[wisb] Northern Door birds today

  • From: "K. Hilary Ford" <khilaryf32@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: doorcobirding-subscribe <doorcobirding-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, wisbirdn <wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Fri, 16 Mar 2012 18:12:14 -0500

Hello everyonge,
A beautiful day in this part of the world so I spent most of it checking
out various areas.  Ellison Bay is still iced over in most part except for
many open spaces.  Just RB Gulls on some ice there and A.Crows.  At the El.
Bay Towers I looked for the Osprey in vain, but there were my
first Killdeers,  Song Sparrow, Rusty Blackbirds, many Starlings - one
imitating a Brown Thrasher or Catbird, and at least three pairs of
E.Meadowlarks.

Over at Water's End Rd. and Sand Bay Co Park there were several C.Geese,
Many Buffleheads displaying, Lots of RB Gulls and a few Common Goldeneye
pairs also displaying.  One caught my attention - I thought it might be a
stiff-tailed duck - have not seen a Ruddy in months so I watched it preen
for a while: Brown on all of head going down its back, greyish around the
throat when it raised to spread its wings, and heavily streaked black/white
on wings.  I was trying to make it into a Barrow's Goldeneye female,
because its bill was mostly yellow and it was away from the Buffleheads and
C. Goldeneyes for a longish time while it preened.  Then a male C.G. came
over for it and it swam away with it and started to dive, and I saw two
others with it but not as marked.  Three females to one male C.Goldeneye so
I regret it must have been a Common female.  I do not have a camera and
they were too far away, so I went over to the Sand Bay park to get a better
look.  The sun was at the wrong angle however.

Rowleys Bay had a mixed bunch - again Red Breasted Mergansers with a few
Common, and plenty of Buffleheads and Goldeneye - too far to spot
differences.  Heaps of Gull, one Mute Swan and in the narrowing of the bay
up the Mink River there were 8 Green-winged Teal - another nice surprise.
Plenty of Scaup and Mergansers both Common and Red-breasted were in the
distance.

I ended up the afternoon going to Newport S.P. Beach area which had the
same species but fewer, however many many rafts way out of waterfowl too
far to ID.  I missed Bluebirds along the roads, but did see several A. Tree
Sparrows. Plenty of Robins, Grackles  singing but only got R.W. Blackbirds
on Isle View Rd.  Europe Lake is ice free and had 6 male Bufflehead.
Northport docks were quiet, as was Gills Rock with the usual Gulls, Ca
Geese - no swallows yet that I have seen, neither TVs or Raptors.

While I was loading my car to get away this a.m. I was treated to 40
Sandhill Cranes right over the house flying northwest all yodelling - such
a great sound.

Hilary Ford, Ellison Bay, Door County


####################
You received this email because you are subscribed to the Wisconsin Birding 
Network (Wisbirdn).
To UNSUBSCRIBE or SUBSCRIBE, use the Wisbirdn web interface at: 
//www.freelists.org/list/wisbirdn
To set DIGEST or VACATION modes, use the Wisbirdn web interface at: 
//www.freelists.org/list/wisbirdn
Visit Wisbirdn ARCHIVES at: //www.freelists.org/archives/wisbirdn


Other related posts:

  • » [wisb] Northern Door birds today - K. Hilary Ford