Sunday, Feb 16, No scheduled walk

Participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count Observe and count birds in a park, trail or your backyard for at least 15b minutes at least one day between Friday February 14 Monday February 17and eBird what you see. That’s it! That’s all it takes to participate in a world wide bird count event.

Keep your feet dry, stay warm and count birds out your window!

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:

**** Next Week!

The Second February Bird Trivia
Thursday, Feb 20 from 5:30-8:30pm, Trivia starts at 6
Wantable Cafe 123 E Walker St
Come and socialize – put a face to all those eBird lists! Come with a team of up to 6 people. Or join a team that night.
Start studying: What birds use plant material stuck together with saliva to build their nests?

** Trivia and socializing free ** Drinks for purchase **

Registration on Eventbrite appreciated for set-up but not required

Tickets on sale now

From the program notes:
The Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters invites you to an inspiring evening with Christian Cooper, celebrated naturalist, Emmy-winning host of “Extraordinary Birder” and author of the New York Times bestselling memoir “Better Living Through Birding.” Cooper will share insights from his forthcoming book for young naturalists, “The Urban Owls: How Flaco and Friends Made the City Their Home,” which explores the fascinating lives of urban-dwelling owls.  

This event will explore how birds create connections—between people, communities and the natural world. Cooper will share his personal journey, his passion for birding, and reflections on the transformative power of nature in fostering inclusivity and understanding. Following his talk, Cooper will join Angela Russell, the Black Oxygen podcast and Chief Diversity Officer at TruStage, for an engaging conversation and audience Q&A. The evening will be emceed by Wisconsin Academy Executive Director Erika Monroe-Kane.

You know crows are smart, but did you know they are this smart? See Mark Roper prove they are very smart
https://www.youtube.com/embed/WMR5myqLlds?si=qtKphcBxz0VpxQl4

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

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Last Week:

A cold morning along Lake Michigan, but the wind was light and the sun was out. And what birds do we expect in February? Ducks and we had lots of ducks: Greater Scaup, Red-breasted Mergansers, Common Goldeneyes, several Redheads, a few Common Mergansers, and one male Bufflehead

As we were leaving about 50 gulls were swirling in the sky, then we saw the cause of the disturbance. A Bald Eagle soared from above the lake to over the park. Great last bird!

EBird List: https://ebird.org/checklist/S212670931

All pics by John Kaspar

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.

• Armour Park
• Barnard Park
• Chippewa Park
• Honey Creek Parkway # 3,4,5
• Mitchell Airport Park (ebird hotspot is Milwaukee Airport Park)
• Milwaukee River Pkwy 1
• Root River Pkwy #14,18 (no trails at either; 14 is calledd Root River Woods in ebird)
• St Martin’s Park

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 which can be muddy.
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 path which can be muddy

NEW** Second and fourth Fridays 8:30am for February 14 and 28 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 that go through woods, fields and along the bluff for lake views. 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. Walking on paved surfaces, maybe some uneven, grassy paths but can avoid those. 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

Learn About the eBird Review Process with Tim Hahn
Schlitz Audubon Bird Club
Wednesday, February 12 Free
For this month’s Audubon Bird Club, we’ll have Tim Hahn presenting about the review process used in eBird. It will be an interesting talk to see what happens after the data gets submitted. Here is the link for more information and to register.

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
To join meeting via Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89696644280?pwd=JFqzsrLtQgT5yORF8BhJZY60mUrA2y.1
Meeting ID: 896 9664 4280
Passcode: 268894

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

Riveredge Bird Club Field Trip
Saturday, February 15 7:00am Coal Dock Park Port Washington
Cancelled due to weather
A lake front field trip starting at Coal Dock Park 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

Birds, Beer and Trivia Happy Hour
Thursday, Feb 20 5:30-8:30 at Wantable Cafe 123 E Walker St
Details ablove

** Follow Bird City Milwaukee on Facebook!