Sunday, Feb 2, 8:30am Mequon Nature Preserve
Meet at the main parking lot
8200 W County Line Rd. Mequon, WI 53097
With woods, fields, and ponds Mequon Nature Preserve gets a great variety of birds year-round.

Will possibly be icy. Dress appropriately and use your best judgement on attending. Porta potty available. Building may not be open.
Recent eBird: https://ebird.org/hotspot/L345757/recent-checklists

Subscribe! Each week you’ll receive an email with where we’ll be birding next. Posts may go to your “Social” folder if using gmail.

Milwaukee Birding News:

The Second February Bird Trivia
Thursday, Feb 20 from 5:00-7:00pm
Wantable Cafe 123 E Walker St
Come with a team of up to 6 people or form one when you get there. If last year you were thinking, “I could write better questions than this!” or you have some category ideas. This is your chance! Reach out on the Contact page – we can write these questions

A Walk in the Park Join Milwaukee County Parks Foundation on the first Fridays for a walk in a park. More HERE

Still Birding to be had in the cold. Check out the walks below.

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

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Last Week:

Six of us joined the hockey families in the parking lot of Wilson Park. They headed into the cold rink, we stayed out in the cold air! We headed west to the shrub and tree edge where we found Robins, House Sparrows, and a few others. Between the cold, wind and Cooper’s Hawk flying above there was no reason for the birds to come out of the brush. East of South 20th St we walked the wooded path then followed the shore of the pond back around to 20th. We picked up a few more birds though it was not that birdy.

A quick stop at the Texas Ave Overlook to find some ducks was successful. A number of Greater Scaup, a few Common Goldeneyes and Red-breasted Mergansers were bobbing around out there. And a few of us got on a Harelquin Duck.

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 no surveys have been done for that week. Alternatively, it could be prioritized because there are surveys, but MKE Parks suspect more species might reside there than previously identified.
Pick a park, bird, eBird it and note time spent there.

• Dretzka Park
• Honey Creek #2
• Maitland
• Menomonee River Parkway #7
• Pulaski Park (Milwaukee)

Based on the spreadsheet MKE Parks 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.

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

Find a park and a park map: https://county.milwaukee.gov/EN/Parks/Explore/Find-a-Park

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
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

NEW** Second and fourth Fridays 8:30am for January 10 and 24 at Kelly Senior Center in Warnimont Park,
6100 S Lake Dr, Cudahy
Meet-up by the Senior Center. A mix of paved and grassy trails. Mostly flat. Parking also available at Warnimont Dog Park immediately south of Kelly Senior Center

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

Second Sundays 8:30-10:00am Birding at Lakeshore State Park. Meet at the south park entrance. All ages and abilities welcome.

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 89.7 last Wednesday of the month

See a list of nearby bird clubs

Upcoming Area Bird Talks & walks:

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

February

Owling at Paradise Valley
Sunday, February 2
Join Madison and Milwaukee BIPOC Birders as they bird Paradise Valley and watch for Short-eared Owls. Details HERE

Get Ready for the Great Backyard Bird Count
Thursday, Feb 6 Free
Schlitz Audubon Nature Center
A virtual program of the images and sounds of local birds to help you identify some expected species in our area and discuss techniques to encourage birds to visit our backyard.
Details: https://www.schlitzaudubon.org/event/get-ready-for-the-great-backyard-bird-count-2/

Duck Watch at Winter Break Milwaukee
Saturday, February 8 12:00-2:00pm
Bradford Beach south end
A duck watch will be one of the many outdoor activities offered at Winter Break MKE. Learn to use a scope and check out the ducks that spend winter on balmy Lake Michigan. More on Winter Break MKE

Women and Girls in Science-Milwaukee
Sunday, February 9
Kosciuszko Community Center
Birding is Citizen Science! This is a family event about female STEAM pioneers and their contributions to our world! Advance registration required. Details HERE

Ozaukee-Washington Bird Coalition: The Cedarburg Bog – Formation, Hydrology, Ecology, and Uniqueness
Wednesday, February 12 7:00-9:00pm
Virtual presentation
Presented by Jim Reinartz, president of the Friends of the Cedarburg Bog and former UWM Field Station director. Glaciation of the Cedarburg Bog and UWM Field Station area created pronounced topographic relief in the Bog’s basin and adjacent uplands comparable to that in the Kettle Moraine. The large size and slope of the wetland that developed in the low-lying basin results in a complex pattern of water movement responsible for a mosaic of nearly every major wetland plant community found in Wisconsin.  Details HERE

Bird Walk at Winter Break Milwaukee
Saturday, February 15 1:00-2:00pm
Havenwoods State Park
Take a bird walk at Havenwoods and learn some of our winter birds, Beginner- and family-friendly. More on Winter Break MKE

Riveredge Bird Club Field Trip
Saturday, February 15
A lake front field trip for gulls, ducks, and more!
Details: https://riveredgenaturecenter.org/event/bird-club-field-trip-in-ozaukee-sheboygan-washington-counties/

Waukesha County – Excellent Nearby Birding, a talk by Tim Hahn
Wednesday, Feb 19 at Wehr Nature Center with WMAS
Wisconsin Metro Audubon Society (WMAS) meets the third Wednesday evening of the month. Consider going and joining the bird club, Details HERE

** Follow Bird City Milwaukee on Facebook!