[wisb] Lake Michigan today (Milwaukee south)

From: Peter Fissel <pfissel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: Wisconsin Birding Network <wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, 30 Oct 2010 21:29:28 -0500
Clearly, our group from Madison should have started at Harrington Beach, but we 
went to Bradford Beach/North Point first and worked our way down to Racine.  
Bradford was very quiet, so we went up to North Point - also pretty quiet.  We 
did run into Jym Mooney, who had just seen a swallow with a buffy rump over the 
Lake Park bluff.  We watched a small group of four Barn and one Tree Swallow 
working the trees, but never did refind the other one.  

The Texas Ave. overlook had lots of Coots, duck hunters' decoys, and a 
Peregrine on the breakwall to the north. There were a couple of Black Ducks off 
the yacht club parking lot.  I foolishly passed up stopping at Sheridan Park 
and went down to South Metro (parking lot and stairs open.)  There were a lot 
of gulls on the beach, including a couple of interesting ones that we tried 
like heck to turn into a California and a Little, respectively, but no dice 
(the small one had a tumor or deformity on its left foot.)  Aside from a dozen 
or so Bonaparte's and two Herring Gulls, the large majority were Ring-bills.  
Only passerines were a bunch of Yellow-rumps and one or two Am. Tree Sparrows.

At Wind Point in Racine, we got there just as the Hoy Audubon group was 
breaking up.  After yakking with some of them for a while, we scoped the lake 
and saw a few Horned Grebes.  There was an interesting loon that John Romano 
thought might be a Pacific, but we had only intermittent looks before it 
disappeared.  The lame Baird's SP that the Hoy group told us about was still 
down the beach.

After my sense of direction went awry and we worked our way through a Hwy 11 
detour, we stopped at the So. Kettle Moraine St. Forest to hike a bit for 
birds.  The Emma Carlin Trail was pretty busy, so went on the nearby Stutz 
Springs Trail instead.  The first fifty yards from the parking lot was full of 
birds - quite a few White-throats, GC Kinglets, Br. Creepers, both Nuthatches, 
two or three woodpecker spp., etc.  A bit farther on the trail, we flushed two 
or three Hermit Thrushes and a bunch of Juncos.  By the springs, we had a Field 
and probable Lincoln's Sparrows.  On the way back to the car, we picked up Song 
and Fox, too.  Also had a Cooper's Hawk soar over.

On the way back to Madison, we stopped briefly at the London Rd. parking lot 
for Zeloski Marsh in Jefferson Co.  We saw an adult Bald Eagle and at least 
three No. Harriers over the marsh.  There was a pair of swans far out on the 
flowage - most likely Trumpeters.

Even though we pretty much whiffed on notable birds, it was still a very nice 
day out.  Thanks to "Juan" Romano, Jim "Hawkeye" Schwarz and Jim "Eagle Eyes" 
Otto for forming the posse.

Peter Fissel
Madison WI
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[wisb] Lake Michigan today (Milwaukee south)

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