[wisb] Schumacher, Schoenberg, and Harvey - Dane & Colombia

From: Max Witynski <birdmax922@xxxxxxxxx>
To: wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Sun, 23 May 2010 14:23:50 -0500
I finally got around to some shorebirding today at the Dane and Colombia
County ponds.  I started at Schmacher Road, where there was not much action
although 3 RUDDY TURNSTONES (a Wisconsin bird for me, also the first time I
have seen them in breeding plumage) were present towards the back along with
around 40 DUNLIN, the only other shorebirds I had were 3 Spotted Sandpiper
and numerous Killdeer.
Then I headed to Schoenberg Marsh - what a place!  It felt like a
mini-Horicon from the moment I stepped out of the car, and also made me
wonder if that's what all of southern Wisconsin looked like before Europeans
arrived.  At Schoenberg there were about 20 AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS and
about 15 DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS, I watched about 40 BLACK TERNS circle
the marsh, and saw several pairs sitting together on small mounds of mud and
cattails, while watching one pair through the scope, a COMMON MOORHEN
(another Wisconsin bird) glided behind them.  There were 4-5 calling male
YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS in the cattails, and RUDDY DUCKS, BLUE-WINGED TEAL,
and one PIED-BILLED GREBE swimming around.  I eventually found the
previously reported RED-NECKED GREBE pair, life birds right in front of me,
also occupying their own small cattail mound!  Before leaving I saw a large
group of shorebirds fly up and then quickly back down, could not get an ID
on them.

At Harvey road there was a bizarre mallard that had a bold rufous/buff (is
this color only known to birders?) malar-stripe, probably a hybrid or
partial domestic of some type.  I saw a group of about 50 SHOREBIRDS about
100 miles away in the back, I believe they were mostly Dunlin but they might
as well have been Curlew Sandpipers.  When I tried to get closer by driving
up DM, they became backlit.

Yesterday I had similar results to Steve at the Cook Arboretum, though I did
get nice looks at a lifer HOODED WARBLER, the only other warblers present
were a record 4 BLACKPOLL, one of which I had nice looks at, and a Tennessee
and Redstart.  There was also my 3rd YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO of the season, I
just can't seem to find a Black-billed.

Good Birding,
Max Witynski,
Madison, Dane


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[wisb] Schumacher, Schoenberg, and Harvey - Dane & Colombia

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