Happy Pie and Football Day!
May all your planes be on time, the highways clear and the pie plentiful!
Next week: Dec 8 at Lakeshore State Park
Subscribe! Each week the blog will land in your email with where we’ll be birding next
Milwaukee Birding News:
Learn more birds! Cornell Bird Academy has a deal on classes, many are 50% off through Friday 11/29. Buy once and have access forever. I revisit the warbler class every year.
2025 Bird Calendars. Looking for a calendar for 2025? Consider one featuring Wisconsin birds:
Aldo Leopold Wisconsin Phenology Calendar
Lake Michigan Bird Observatory Calendar
Nicole Seward Nature Photography – needs to be pre-ordered now
Schlitz Audubon Raptor Calendar
Have a 2025 nature or bird calendar to add to this list? Put it in the comments
Christmas Bird Count routes are being assigned:
Saturday, Dec 14
Northern Milwaukee County, reach out to Norma, robnz54@gmail.com, for a route
County Grounds in Wauwatosa. The 4th Annual Milwaukee County Grounds Christmas Bird Count is on Saturday, December 14th, 2024. Pre-dawn shift listening for owls from 6:00-8:00am and then a 9:00-11:00am walking count. Details and registration link: https://tosahistory13.wixsite.com/tosa/signup
Urban Ecology Center – all sites. Details and registration HERE
BIPOC Milwaukee CBC with Nearby Nature at Hopkin’s Hollow Details and registration HERE
Sunday, Dec 15
Southern Milwaukee County, contact Carol Howard, carol.howard@milwaukeecountywi.gov, for a route on Sunday, Dec 15
Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is one of the longest-running citizen science efforts in the United States. It began as a replacement for Christmas bird hunt competitions. Instead of bagging birds, birders tally everything seen and heard within an assigned area. One hundred years of December data has been used to study bird population decline and species shifts. Be a part of a fun and significant bird count event!
For additional SE Wisconsin Bird Walks – scroll all the way down!
Last Week:
We joined up with the Milwaukee Freaks Bird and Botany Club at Lynden Sculpture Gardens. Esther Portnoy, Associate Land Manager, told us the property’s history and introduced us to many of the trees and art as we walked the grounds. While she was talking, observant birders John and Lisa spotted two Red-headed Woodpeckers. We were a large group, spreading out as we walked. many of us saw the Red-bellied Woodpecker and American Goldfinches, but only some of us noted a White-throated Sparrow, Juncos, and Hermit Thrush. A favorite was the Daniel Minter project, Muti, an installation “inspired by the plight of ash trees”. It was a fun morning, many thanks to Sarah and Esther for inviting us to join them.
eBird List: https://ebird.org/checklist/S203474725
pic: Lisa Miller
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 (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.
Milwaukee Parks that need birding this week (Click on the triangle if you don’t see this week’s list)
- Honey Creek Pkwy #2,3,4
- Johnstone Park
- Little Menomonee River Pkwy #2
- Maitland Park (last time on list for the year)
- Menomonee River Parkway #7
- Milwaukee River Pkwy #5
- Wyrick Park (last time on list for the year)
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 FREE Bird Walks:
Sundays 8:30am Milwaukee Birders
Location varies – see this week’s location above.
Free walks – open to all levels of birders
Sundays 9:00am (Note winter time)
Wisconsin Metro Audubon Society Bird Walk (WMAS)
Wehr Nature Center 9701 W College Ave. Mix of mulched, wooded, grass and boardwalk paths
NEW** Mondays 8:00am Estabrook Park
4600 Estabrook Parkway
With Andy of Signs of Life in Estabrook Park, meet in the north parking lot. Mulched and dirt paths, stairs to river path
Tuesdays 8:00am Menomonee Valley
Urban Ecology Center (UEC),
3700 W Pierce St
Mostly paved trails
Wednesdays 8:00am Washington Park
Urban Ecology Center (UEC)
4023 W Galena St
Mostly grass and paved paths
Thursdays 8:00am Riverside Park
Urban Ecology Center (UEC)
1500 E Park Place
Mulched and dirt paths. Stairs to river
**Except for December: It will be first Saturday, Dec 7**
Second Saturdays 11:00 am Lake Park Duck Watch
Meet on the east side of Lincoln Memorial Drive between Bradford Beach and Linwood Water Treatment Plant
Third Saturdays 8:00am Schlitz Audubon Nature Center 1111 E Brown Deer Rd, Registration requested https://www.schlitzaudubon.org/calendar/
Check out Chirp Chat episodes by Xcaret Nuñez. It’s all about birding Milwaukee area on WUWM last Wednesday of the month
See a list of nearby bird clubs
Upcoming Area Bird walks:
Have a birding event to share? Let me know, email us on the Contact Page
Walks listed are FREE unless noted. Please register if requested
December
Waterbirds of the Cedarburg Bog with John O’Donnell
Thursday, December 12, 1:00-2:00
Riveredge Nature Center
The Cedarburg Bog Important Bird Area (IBA) is a mosaic of dry and wet habitats. In this presentation, the primary focus will be on resident and migratory bird species using the wet habitats of the bog, e.g., cedar swamp, hardwood swamp, conifer bog, string bog, sedge meadow, willow/alder/dogwood swamp, and six glacial relict lakes surrounded by emergent vegetation. Much of the Bog has boreal features that attract species not typically breeding anywhere else in southern Wisconsin. Special attention will be given to these species as well as to recent arrival species looking for a new home.
Part of the FREE Science Thursday Lecture series. Please register HERE
Owl Prowl for Adults
Friday, December 13, 7:00-9:00 pm. $7-12
Wehr Nature Center
Join a naturalist for an evening out with the owls. An interactive program will highlight the habits and adaptations of our nocturnal neighbors. Then we will walk the trails listening and looking for great-horned and Eastern screech owls.
Fee: $12 per person; $10 for Milwaukee County residents; $7 for Friends of Wehr (FOW) members; $5 parking fee applies for non-FOW members.
Online registration is required two days prior to the program. https://www.wehrnaturecenter.com/event/owl-prowl-for-adults-wehr/
Milwaukee Birders 