[wisb] UW Arboretum, Madison, Dane County

  • From: "Charles Henrikson" <ckhenrikson@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: "Wisconsin Birding Network" <wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Thu, 30 Sep 2010 12:28:08 -0500

What a beautiful day for birding!!
For the past four days when I've stepped out of my car in the parking lot by 
the visitor's center there have been unusually large numbers of Cedar Waxwings 
and Eastern Bluebirds.  Actually I don't think I've ever seen so many of each.  
Today was no exception.

I've enjoyed watching the chipping sparrows fly into the big bluestem grasses, 
grab the stems, bend them over and then work their way down to the seed heads 
to consume the seeds, all the while bouncing up and down and swaying in the 
breeze.  What a sight.

The prairie immediately surrounding the visitor's center is fantastic.  There 
are many different kinds of forbes and grasses and many species of birds are 
feasting on the smorgasbord.  My thanks go out to all the staff and volunteers 
who make the UW Arboretum such a special place.

(Off topic:  Yesterday I saw a Weasel in among the large boulders on the south 
side of the visitor's center.)  

The special birds today were:

One, first of the season, Fox Sparrow in with a flock of 15 or so 
White-throated Sparrows

Two Golden-crowned Kinglets and two Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Four Eastern Towhees

Five Hermit Thrushes

One Brown Creeper

One Blue-headed Vireo

A smattering of warblers but mostly Yellow-rumped Warblers

The Crows and Common Grackles must have called a convention because there were 
large groups of each congregating in the tree tops.

The others I saw today are appended below in my eBird list.

Hope you can all get out today!

Good birding to you all,

Chuck Henrikson
Madison
Dane County

      15 Canada Goose 
      3 Wild Turkey 
      1 Great Blue Heron 
      1 hawk sp. 
      2 Sandhill Crane 
      1 Ring-billed Gull 
      1 Red-bellied Woodpecker 
      4 Empidonax sp. 
      1 Eastern Phoebe 
      1 Blue-headed Vireo 
      1 Red-eyed Vireo 
      15 Blue Jay 
      35 American Crow 
      6 Black-capped Chickadee 
      1 Red-breasted Nuthatch 
      2 White-breasted Nuthatch 
      1 Brown Creeper 
      2 House Wren 
      2 Golden-crowned Kinglet 
      2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 
      25 Eastern Bluebird 
      5 Hermit Thrush 
      21 American Robin 
      10 European Starling 
      50 Cedar Waxwing 
      1 Tennessee Warbler 
      1 Nashville Warbler 
      10 Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 
      1 Palm Warbler 
      1 American Redstart 
      1 Common Yellowthroat 
      4 Eastern Towhee 
      12 Chipping Sparrow 
      1 Fox Sparrow 
      2 Song Sparrow 
      15 White-throated Sparrow 
      3 Dark-eyed Junco 
      4 Northern Cardinal 
      10 Red-winged Blackbird 
      30 Common Grackle 
      3 House Finch 
      50 American Goldfinch 


      Total species reported: 42 



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