Hello--I tried to reply to the Wisconsin bird line(Yahoo one) but was
unsuccessful so I am trying this method.Â
I am a Chicago area birder whose daughter lives in Madison with two small
grandkids there so  I am there every month or so. Today I was trying to find
ducks on the open water on our way home but I could not figure out how to get
to the Yahara widespread area, Yahara river area, Â or lower Mud Lake areas
where birders were reporting the swans, ducks etc on ebird. I saw that they
are hotspots on ebird but I could not find the access points to them. Some of
the parks do not seem to have road access so maybe are only hike in? So if one
of you could give me some details on how to get into those places I would
really appreciate it. My husband was somewhat patient trying to drive me near
the water, but his patience and our time ran out..
And is there another bird line that I should be using in addition to ebird?
Thanks, Julie Long, St Charles Il Â
On Thursday, December 29, 2016 5:43 PM, Aaron Stutz
<dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
The Madison CBC is officially compiled for 2016!
Stepping down:
Having served as compiler for close to a decade I am looking to find a
replacement. Iâm happy to help with the transition in year one (next
yearâs compilation form is already made). Good computer skills and
knowledge of the Madison birding community are prerequisites for the job. The
work consists largely of sending emails and data entry. Please contact me if
you are interested. Â
Analysis:
This yearâs count was remarkably averageâsome water was still open, snow
levels were moderate, overall weather conditions were neither unseasonably warm
or cold, and many (120--always the highest in the state) observers were out
looking for birds despite the snowy weather. 89 species were observed on count
day with an additional 5 added during count week. 26,000+ individual birds
were countedâthis is near the low end for this count. Â
20+ species showed up in 1âs and 2âs as is typical for the Madison CBC.Â
Most notable was a Pine Warbler at a feeder on the NE side of townâa first
for the count. A count week Summer Tanager was also a count first.Â
Irruptive species were not present in any numbers. The rarer finches in
particular were largely absentâeven âexpected" finches like Pine Siskin (1)
and Purple Finch (0) were tough to find. Â
Record high were Tundra Swan (1499 new recordâ1433 old record), Trumpeter
Swan (21 new record), Common Goldeneye (1142 new recordâ1109 old record), and
Horned Lark (220 new recordâ198 old record). The record high numbers of
swans and C. Goldeneye are likely due to the large Madison Lakes remaining open
while surrounding bodies of water were completely frozen.
Notable miss:Â
Ring-necked Pheasant was not found for the first time in the history of the
count! Pheasant Branch Conservancy has been the last refuge in the circle for
this species. Â
Pictures:
Have any pictures from the CBC? Please pass them along to
bmarsicek@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:bmarsicek@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> at Madison
Audubon for her summary of all the Madison Area CBCâs.
The Numbers:
   Count Day   Count wk  Species
5,104
Canada Goose
1,808
Mallard
1,723
European Starling
1,644
House Sparrow
1,499
Tundra Swan
1,431
American Coot
1,273
Dark-eyed Junco
1,206
Black-capped Chickadee
1,142
Common Goldeneye
883
Mourning Dove
678
Northern Shoveler
656
American Tree Sparrow
618
House Finch
605
Northern Cardinal
570
American Crow
569
American Goldfinch
567
Common Merganser
537
Cedar Waxwing
422
Herring Gull
338
White-breasted Nuthatch
316
Wild Turkey
303
Rock Pigeon
303
Downy Woodpecker
220
Horned Lark
213
American Robin
174
Red-bellied Woodpecker
151
Bufflehead
130
Blue Jay
108
Hairy Woodpecker
78
Red-tailed Hawk
76
Lesser Scaup
62
Gadwall
61
Ring-necked Duck
60
Ring-billed Gull
56
Canvasback
55
Redhead
52
Bald Eagle
51
Tufted Titmouse
45
Snow Bunting
30
Hooded Merganser
29
Brown Creeper
21
Trumpeter Swan
21
Cooper's Hawk
17
Golden-crowned Kinglet
16
Ruddy Duck
15
Rough-legged Hawk
15
White-throated Sparrow
14
Northern Flicker
13
Great Horned Owl
12
Song Sparrow
11
Red-breasted Nuthatch
10
American Black Duck
10
Brown-headed Cowbird
9
Eastern Bluebird
8
Green-winged Teal
8
Belted Kingfisher
6
Great Blue Heron
4
Red-breasted Merganser
4
Barred Owl
4
American Kestrel
4
Winter Wren
4
Lapland Longspur
4
Fox Sparrow
4
White-crowned Sparrow
4
Common Grackle
3
Wood Duck
3
Pied-billed Grebe
3
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
2
Surf Scoter
2
Eastern Screech Owl
2
Pileated Woodpecker
2
Merlin
2
Northern Shrike
2
Savannah Sparrow
2
Swamp Sparrow
2
Red-winged Blackbird
1
Snow Goose
1
Common Loon
1
Horned Grebe
1
Northern Harrier
1
Sharp-shinned Hawk
1
Wilson's Snipe
1
Short-eared Owl
1
Northern Saw-whet Owl
1
Hermit Thrush
1
Gray Catbird
1
Brown Thrasher
1
Pine Warbler
1
Pine Siskin
0
1
Northern Pintail
0
1
Long-tailed Duck
0
1
American Pipit
0
1
Summer Tanager
0
1
Meadowlark sp.
Effort:
227.7 Party Hours (Foot 166.3/Car 61.4)
729.9 Party Miles (Foot155.5/574.4)
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