Sunday, September 18, 2011

2011 08 12 Turkey, Least Sandpiper, Sanderlings

Lake Park birders,

See the messages below which I am forwarding from
http://www.birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/WISC.html
Wis Bird Net .


--- Paul Hunter
Whitefish Bay, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin
http://home.roadrunner.com/~phunter1/lakeparkbirds.html
=====================================================

Date: Fri, 12 Aug 2011 08:56:05 -0700 (PDT)
From: "B.G. Sloan" <bgsloan2@yahoo.com>
Subject: [wisb] Urban Wild Turkey in Milwaukee (photo)

There was a Wild Turkey foraging in someone's front yard about 7:25
this morning. The bird was near the intersection of Prospect and
Newberry, which is a few blocks from the main entrance to Lake Park.
There have been several turkey sightings in that park this year.

Here's a cell phone photo:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/14463444@N07/6035188767/in/photostream

Bernie Sloan
Milwaukee

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From: "Jym Mooney & Carol Lee Hopkins" <hopmoon@milwpc.com>
Date: August 14, 2011 10:23:41 AM CDT
To: "Wisbirdn" <wisbirdn@freelists.org>
Subject: ALERT - possible WESTERN SANDPIPER Bradford Beach, Milwaukee

I have just been observing what I think might be a WESTERN SANDPIPER
at the
Northpoint snack bar, on the south end of Bradford Beach in Milwaukee.
First seen at 0630, and still there when I left at 0930. It has been
consistently hanging tight with a Semi-Palmated Sandpiper. When I
first saw
it, I assumed Least SP, but when I came back after walking around
Lake Park,
I noticed that the bill seemed long and had a droop to it. Closer study
showed that this bird was slightly longer and more robust than the
Semi-Palmated; the bill was longer than the Semi's, thick at the base
and
tapering to a drooped point; legs were not what I would call yellow-
green,
but were paler than Semi's; rufous brightest on crown and upper
scapulars,
but also on edges of the rest of wing and tail feathers; stance was
consistently upright, never crouching like a Least; chin was pale,
breast
slightly dingy but unstreaked and definitely not brown or buffy; and the
side of its neck had dark streaking with a buffy undertone. There
was also
a Spotted Sandpiper in the immediate vicinity, which allowed another
size
comparison, that the possible Western SP was smaller than the Spotty.

The possible Western and the Semi-Palmated often were seen feeding or
resting side by side, frequently on top of a log (best views I have
ever had
of the Semi's partial foot webbing!). They were feeding on a
cladiphora mat
located on the north end of the Northpoint snack bar parking lot, on the
south end of Bradford Beach.

I was able to reach Brian Hansen and he came down and took several
pictures,
which he hopes to get posted tonight.

Good luck to anyone who looks for this bird. I hope that Brian's photos
confirm my tentative ID.

Also seen this morning, a group of nine Sanderlings on the beach, and my
first fall warbler, a Waterthrush (probably Northern, didn't get the
best
look, but the throat appeared streaked) in Locust Ravine in Lake Park

Jym Mooney, Milwaukee

-----------------------------

From: "Tom Prestby" <notification+idcz=oee@facebookmail.com>
Date: August 15, 2011 10:17:22 AM CDT
To: Wisconsin Birding Network <wisbirdn@groups.facebook.com>

I was home for the weekend so I checked on this bird around noon
yesterday. I easily foud the two peeps Jym was refering to and
although light was tough I was able to watch them at a close
distance. The bird didn't seem like a Western to me-- although the
bill is suggestive the overall tones of the body seemed too brown,
the rufous in the scaps (although a little bit is present) didn't
seem strong enough, and the bird didn't seem as long and bulky as a
Western should. I must say that it seemed the same size or even
slightly larger than the Seimpalmated it was with which made things
very confusing. Adding up the structure of the bird, the overall
brown tones and limited rufous pattern, and flesh colored legs, I
would call this a large Least Sandpiper
------------------------------
From: steven lubahn <stevenlubahn@wi.rr.com>
Subject: [wisb] Milwaukee Lakefront
Date: Sun, 14 Aug 2011 15:30:36 -0500

Bradford - 7 Sanderlings in the middle of the beach. ...

Steven Lubahn
Cudahy

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