Winter Waterfowl Wonder - 10 December 2022

Intrepid attendees brave the cold mist and scan University Bay for birds

​On a dreary, drizzly weekend afternoon, about 15 people joined this trip co-hosted by the Friends of the Lakeshore Nature Preserve and the UW-Madison chapter of the Audubon Society. Led by Friends board members Anne Pearce and Cole Roecker, the birders set their sights on University Bay from the Walnut St. boat launch, in search of winter waterfowl. 

​Early birds to the field trip were greeted by a northern harrier flying along the lakeshore right in front of us, followed not too long after by a great blue heron. The warm weather, lack of ice on the lake, and calm water meant that waterfowl were not as concentrated in University Bay as they often are in December. But when we set our eyes, binoculars, and a few spotting scopes on the water, we had two rafts of waterfowl to look at on either side of the boat launch.

​Among the easier birds to identify were the tundra swans and coots, as they were present in large numbers. Several people stuck with the challenge of trying to get a good look at a few nearby buffleheads through binoculars as these small waterfowl kept diving under the surface of the water. Others were able to pick out a handful each of northern shovelers and redheads further away from shore. Given the relative quiet near the boat launch, we decided to walk toward Willow Creek, after admiring a muskrat swimming along the shore.

Co-Leader Anne Pearce (left) sets up the viewing scopes while Co-Leader Cole Roecker (Center) addresses the group

​A few passerines grabbed our attention as we went toward the creek, including downy and hairy woodpeckers and dark-eyed juncos. Once at the creek, we scanned the large group of ring-billed gulls with some larger herring gulls to see if there were any unusual visitors. No such luck! Two favorite sightings from the mouth of the creek were the great blue heron standing along the shoreline and a belted kingfisher perched in a tree with a fish in its mouth for several minutes.

A lone blue heron was spotted among a sea of gulls in the Willow Creek delta

​Thanks to the several members of the UW-Madison chapter of the Audubon Society for joining us! We can’t wait to see what people find on the next birding field trip!

​Thanks to Cole for the eBird report:
25 Canada Goose
25 Tundra Swan
3 Northern Shoveler
25 Mallard
4 Redhead
10 Bufflehead
100 American Coot
100 Ring-billed Gull
10 Herring Gull
1 Great Blue Heron
1 Northern Harrier
1 Belted Kingfisher
3 Downy Woodpecker
2 Hairy Woodpecker
1 American Crow
7 House Finch
6 American Goldfinch
10 Dark-eyed Junco
2 Song Sparrow
 
19 Taxa Observed

Report by Anne Pearce and photos by Signe Holtz.