[wisb] Re: Milwaukee Lakefront, 2/2 - LT Duck YES, Harlequin YES
- From: "Judith Huf" <judith@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 3 Feb 2012 07:16:42 -0600
While looking for Bernie's Long-tailed Duck (success!), I also found a
handsome male Hooded Merganser with the ducks between Lakeshore Park and
Summerfest grounds. Also there are several Black Ducks and/or Black/Mallard
hybrids.
Judith Huf
--------------------------------------------------
From: "B.G. Sloan" <bgsloan2@xxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, February 02, 2012 6:53 PM
To: "wisbirdn" <wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [wisb] Milwaukee Lakefront, 2/2 - LT Duck YES, Harlequin YES
> The light fog today made for a bone-piercing chill along Milwaukee's
> lakefront. Kinda reminded me of San Francisco. :-) The predicted high was
> 44 degrees and partly cloudy. I never saw a hint of the sun, and I'm
> betting the actual high was 8-10 degrees colder than 44.
>
> Several highlights (kinda cool to see a Long-tailed Duck and a Harlequin
> on the same day):
>
> * Found the Long-tailed Duck again, at 12:45PM. Same spot as the last time
> I saw it (near the western end of the boat dock attached to the south side
> of Discovery World). This time I focused on his tail and could see that
> the long tail was developing...spiky and a few inches long. Finding this
> bird takes luck or patience, and probably both. I spent more than 20
> minutes looking for him today and was about to give up when he popped up
> out of nowhere right in front of me. He seems to spend a lot of time under
> the docks and wooden catwalk attached to Discovery World. If you look
> under the waterline in this area you can see lots of mussels attached to
> the pilings. This must be what is attracting him to this spot.
>
> * Saw the first year male Harlequin Duck at North Point (north of Bradford
> Beach). Kinda far out, and swimming north in the company of several
> Buffleheads.
>
> * I found a solitary American Black Duck preening on the rock island right
> behind the art museum. Very nice looking specimen, and a first-of-year
> bird for me!
>
> * For the first time this season I noticed the Canada Geese getting testy
> with one another. There was a flock of maybe 200 geese along a sidewalk on
> the east side of Veterans Park. I was carefully observing them looking for
> Cackling Geese (haven't seen any Cacklers yet this year). Quite a few
> times I witnessed one goose take offense at another goose's proximity. The
> goose would hiss at the other goose, and several times one goose would
> actually bite the other! I'm assuming this change in behavior indicates
> that the geese are getting ready to be territorial in advance of breeding
> season?
>
> * My favorite goose interaction was when one bird was defending an area
> where someone had dumped some Cheerios. :-)
>
> * Ducks of all species seem to be pairing up, more so than a couple of
> weeks ago. Saw several Mallard pairs swimming along bobbing their heads up
> and down in unison. Maybe spring is just around the corner? :-)
>
> * Finally, I heard a new duck vocalization today (I'm assuming it was
> Common Goldeneye). In addition to the "peent" calls that sound like
> woodcocks, I was hearing a faint trilling sound that sounded like spring
> peeper frogs. When I closed my eyes and listened to the peents and trills,
> it sounded like a warm spring evening.
>
> Bernie Sloan
> Milwaukee
>
>
>
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