One of my co-workers decided to organize a team as a fun team-building exercise and provide a good opportunity to get together outside of work (even wildlife biologists consider birding to be fun, although it's closely job related). We decided on May 15-16, 2015 as our 24-hour period to catch birding at the peak of migration through the region (Birdathon rules dictate that any24 hour period between April 15 and June 15 can be selected). The plan was to bird beginning at 6:30 PM Friday evening and finish by early afternoon the next day to give everyone a chance to enjoy the rest of their weekend.
On Friday evening, we had a team of four (plus two kidlings along for the ride). We started birding at the office to get some of the "easy" birds in the prairie surrounding the building. En route to Sensiba Wildlife Area, we noted a bald eagle on a nest (biologist insider info!), as well as wild turkeys and sandhill cranes. We had a great evening birding walk at Sensiba- the place was buzzing with so many birds it was hard to hear. New ones for me included the sora, marsh wren, and swamp sparrow. By the end of the evening, with the kids' help, we had noted 51 species on our checklist- although surprisingly no night birds (e.g., owls, nightjars).
Bright and early Saturday morning, four team members from the night before plus 2 more were ready to go. Our first stop of the morning was Point au Sable Nature Reserve, a neat peninsula that juts out into Green Bay owned and managed by the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. The preserve has no maintained trails and is really only used for research and preservation purposes, plus it is right on the water offering a number of different habitats to survey (the link above has a neat aerial photo of the property). We had a great morning there and ended up staying for over 3 hours even though we had other stops planned. Highlights included tons of up-close warbler sightings (Canada, Wilson's and Tennessee were all new for me), finding a sparrow nest (see below), and watching a pair of blue-gray gnatcatchers building their nest out of lichen. The other team members got REALLY fired up about a perfect view of a prothonotary warbler- apparently further north than typical (I have heard them before in Virginia, but such a close up look was still really awesome). Nothing like getting a bunch of bird nerds hooting and hollering in the woods!
Point au Sable shoreline along Green Bay
Can you find the nest? The only reason we did is one team member flushed the adult off the nest when he walked by.
A closer up with some of the vegetation brushed back- well concealed!
Team Green Bay Quackers watching and listening for new birds
After Point au Sable, we made a few more stops along the Green Bay shoreline, the UWGB campus arboretum, and at the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary. At each stop, we added a few more birds to our list. At the sanctuary, we picked up a number of ducks and even observed a red-tailed hawk feeding on a gosling, much to the dismay of some of the visitors. We concluded our day at a known peregrine falcon nest site along the Fox River near the Sanctuary- no luck.
After 9 hours of active birding in the field, we observed 102 different species! We were all pretty excited to break into the triple digits. It was definite the Biggest Day for me, plus it was a real treat to learn from so many knowledgeable biologists and bird enthusiasts. The weather was great and we were out at the perfect time to catch the migrants. I learned so much about the area and the local birds, and I'm excited to keep birding this year.
We rounded out the weekend with a walk on the Mountain-Bay State Trail and were treated to great views of the large-flowered trillium all along the wet areas along both sides of the trail. The photo really doesn't do enough justice, but I had to document the view somehow!
