[wisb] Lake Park, Milwaukee, 9/2/10 - 8 new BIGBY species

From: "B.G. Sloan" <bgsloan2@xxxxxxxxx>
To: wisbirdn <wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 2 Sep 2010 15:46:06 -0700 (PDT)
I set out early today on my usual Milwaukee BIGBY route, to cover Bradford 
Beach, North Point, and Lake Park. I found eight new BIGBY species (all in Lake 
Park), bringing my 2010 Milwaukee walking BIGBY species count to 113. (What's a 
BIGBY? See: http://bit.ly/cn3cbv).

North Point looked promising. Shorebirds were flying in over the lake and 
landing on the shore. But the flies were so bad I had to abort my mission. If I 
stood still for ten seconds the flies would land on me and start to bite. This 
is the first problem I've had with biting insects since I started walking this 
route on August 3. That's right, I've hardly even seen any mosquitoes. 
Hopefully the cooler weather predicted for the AM will deter the flies.

So I moved up the bluff to Lake Park. Flies were a minor annoyance, but nothing 
like North Point. I found a spot with no flies (north end of the bridge over 
the ravine north of the lighthouse) and stood there for quite a while. Quite a 
few warblers were moving through this area. No new BIGBY species, but a number 
of birds landed nearby in the top of a sparsely-leafed tree at my eye level 
from the bridge. I stood still and had the good fortune to observe several 
warbler species so close that I didn't need my binoculars to observe field 
marks! Pretty cool.

Here are the new BIGBY birds:

* Winter Wren. Milwaukee walking BIGBY species #106. Never would have noticed 
this bird if it hadn't been singing vigorously on the ground underneath the 
bushes on the east side of the Warming House. I waited and waited, and my 
patience paid off with a view of a small stubby-tailed wren scuttling along at 
ground level. Seemed early for a Winter Wren, but then I'm from southern 
Indiana. :-)

* Swainson's Thrush. BIGBY #107. One bird. Locust Street Ravine.

* Warbling Vireo. BIGBY #108. One bird. Locust Street Ravine.

* Blue-headed Vireo. BIGBY #109. One bird. Locust Street Ravine.
 
* Least Flycatcher. BIGBY #110. One bird. Top of lake bluff, south end of park, 
where the foxtails are. It was hunting small moths.

* Golden-crowned Kinglet. BIGBY #111. One bird. Same area as Least Flycatcher. 
Also interested in small moths. Seems a little early.

* Common Yellowthroat. BIGBY #112. One bird (female). Same area as Least 
Flycatcher. Also interested in small moths.

* Song Sparrow. BIGBY #113. One bird. Same area as previous several birds.

Bernie Sloan
Milwaukee




      
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[wisb] Lake Park, Milwaukee, 9/2/10 - 8 new BIGBY species

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