Duck Watch Report 2010 Oct 29

Due to my schedule and the possibility of rare vagrants blown to the
shore of Lake Michigan by the high winds on October 26-28, I
rescheduled the Duck Watch starting in Lake Park from Saturday,
October 23, 2010 to Friday, October 29 from 10 AM to noon. The
weather was too pleasant (sunny, calm) for ducks, but seven of us
birders enjoyed it.

Shortly after scoping the Gadwalls and Buffleheads near the shore of
Lake Michigan just north of Bradford Beach, a small flock of swallows
caught our eye. We pointed our binoculars up at the tops of the
trees on the bluff in Lake Park and struggled to follow their weaving
flight. Buff rumps on two individuals got our hearts racing with the
possibility of Cave Swallows, but we never got a good enough look to
see the throats or foreheads. Chasing the swallows up the bluff
through Waterfall Ravine to the Wolcott statue, we got a few better
looks a the Barn Swallows and a Fox and Tree Sparrow and the feeder
as we sat on my parents' memorial bench.

Moving on to east side of Juneau Lagoon, we saw a sleepy Redhead
among Canada Geese of various sizes. Thanks to Dennis Gustafson's
experienced eye, three of us saw a Cackling Goose for the first time.

--- Paul Hunter
Whitefish Bay, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin
http://home.roadrunner.com/~phunter1/lakeparkbirds.html
http://lakeparkbirds.blogspot.com/
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Lake Park Duck Watches: Saturdays 11AM - 1PM
Fall 2010: Oct 23 (Rescheduled), Nov 13, Dec 4
Gather EAST of Lincoln Memorial Dr, north of Bradford Beach.
=====================================================
Location: Bradford Beach - North Point
Observation date: 10/29/10
Notes: Unknown swallow of the genus Petrochelidon (Cave or Cliff).
Dennis Gustafson saw Common Loon and Bonaparte Gulls while rest of us
walked up to Wolcott Statue to pursue the swallows.
Number of species: 7

Gadwall - Anas strepera 38
Mallard - Anas platyrhynchos 16
Bufflehead - Bucephala albeola 45
Double-crested Cormorant - Phalacrocorax auritus 2
Ring-billed Gull - Larus delawarensis 20
Tree Swallow - Tachycineta bicolor 1
Barn Swallow - Hirundo rustica 5
swallow sp. - Hirundinidae sp. 2

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Location: Lake Park--Wolcott Statue & Golf Course
Observation date: 10/29/10
Notes: Lake Park Duck Watch
Number of species: 15

Ring-billed Gull - Larus delawarensis 3
Red-bellied Woodpecker - Melanerpes carolinus 1
Downy Woodpecker - Picoides pubescens 2
American Crow - Corvus brachyrhynchos 4
Barn Swallow - Hirundo rustica 3
Black-capped Chickadee - Poecile atricapillus 3
White-breasted Nuthatch - Sitta carolinensis 2
Golden-crowned Kinglet - Regulus satrapa 6
American Robin - Turdus migratorius 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) - Dendroica coronata coronata 2
American Tree Sparrow - Spizella arborea 1
Fox Sparrow (Red) - Passerella iliaca iliaca/zaboria 1
Northern Cardinal - Cardinalis cardinalis 1
American Goldfinch - Spinus tristis 3
House Sparrow - Passer domesticus 8

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Location: Juneau Lagoon
Observation date: 10/29/10
Notes: Lake Park Duck Watch. Dennis Gustafson found the Cackling
Goose, which was a lifer for Peter Lor, Suzy Holstein and me.
Number of species: 16

Cackling Goose - Branta hutchinsii 1
Canada Goose - Branta canadensis 350
American Black Duck - Anas rubripes 8
Mallard - Anas platyrhynchos 24
Redhead - Aythya americana 1
Cooper's Hawk - Accipiter cooperii 1
American Coot - Fulica americana 2
Ring-billed Gull - Larus delawarensis 12
Downy Woodpecker - Picoides pubescens 2
American Crow - Corvus brachyrhynchos 4
Black-capped Chickadee - Poecile atricapillus 2
Golden-crowned Kinglet - Regulus satrapa 2
Hermit Thrush - Catharus guttatus 1
Fox Sparrow (Red) - Passerella iliaca iliaca/zaboria 2
Song Sparrow - Melospiza melodia 5
American Goldfinch - Spinus tristis 2

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org/wi)

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Subject: Northpoint, Milwaukee 10/28
From: "Jym Mooney & Carol Lee Hopkins" <hopmoon AT milwpc.com>
Date: Thu, 28 Oct 2010

Checked the Lake Michigan shoreline between Bradford Beach and the
sewage treatment plant this afternoon. Nothing fabulously rare, but
still fun. Had a flight of a dozen snow buntings, plus single fox,
savannah, and Lincoln's sparrows and a few juncos and American tree
sparrows. Gadwalls, greater scaup, buffleheads, and a single ruddy
duck on the water. No unusual gulls. A purple finch and five tree
swallows flew over. There was also a marsh wren skulking in the
rocks! Jym Mooney, Milwaukee