[wisb] Sparrow-palooza in Milwaukee's Lake Park, plus one new BIGBY species
- From: "B.G. Sloan" <bgsloan2@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: wisbirdn <wisbirdn@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 24 Apr 2011 09:46:41 -0700 (PDT)
Went up to Lake Park yesterday (4/23) to hear Paul Hunter give a presentation
on crows. Very nice presentation.
After Paul's talk I had about an hour to kill before heading down to Whole
Foods to meet my wife. I ran into a group of birders watching the feeders that
are just north of the Erastus Walcott statue. Normally the birds there are
largely House Sparrows with the occasional Junco and Downy Woodpecker. But
these birders were finding some other interesting species, so I hung around.
After the other birders left, I sat on the park bench facing the feeders (this
bench is dedicated to Paul Hunter's parents). I sat there for at least a half
hour scanning the feeders, the ground under the feeders, and the nearby brush.
Birds were constantly flying in and out, and scampering in and out of the
brush. A couple of times an unleashed dog would run up to the feeders and
scatter the birds.
By the time I had to leave I'd recorded an amazing (to me) ten species of
sparrows/emberizidae! I've never seen such sparrow diversity in this spot, and
I'm not sure I've ever recorded ten sparrow species in one place at one time.
(Unfortunately, none of them were new BIGBY species).
Here's the list, in the order they appear in my Peterson's:
* White-throated Sparrow
* White-crowned Sparrow
* Chipping Sparrow
* Swamp Sparrow
* American Tree Sparrow
* Fox Sparrow
* Song Sparrow
* Savannah Sparrow
* Dark-eyed Junco
* Eastern Towhee
Then, of course, there was the ubiquitous House Sparrows. I guess they serve a
purpose after all. I'm thinking that some of the birds listed above were
passing through and were attracted by the HOSPs raucous feeding frenzy.
Two other highlights:
* Broad-winged Hawk. Three birds flying north along the lakeshore. 2011 walking
BIGBY species #112.
* Yellow-rumped Warbler. 25-30 along the wooded bluff north of the North Point
lighthouse.
Bernie Sloan
Milwaukee
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- » [wisb] Sparrow-palooza in Milwaukee's Lake Park, plus one new BIGBY species - B.G. Sloan
