Tag Archives: WI South: Milwaukee

A Holiday Tradition of Long-Eared Owls!

Year 12

Quite a few years ago my middle child moved to the Milwaukee area, and thus Molly and me often make the trip south from Duluth to visit his family during the holidays. Such was the case this year as we dodged winter storms up in the Northland, and now down south in Milwaukee. There is normally plenty of free time in the mornings, and of course I then steal off to go birding.

One of my favorite spots is a heavy treed deciduous wetlands where I learned Long Eared Owls often spend the winter. Over the past three mornings, I have hiked into this area on the lookout for Long-Eared Owls. On morning #1 I saw zero owls (not unusual), however for days #2 and #3 the owls have been present. Yesterday was calm and sunny (saw one owl), while today is the start of a winter storm (saw three owls).

Day #2: Long-Eared Owl & Sunshine

Day #3: Three Long-Eared Owls & a Snowstorm

Molly and I cycle our visits between each of our three kids and their families. Here is my visit from three years ago over the Christmas Holidays to this same Long Eared Owl dense wintering thicket of trees.

Two images from that post …

UnWinter Birding

Year 10

Instead of snowstorms, there is rain and more rain. We are down in Milwaukee to visit my son and his family. This morning the sun made an extremely brief appearance. A local Red-Tailed Hawk was all over the break in the weather and was immediately hunting. I have now seen this raptor on four different occasions. It likes a “closed college campus” for its hunting grounds! The sunshine only lasted for 30 minutes, but it was precious.

Red-Headed Woodpecker Week!

Year 10,

I had not expected this week to be Red-Headed Woodpecker Week, but these gorgeous scarlet headed birds made the decision for me. When Sunday morning dawned sunny and clear, I decided I had to get out birding before the long drive back north to Duluth from Milwaukee. Via earlier research that same weekend, I had discovered a delightful birding area … with Red-Headed Woodpeckers, Donges Bay Gorge Natural Area. This small park just north of Milwaukee was extremely birdy, and during migration due to its location right on the Lake Michigan Flyway, birds must irrupt! Better, yet … as a small, less popular park I had the region essentially to myself (make sure you hike Wendy’s Trail right next to the gorge).

Yesterday I continued Red-Headed Woodpecker Week. Due to a quick medical appointment down in the Twin Cities, I made a round trip south Tuesday. In Bethel a bit north of the metropolitan area I have grown to love the Fish Lake Nature Trails. Years ago the Cedar Creek Ecosystem which borders and includes the trails became my “go to” place to find these woodpeckers. The University of Minnesota manages the area, and has ongoing research. Anyhow, yesterday morning the research crew was having University of Minnesota students out to the area, and early in the morning I had a great conversation about the Red-Headed Woodpecker Recovery Project with one of the top researchers. He was extremely interested in my knowledge of where Red-Headed Woodpeckers nesting holes are located in the Northland, and we plan to follow up with each other. The Duluth area is really pushing the limit of this woodpecker’s range.

In closing … some photographs from the past few days.