A Wisconsin Autumn

Like a flip of the switch, the weather dramatically changed in both Arizona and Wisconsin.  Arizona was hot until the onset of Pacific hurricanes brought much needed rain to the desert. And cool temps! Summer is gone. In Wisconsin, I could sense that bird migration was still happening. 

And for the first few days there, I followed up on theories and was rewarded with a couple nice birds like Blackpoll Warblers, Red-eyed Vireos, Ovenbirds and Black-throated Green Warblers.  Then the weather changed overnight and the migration faucet was shut off. 

Red-breasted Nuthatch

The first few days were intense as I birded most of the time.  I couldn't help it.  I had been trapped these last two months inside my house in Arizona.  When I experience perfect birding weather, I take the time to enjoy it.

Nancy spies a Red-bellied Woodpecker

While there, I met up with friend and naturalist Nancy Gill and new friend Travis Moore. Together we explored a new hotspot along the lakeshore in Sheboygan.

We find a tree hut at the park

While we didn't find our target bird, I was just happy to be with friends and birding again in amazingly cool weather.  I got to wear my jacket and even use my umbrella!

Yeah, fall back east is amazing.  But it's more amazing in Wisconsin and in other places like Maine and Minnesota....or Upper Michigan!  The trees were already turning color.

But like all fun things, it ended too fast. I tried memorizing the landscape before all the leaves fell.  And I do believe winter is going to be a doozy this year for my Cheesehead peeps.  I'll be back in June with Ms. Kathie Brown next year when it'll be warm(not hot) again. 

The real reason I flew home was to hang out with family and also take care of some family business. Life is full of transitions. 

Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary

Over the years, I've taken you all to these amazing locations.  I never have to travel far in the state because the Lakeshore has it all when it comes to eastern birds.  Almost every location is a good birding spot.  Take for example my parent's home.  We had a random Purple Finch and late Ovenbird come through the yard. Their yard made the rare bird alert!

My Mom was babysitting my little nephew and nieces.  So we went out each day and had some fun.  J-man wanted a pair of binoculars like his uncle so he had a pair to help assist me with my counts. 

Of course we saw lots of other things. 

There were lots of deer and squirrels. 

And even a Bald Eagle!

But J-man was so focused on using his binos that he forgot to put them down.....

Now a Myrtle Warbler won't attack. 

But a grouchy Canada Goose will!

At one point, I had to intervene.  He put his binos right up to a Canada Goose who wasn't having any of it.  Next thing I know, the goose was on top of J-man.  I separated the two.  My mother was laughing.  I think she got the shot of the charging goose.  And if you're reading mother, I think you should put that pic in the family calendar.  It's the shot of the day:)

Chaos ensued when we gave him corn.  This little fellow is fearless.  The geese however were having fits. 

I was geeking out with sparrows.  This sparrow above, the White-throated Sparrow, isn't one I get to see often.  It's one of my favorites.  Meanwhile I see a flock of Sandhill Cranes fly into the zoo. Again, J-man is feeding deer.  And in a moment of shock, I saw the cranes go right up to him to eat the corn out of his hands!  Their eyes narrowed like a velociraptor as they towered over our little guy.  If a goose can do some damage, imagine what an angry crane could do?!

They are such spectacular birds. 

I counted my American Black Ducks while J-man fed the birds.  Mom snapped pics.  American Black Ducks are absolutely beautiful.  That little purple in the wing is such a knockout color. 

Boys are curious.  He just wanted to pet the goose but the goose got up and moved.  

During my in between moments, I walked out in the dense fog, or rain, or super windy conditions alone.  I love Wisconsin birding.  It's quiet and I like it.  Sometimes I wish the weather had been more cooperative, but I can't complain.  

Woodland Dunes in Two Rivers

I remember growing up wondering what there was to do.  It was SO BORING!  I had to be an adult to understand just how many amazing things surround me when I'm home.  Things regular people don't see. 

The colors of the tree were brilliant.  And in the sunlight, the trees glowed. 

I went back to Woodland Dunes to say good-bye to Bernie.  I think he heard me because he sent me a late Sedge Wren for me to observe out in the open. 

Right by the barn where Bernie and I first met after all those years away from my hometown, a Sedge Wren hopped about the reeds. 

They should have all been gone by now, but one remained.  It has taken me years to see this tricky bird.  Sure, I've heard it.  But on this day, I'd be granted this amazing view. 

The bird stayed with me for several minutes listening to the clicking of my camera.  It hopped around in the fog and I dared not take my eyes off of it.  I don't know when I'll ever see one again like this so I made the most of my observation. I put the camera down and just watched as it fed and hopped around the swamp. 

On other days, we took the kids on field trips and had a blast. 

On my final day, the coldest and windiest of them all, I went to go find Doc.  He's such a cool guy.  Everyday along the Manitowoc lakefront, he takes a walk and birds. 

It's amazing we found each other at all with the thick pea soup type fog!

And even though it was foggy, I found a strange Pectoral Sandpiper feeding in the dog park casually strolling along in the grass. 

Note the difference between intelligence and stupidity.  On the left, Doc wears a smart hat to protect his head and ears from the cold winds.  On the right, the doofus with the beard, me, is about to catch a cold.  And I do.  And I still have it! When will I ever learn?

Like everything in this life, it goes by too fast.  Now I'm back in Tucson needing to burn off all that delicious Wisconsin food I ate.  There is so much going on and I do get tired at work.  Living two lives is not easy. I'm working on my last big trek for the year and it should be something very special.  I've done some birding with friends from out of town.  And we'll be heading down to Mexico by the end of the month.  Every waking moment is used to plan something.  Until next time....

Ahhhh-Oooooo!

On an overcast day, Baby J sat in his stroller listening to the strange "Ahhhh-ooooohs" being made in the distance.  He made his own "ahhh-oooh!" and our hearts melted.

I took a break from the chases.  No more for now.  It was time to hang out with the family. So we headed to one of my favorite and yearly stops at Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary.  It's great for kids.  It's also a rehabilitation center for the critters.  And it's also a fantastic wildlife sanctuary. So Baby J got to go on his first birding adventure. 

At the Wildlife Sanctuary, they sell corn for the ducks and Baby J got to feed the hundreds of ducks. 

The baby J's hang out together

But he didn't get to see just ducks.  There were geese and turkeys and all kinds of critters.  

Wild Turkey

I watched his face as the ducks piled up around him. It was absolutely fun!

This is a great place for kids to experience wildlife up close.  Well maybe not too close to those Canada Geese:)

Northern Cardinal

It just so happened that we hit the day at the right time because it wasn't too cold and there weren't a lot of people walking around the park.

While at the sanctuary, he made duck sounds and wolf sounds, tried petting a Canada Goose....um.....yeah no. 

American Black Duck

He got to go down his first tree house slide, play in a turtle shell and throw milk on his uncle.  Stinker. 

The day went by too quickly and soon our adventures in Wisconsin would be over.  We had a fun last day together. 

And the real reason why I don't have kids? My family has contributed quite a few people to this planet.  Currently with a world population of 7 billion, quite a few of us will need to NOT have kids:)  So it's nice being the Uncle with all the nephews and nieces.  I'm just hoping that some of them will get the travel bug and maybe become a future birder?  

It's was nice to hang out with the family during the holidays, but it's back to the Arizona trails next week.  And the weather here is VERY nice:)  Until next time.....

The Duck Hunt

Ring-necked Pheasant

I was so excited to take Gordon to one of my favorite places to bird in Green Bay.  PLUS! We were officially going birding during the summer here.  Something I had never done before.  We went on an overcast day to the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary.  It turned out to be a great outing full of amazing birds! A lot of wild birds call this park their home because it's full of great habitat!

Great Crested Flycatcher

Gordon needed the American Black Duck on his lifelist.  From my experiences with these ducks in various states, they can be difficult for photos. I've been in many areas where they are swimming a mile away from shore.  Sometimes they are behind the reeds and difficult to see.  But at Bay Beach, they come right up to you!  I was excited to add data to the lacking information at this site about these ducks for the month of June. 

At Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary, the ABDU walk up SO close to people because people love feeding the ducks...and geese...and swans?!?! They sell bags for a dollar at the desk:) I checked records on this duck and there weren't any for this spot during the month of June!  So it was a gamble. This could be a disappointment or a fun find for Gordon. It was a lifebird and that was our goal. For me, I was just super thrilled to bird the area again.  During the winter, many of the waterfowl come to hang out along the river shore near the rehabilitation center. It's quite a show!

Tree Swallow

We started off with some amazing birds all around us.  If you are a birder, you should definitely give this place a look.  If you're not a birder, you should still go and take the family.  It's a large preserve funded by the city of Green Bay.  It's also free to visit!  How sweet is that?  Your kids are going to love it!

There were so many birds calling and we were still trying to figure out the various calls.  It was after all, a whole new group of bird song we had to learn!  

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

I let out a sigh of relief when we found 3 of the ducks still hanging around the area.  Granted, they aren't in large number during the summer because they are breeding in the lake, but I knew there had to be some hanging out.  Thank the bird gods!  Once the target bird was found with excellent observations, it was time to just have fun and bird.  The American Black Duck is a bird species showing a decline in numbers due to hybridization with Mallards.

American Black Duck

I nearly crapped my pants when I surveyed the area and discovered SWANS in the area!  At first I clumped them all together and called them Tundra Swans. Gordon takes a closer look and discovers a Trumpeter mixed in for the fun!!!  They are rare for this area during the summer months, but a few remember this place as home and have stayed around the grounds where there is plenty of food and hospitality:) Most of the Tundra swans are breeding in Canada and Alaska while the Trumpeter Swans have a more diverse range.  

Hey, what species are you?  You look like me, but something is not quite right. 

Okay.  Ready for your bird lesson?  I've put both similar looking swans together. There are two noticeable differences with these birds.  Can you see what they are?

Tundra Swan

Now look carefully.  Hint.  The field marks are with the bill. 

Trumpeter Swan

Did you figure it out?  Or did you give up and just feed the swans instead?:)  The yellow lore(near the eye) is a great field mark for the Tundra Swan.  It's not always clear due to the distance so sometimes we have to look at the bill(which is the second field mark), the way the bird flies or more importantly, listen for their distinct calls. 

Another bird of interest for me was the Purple Martin. There are several pairs here that nest.  In the photo below, you'll notice House Sparrows taking over the nest boxes.  I apologize to my European readers for what I am about to write.  These aggressive sparrows are a nuisance and have taken over much of the Martin space.  Native vs Non-Native species.  In some cases, House Sparrows and European Starlings are "removed" from the area so that the native birds can nest.  These Purple Martins seem to be "tolerating" their neighbors for the moment.

House Sparrows and Purple Martins

A beautiful songbird that comes to the feeders in the eastern half of the US is the American Goldfinch.  It's a stunner with that brilliant yellow coloring.  I had to laugh while entering the data.  First off, most of the eastern birds either have the words "Eastern" or "American" in front of them. They were like foreign words to me while I was jotting down the info.  Arizona bird lingo would pop up and eventually I'd just cut to the word...Goldfinch!  Or Towhee! Or Duck! 

American Goldfinch

Here is a link to the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary and our June checklist from this location.  Until next time!