I posted this earlier today on the Wisconsin listserv, and wanted to post it here for anyone planning on heading up to the Duluth/Superior area.
Before heading home to Milwaukee yesterday, I made a quick stop at Wisconsin Point. The stretch of storms heading northeast towards the Twin Ports must have really pushed the shorebirds through. Below is my list of birds observed yesterday morning over the course of about an hour. The biggest and most surprising highlight was counting at total of 59 RUDDY TURNSTONES between birding at the beginning and end points of Wisconsin Point! Seeing them in these numbers reminded me of the "rockpipers" along the Oregon coast. My morning sightings via eBird are below, followed by pictures. Several Red-tailed Hawks were seen while en route to the cities. Yesterday's storm was impressive. I wonder what other birds it moved northward... Lot 1 (first pulloff along Wisconsin Point) Greater/Lesser Scaup 7 American Golden-Plover 2 Semipalmated Plover 15 Spotted Sandpiper 1 Ruddy Turnstone 1 Sanderling 19 Various plumages were observed among the Sanderling Semipalmated Sandpiper 55 Least Sandpiper 1 White-rumped Sandpiper 3 Pectoral Sandpiper 3 Dunlin 25 Ring-billed Gull 400 Herring Gull 75 Common Tern 12 Eastern Kingbird 2 American Crow 1 swallow sp. 5 Common Yellowthroat 1 Yellow Warbler 1 Red-winged Blackbird 2 Brewer's Blackbird 3 Common Grackle 1 Western end of Wisconsin Point (cul-de-sac, adjacent to the Wisconsin Point lighthouse) Double-crested Cormorant 5 Semipalmated Plover 5 Spotted Sandpiper 5 Ruddy Turnstone 58 I was absolutely amazed at the number of Ruddy Turnstones. Exact count was conducted. Photos were taken for documentation. Sanderling 8 Semipalmated Sandpiper 1 White-rumped Sandpiper 1 Dunlin 8 Ring-billed Gull 50 Herring Gull 200 Common Tern 65 The Common Terns were resting along the paved slab of pavement that connects the lighthouse to the rock wall. Conservative estimate was given. Mourning Dove 1 American Crow 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler 1 Song Sparrow 1 Dunlin flying by http://www.pbase.com/image/143561826 Shorebirds coming head-on http://www.pbase.com/image/143561827 Ruddy Turnstones with a Sanderling (I couldn't catch all of the turnstones in one shot) http://www.pbase.com/image/143561829 Mixed flock flying by http://www.pbase.com/image/143561833 http://www.pbase.com/image/143561834 Shorebirds touching down http://www.pbase.com/image/143561832 Shorebirds on the beach http://www.pbase.com/image/143561835 Good birding, Erik Bruhnke Waukesha, WI -- *NATURALLY AVIAN* - Guided Birdwatching Trips and Bird photography www.pbase.com/birdfedr www.naturallyavian.blogspot.com [email protected] ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
