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Northeast Wisconsin Birding Club Welcomes You
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Come along to a meeting or field trip with the Northeast Wisconsin Birding Club. Since 2003 we have been discovering the great birds of Northeast Wisconsin and beyond.
Reports from out latest Events:
November 13th, 2021 Lake Michigan Field Trip Report
Doing What’s Needed
From the scribblings of Mike O'Connell:
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gb eagle, wild turkeys, can geese, mallards, horned grebe, dc cormorants, mourning doves, ring-billed gulls, crows.
Harrington: red-tailed hawk, red-breasted mergs, white-winged scoters, black scoters, Ross reported goldeneye, I think, but no one else could see them
Terry Andrae: blue jays, downy, hairy, and red-bellied woodpeckers, sharp-shinned hawk, bc chickadees, purple finch house finch (with some controversy) de juncos, cardinals, goldfinch
North point: sanderlings, harlequins, bufflehead, red-breasted mergs, rb gull, herring gulls
Manitowoc: rb gulls, herring gulls.
October 2nd, 2021 - Meeting & Local Field Trip
Doing What’s Needed
Following the NWBC October program (Todd and Cindy’s presentation of their African Safari, birds and more, nicely done), a group of birders, led by Dan Abel, searched fields of the Wolf River bottoms for sparrows, targeting LeContes which Dan had observed 2 days previously. No luck with the LeContes, but we did have Lincoln’s, Swamp, Song and White-throats and glimpses of about 20 unidentified sparrows. Thanks, Dan, for showing the group a couple of easily accessible prime sparrow areas.
November 16th - Lake Michigan Field Trip
Making a Difference
Eleven of us had a fun trip to the Lake Michigan shoreline where temperatures were happily a lot warmer than the January-like blast of earlier in the week. Highlights were Long-tailed Duck and Red-throated Loon at Port Washington and Great Tit at Kohler-Andre SP. We tried for Short-eared Owls at Killsnake on the way home but had to content ourselves with a beautiful sunset as they were being shy tonight.
November 2nd Indoor Meeting
Making a Difference
Thanks to Neil Schroeder for a stunning presentation on ALASKA. Entertaining and with beautiful photos were enjoyed by all of us in attendance.
Come and join us for a Meeting or Field Trip. All events are free and open to the public. Check the Meetings or Field Trip pages for dates and details.
The Birding Year in NE WI
Some suggestions on where to go birding in our area during the year.
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If you are not familiar with ebird go and register on ebird.org - the worlds largest citizen science project! There is so much information here - after the calendar are the top hotspots in our four local counties. This will give you an idea of what our top sites are.
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January - Snowy Owls, Rough-legged Hawks and Northern Shrikes can be found in our field areas such as Freedom and Shady Lane.
February - Part of the Fox River usually stays open around the Neenah/Menasha area. Rare Ducks and Gulls might brighten up a winters day along with hundreds or even thousands of commoner species.
March - Thousands of Tundra Swans and Canada Geese migrate through our area. The 54 corridor between New London and Black Creek is a good spot to observe this spectacle. Rarer species such as Greater White-fronts, Snow & Ross's Geese are found most years.
April - Look for early spring migrants such as Fox Sparrows, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers and both Kinglets at some of our local nature centers such as Mosquito Hill, Heckrodt or Gordon Bubolz.
May - The most exciting month of the year as Neotropical migrants pass through on the way to their northern breeding grounds. High Cliff SP is an essential site at this time of year, but many of our nature centers and conservancies can provide excellent birding if you hit the right conditions. Get out as often as you can!
June - A good time to look for some of the later migrants such as the grassland or wetland species. High Cliff, Rush Lake or Uihlein Marsh are good places to explore.
July - One of the quieter birding months but places like Mack SWA or Brillion Marsh will have interesting breeding wetland species. The Hartman Creek area holds some breeding species difficult to find locally otherwise.
August - Most of our wetland areas have been drained so good shorebird habitat can be difficult to find locally, although usually a muddy field or two is found. Mack SWA can be excellent if the habitat is right. A real local speciality is Buff-breasted Sandpiper at Anderson or Aga Sod Farms, although this might take a few visits to find.
September - Fall migrant numbers build up. The Herb Behnke unit of the Wolf River Bottoms SWA and 1000 Islands Nature Center have the potential for good birds.
October - Returning wildfowl should be checked for rarities on Lake Winnebago and our other water bodies. Birds such as Red-necked Grebes and Long-tailed Ducks regularly turn up at this time of year.
November - Short-eared Owls can provide spectacular views at Killsnake SWA on a November late afternoon if its not too cold or wet yet.
December - Some interesting birds usually turn up on Christmas Bird Counts. Check those ornamental berry trees for Bohemian Waxwings or Pine Grosbeaks on your Xmas shopping trip.Hopefully a rare Gull or two will be on one of our local lakes.
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Be aware that this list isn't exhaustive and that many of our local sites are very underwatched - don't limit these sites to these months! And always record your sightings on ebird to help increase everyones birding knowledge.
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Contact Northeast Wisconsin Birding Club
NWBC c/o Mosquito Hill Nature Center,
N3880 Rogers Rd,
New London, WI 54961
Useful Links
Some other sites for birding in NE WI and beyond.
Mosquito Hill Nature Center
https://www.outagamie.org/government/n-through-z/parks/mosquito-hill-nature-center
Where we have our meetings. Lots of events here and always good for a hike.
Wild Bird & Backyard
https://www.wildbirdbackyard.com
Our local shop with everything for feeding the birds in your yard and making your yard more interesting!
Heckrodt Bird Club
Another local bird club, who have meetings on a Tuesday evening at Heckrodt Wetland Reserve - which is also a good local birding spot.
The Feather Wildlife Rehab Center
https://www.facebook.com/The-Feather-Wildlife-RehabEducation-Center-147964821935787/
Pat Fisher and her team do great work in caring and rehabbing injured birds (especially raptors). Donations and fish for the Osprey are always welcome and deserved.
Wisconsin Society for Ornithology
https://wsobirds.org
All birders in WI should join the WSO, the leading advocate for birds in the Badger state.
NE WI Audubon
http://www.newiaudubon.org
The Audubon Society is one of the nations leading conservation organizations. There are several local chapters in our area.