- Got Algae? Algal Diversity of the Kettle Moraine, August 02-03, 2024
- Wetland Delineation, August 09-10, 2024
- Restoring Upland Plant Communities, August 23-24, 2024
- Understanding Bird Populations and How They Change,
Thursdays 6:00-7:30pm, September 12 – October 17, 2024
June
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/
Return to Havenwoods State Forest with BIPOC
Saturday June 15 8:30-10:00
The inaugural Milwaukee area BIPOC Birding Club event was at Havenwoods, Wisconsin’s only urban state forest. We explored this beautiful land at the cusp of winter. Join us as we return in June to an area that has many nesting bird species including Willow Flycatchers, Bluebirds, many species of sparrows, Indigo Buntings and more. Our good BIPOC Birding Club magic vibes may get us good looks at the more elusive nesters such as Brown Thrashers, Black- and Yellow-billed Cuckoos, Soras, and Virginia Rails.
Continue onto the Nearby Nature event below….
Birds, Bats, Toads and Snakes Oh My!
Saturday June 15 at 1:00pm, Sunday June 16 at 2:00pm
Havenwoods State Park with Nearby Nature
In 2023 Nearby Nature Milwaukee began a comprehensive inventory of wildlife in Hopkins Hollow. The story of how this research was conducted is fascinating and the first-year results are very interesting. The combined data is not only fascinating, but will help us plan future habitat improvements as we start to develop a “biodiversity” plan for Lincoln Creek. We hope you’ll join us for this presentation! The research was funded, in part, by the Bird Protection Fund of the Natural Resources Foundation. More details HERE
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. Go to see the biologists at work and to bird anytime during the Bioblitz. Any eBird lists for MNP during that time will contribute data.
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/
Milwaukee Birders 