May 25, 2024 - Portage Co Birdathon Report
In spite of the wind, we gave the east to west nocturnal effort in the grassland our best. Our first bird of the day was the only owl we would observe in the grassland: EASTERN SCREECH-OWL. Despite things being relatively owl-less, species began to add up - SEDGE WREN, SWAMP SPARROW, and HORNED LARK were all singing as the next, dark, breezy hour transpired.
As the sky began to paint itself with the impending, morning sun, we arrived on Tower Rd for the remaining pre-dawn chorus. The area west of Co F is an eclectic mix of grassland, pine-oak scrub, and wet meadow. The serenade of EASTERN WHIP-POOR-WILLS and AMERICAN WOODCOCKS against the polyrhythm of RUFFED GROUSE drumming and AMERICAN BITTERN pumping simultaneously was wildly captivating as the night transitioned to dawn. If you haven’t experienced the pre-dawn chorus in Buena Vista on a non-windy, early May morning, I highly recommend it. The myriad of different unique species from different habitats (both avian and non) calling together in the calm moonlight will send your serotonin levels into hyperdrive. The breeze usurped the full experience from us and it was still sensational.
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| Buena Vista Grassland |
We headed north, then back east via Evergreen as our surroundings became illuminated. Cruising the road slowly we started picking up more birds as the surrounding grassland and adjacent willows became engulfed with song. Evergreen yielded WILLOW FLYCATCHER, multiple GRASSHOPPER and HENSLOW’S SPARROWS, ORCHARD ORIOLE, BOBOLINK, EASTERN MEADOWLARK, and BREWER’S BLACKBIRD.
We meandered northeast up to 130th, making our way north of Co W. Surveying the surrounding grasslands and aspen/mixed forest parcel was productive. Notables here included BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO, at least ten HENSLOW’S SPARROWS, seven GRASSHOPPER SPARROWS, and FIELD SPARROW. This stretch also provided our first GREATER PRAIRIE-CHICKENS of the day, which were surprisingly active in the breeze (we tallied 57 total between all BVG locations).
Continuing west on Griffith, then south on Co F we added a few easy birds in the grassland and edge habitat. Birds like SAVANNAH and CLAY-COLORED SPARROW, WARBLING VIREO, LEAST FLYCATCHER, and YELLOW WARBLER are ubiquitous in the grasslands.
Our next stop was the ephemeral flooded field on Co F just north of Tower. A PECTORAL SANDPIPER was the only notable shorebird present working the far mudflats. Shorebird habitat here has been excellent with recent rains, but numbers have been low which leaves me more questions than answers. The one that burns the hottest is, what turns up when nobody is around? A YELLOW-THROATED VIREO, an EASTERN PHOEBE, and a BALTIMORE ORIOLE were singing from the trees to our west.
We used Tower Rd east of Co F to connect to Townline Rd. This stretch of road is mostly agricultural fields with some fragmented deciduous wood lots and pasture. The short jog yielded NORTHERN HARRIER, CEDAR WAXWINGS, CHIPPING SPARROW, and two additional ORCHARD ORIOLES.
Townline always delivers, all of the grassland specialties can be found along different portions of the road. The aspen/cottonwood grove south of Mill Rd netted us RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, LEAST FLYCATCHER, and EASTERN TOWHEE. Crawling north past the wooded area, the wet pasture to the west and grassland to the east had SORA, WILSON’S SNIPE, AMERICAN KESTREL, and WESTERN MEADOWLARK. CLIFF SWALLOW was an easy add as we crossed the irrigation ditch at Mill Rd. The flooded ag field to the NW of the intersection saw a large congregation of 19 TRUMPETER SWANS. The population in BVG has been flourishing in recent years and is a testament to how successful reintroduction efforts can be! This spring there have been as many as 30 birds hanging out together! A big thank you and great work to all that have been involved with these efforts over the years! At the junction of Co W, we made a calculated pause in an attempt to at least hear one of the remaining critical targets in the grassland. It wasn’t long before we heard the distant slide whistle call of an UPLAND SANDPIPER. To our surprise, a few moments after one flew in on cue and landed in the sowed field to our west.
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| Upland Sandpiper - Townline Rd |
We made a brief stop at Co W/Meyers Ln - locally known as the W Ponds. Water levels have been high this spring and shorebirds have been for the most part difficult to time correctly. Though our attempt for shorebirds here wasn’t fruitful, the area is still teeming with interesting birds. A TRUMPETER SWAN was on the north pond, a large group of GREATER PRAIRIE-CHICKENS were lekking to the west, a RED-TAILED HAWK has been hanging out on the fence line to the east, and WESTERN MEADOWLARK can be heard singing here regularly.
Taft Rd just south of Co W is where we gave our last effort for Dickcissel. No luck on that front, perhaps it was just on the early side for the species to return en masse. Most of their normal haunts are very wet, which could also be a contributing factor. The flooded field to the east has been productive in the past during wet years. BLUE and GREEN-WINGED TEAL were present and an additional duo of PECTORAL SANDPIPERS. We made a U-turn and made our way north on Taft. The ag, grassland, irrigation ditches, and windbreaks hosted our first BALD EAGLE and GREAT BLUE HERON. Also present were more GREATER PRAIRIE-CHICKENS, HORNED LARK, BROWN THRASHER, and BREWER’S BLACKBIRD.
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| Trumpeter Swans - Townline Rd |
The lore of Buena Vista Grassland is a fascinating and inspiring one, it’s worth looking into as a conservation success story. Historically this area was a tamarack and black spruce swamp surrounded by cattails, then drained and converted for agriculture purposes, before eventually being reclaimed and converted into the rich grasslands we all know and love today. It’s all thanks to the dedication of Fran Hamerstrom and her husband Fred. It’s also worth mentioning that Fran was a trailblazer for women in conservation in the state, as she became the second woman to work as a wildlife professional in Wisconsin history. Her legacy is always worth the recognition and it continues to live on in the excellent and dedicated work that Janet and Amber Eschenbauch do with the Kestrel research in the area. A big congratulations to Janet and Amber for recently banding their 3,000th American Kestrel!
Our exodus from the grassland via Coddington Rd tied up the last major loose end in the open country, VESPER SPARROW. The recently flooded fields embellished our day with several new shorebirds - DUNLIN, SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER, and most notably BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER. Three additional TRUMPETER SWANS were present on the pond just west of the I-39 overpass.
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| Black-bellied Plover - Coddington Rd |
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| Dunlin - Coddington Rd |
Turning north on Isherwood Rd we added COMMON RAVEN, but whiffed on the targeted Eurasian Collared-Doves at the junction of Birch Dr.
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| Fox Squirrel - Isherwood Rd |
With the waxing of the morning, we made haste to the northern part of the county to catch up on forest birds. Our first stop was the Wisconsin River Rec Area in hopes the Red Crossbills that have been around would cooperate. Unfortunately, they had other plans for the day, but we eked out PINE WARBLER and SCARLET TANAGER at this quick stop. There wasn’t much on Lake DuBay other than a few RING-BILLED GULLS. Lake viewing was difficult as the differential between the cool air temps and the water temperature resulted in quite a bit of distortion, the wind compounded that difficulty.
Dewey Marsh was next on the docket. The bog habitat along Oakwood Rd hosts a few species at the southernmost end of their range in the summer months. We were relieved to hear the song of at least two LINCOLN’S SPARROWS, which normally stop singing early in the morning. Unfortunately, we felt the wind was keeping the Hermit Thrush silent. A trend that continued in the three spots we checked after the bog. The other misses here were Purple Finch and Palm Warbler, which sometimes can be seen or heard in the tamaracks along the road. Conversely to our fortune the bog offered a cooperative OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER as consolation, representing one of only a handful of actual migrants we would see that day. Other bog highlights: ALDER FLYCATCHER, VEERY, GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER, BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER, and NASHVILLE WARBLER.
Continuing east on Oakwood the mixed forest uplands added another RUFFED GROUSE and BLUE-WINGED WARBLER. South on Haymeadow Rd another RUFFED GROUSE drummed and a BROAD-WINGED HAWK perched obligingly for us as we passed by. We heard a RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH in a stand of red pine. At Haymeadow Creek we picked up our only VIRGINIA RAIL for the day calling from the sedge.
We headed to N Torun Rd next, a rustic road that bisects a wide variety of mixed forest at different stages of growth. Other than Hermit Thrush, our main targets were still vocal, albeit more difficult to hear with the constant drone of mosquitoes in our ears. Both CANADA and MOURNING WARBLERS were worth the onslaught of biters as temps began to rise. YELLOW-THROATED VIREO, WOOD THRUSH, GOLDEN and BLUE-WINGED WARBLERS, and NASHVILLE WARBLERS were also found during our 25 minutes of point counts along the road.
Steinhaugen County Park was next, we picked up EASTERN BLUEBIRD en route. Traversing the maze of trails within the park we added YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER, BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER, NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH, and HOODED WARBLER. The bad news was the Blue-headed Vireo was a no show for our last shot at the species, since the Dewey bird was also silent or absent as well. At the back ponds we had a brief encounter with a GREEN HERON and a BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO called a few times.
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| Steinhaugen County Park |
Jordan Pond was pretty slow. Water levels are trending high, thus the north mud flats are submerged. We whiffed on Yellow-rumped Warbler here, sometimes there is one on territory near the day camp area.
After making the slog to the northeast corner of the county, we arrived at Upper Little Wolf River SNA. We searched the area for about 15 minutes with no luck on our target. At this point we opted to have a strategic lunch to help pass the time while we waited for the bird. It seemed to have paid off as we finally got ears and eventually eyes on our main bird: ACADIAN FLYCATCHER. Which redeemed how unexciting my tuna sandwich was. WOOD THRUSH, BLUE-WINGED WARBLER, and SCARLET TANAGER were good company while we staked out the flycatcher, too.
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| Upper Little Wolf River SNA |
A short stop after at Bradley Creek SFA netted an additional HOODED WARBLER (new location for this species in the county) and RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD. The mix of upland deciduous forest and secondary growth on Hill Rd held RUFFED GROUSE, ALDER FLYCATCHER, ORCHARD ORIOLE, BLUE-WINGED (throwing some very atypical songs), and CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLERS.
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| Bradley Creek SFA |
The forested areas of northeast Portage County remain as one of the least explored areas in the county. The remnant forests of this area provide a window into how the area would have looked in the past. To a degree, it also tempers my inexhaustible sense of wonder of what the area was once at large before the modern age. The area is dominated by mixed upland forest along the glacial moraines and lowland conifers along the flowing waterways. This mix of habitat demonstrates best, the overlap between the southern deciduous forest and northern boreal forest biomes. We are fortunate to have such a beautiful and well preserved habitat both here and across the state!
Heading back to the Stevens Point area, we stopped at Sunset Lake. Collin spotted the pair of COMMON LOONS on the far end of the lake almost immediately.
Continuing east we finally nabbed a PILEATED WOODPECKER as a flyover. At the 10/161 wetland PURPLE MARTINS were a low effort add at the house. Our only HOODED MERGANSER for the day was present here, a frequently diving hen. A PIED-BILLED GREBE was present and keeping close guard for the 5 young that were sitting on a well hidden nest.
Lost Creek Wetland was kind of a bust, we missed most of our big targets like Redhead, Ruddy Duck, Ring-necked Pheasant, and Least Bittern. Lost Creek wasn’t a complete lost cause, between Duck Trail (the gravel road bisecting the property) and the hike out to the SE marsh, the property furnished the day with a few new birds: AMERICAN COOT, SPOTTED SANDPIPER, BANK SWALLOW, and MARSH WREN. Continuing the success streak, the pair of TRUMPETER SWANS had 6 fresh cygnets in tow on the north pond. We checked unsuccessfully for Pine Siskin in the red pine stand on the south end of the road.
We gave the sod farm across from Lost Creek a brief glassing, no shorebirds, only a pair of GREEN-WINGED TEALS. We blasted westward to the panhandle, Katie Kozak gave me a heads up that she had an American Golden-Plover over that way that morning. Alas, we arrived to find only the mudflats the bird was utilizing. Oh well, that's the expected fugitive nature of spring shorebirds. Regardless, great find and thanks for the heads up, Katie! A quick pass after on Brandl Rd would yield our first DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT of the day.
Given that our last few stops proved to err on the side of low return, it was finally time to hit another area that’s proven to be a cornucopia of bird life - 4 Oaks Marsh. This portion of the Mead SWA in May is one of the most spectacular hikes, especially early in May. Unfortunate for us, late May unleashes clouds of ravenous mosquitoes which hail from adjacent conifer bogs. However bad the mosquitoes are, the challenge is always worth the reward. And not just for birds - butterflies, dragonflies, and quite a few neat mammals take advantage of the diverse environment surrounding the 1.5 mile trail to the wetland. The hike in, while tough, saw RUFFED GROUSE, GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER, VEERY, BLUE-WINGED WARBLER, BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER, loads of AMERICAN REDSTARTS, and CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER. The marsh is always the main hotbed of activity, as it hosts a few difficult to find resident summer birds. We were in luck and added RING-NECKED DUCK, BLACK TERN, AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN, and GREAT EGRET.
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| Ring-necked Ducks - 4 Oaks |
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| Starflower - 4 Oaks |
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| 4 Oaks Marsh |
After fighting through the hungry clouds on the way back from the marsh, we came up with a plan to add a few easy birds we were still missing. We opted to pop into the newly added Hunter Ln parcel of the Mead property since we still needed a BELTED KINGFISHER and NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW for the day. The location did not disappoint as both species revealed themselves between the first two ponds.
The George W. Mead SWA is another great example of an area that has had a lot of success with habitat management and conservation! Additionally, there are regularly held educational and community events hosted by the excellent staff there. There are endless opportunities for exploration and adventure across this vast and diverse property.
With the amount of usable daylight we had waning faster with every moment, we were off to the next stop. Lake DuBay set us back a little bit, our effort for Tufted Titmouse and back up for Red Crossbill proved futile. The holiday weekend traffic on and off the lake also dropped the potential for any late waterbirds and Red-shouldered Hawk. We moved on to try and find a few more birds to make up for the null effort.
Back in SP, we did a quick check of Guardian Angel Cemetery for Merlin. No dice. As we laid that attempt to rest, we headed for the Paper Mill segment of the Green Circle Trail.
The first part of Paper Mill was a quick pass of the ridge on Cedar St. And it added a few new birds we hadn’t gotten: OSPREY, TENNESSEE WARBLER (our only other migrant passerine), and at long last a DOWNY WOODPECKER. The latter by 7:30PM had become an ongoing joke throughout the day of how we still needed one. Not wasting any time, we headed over to the old mill site, COMMON NIGHTHAWK and CHIMNEY SWIFTS were new here. No luck on the Lark Sparrow effort unfortunately. It’s incredible to think that not so long ago this was a fully functioning facility and is now an overgrown, sandy flat that hosts this sparrow species that tends to be extremely localized in the area.
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| American Beaver - Paper Mill Trail |
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| Common Nighthawk - Paper Mill Trail |
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| Paper Mill Trail - Old Mill Site |
As the sun set, we decided to pop into Iverson Park. As luck would have it, we were able to add our last bird. It was a young BARRED OWL calling right as the last little bit of remaining light was draining from the sky.
After 18.5 hours of grind in less than ideal breeze and at a late date, we were still thrilled to hit 137 species! The bird diversity of the Curtis Tension Zone never ceases to captivate my sense of awe. A big thank you to all that have chipped in for the NRF, the Wi Sharp-tailed Grouse Society, or any other conduit for bird conservation! Your generosity is exemplary and you are all champions for our birds and their wellbeing! And thanks to Collin for driving and helping with the effort! 130 was a real challenge with what we had to work with!
Lastly, I want to take a moment to thank and remember Kent Hall. What Kent and Sue accomplished both locally and statewide on the front of conservation, outreach, engagement and so many other things has been a monumental inspiration to many of us. Rest easy, Kent you will be missed by many, but your infectious enthusiasm for birds and conservation lives on in all of your wunderkinds.
Report Addendum:
Donations to support bird conservation in Wisconsin are open through June 30th, every little bit helps and thank you again to all that have donated! https://charity.pledgeit.org/f/JdpPhMkblM?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2HUM_tqjtA26J38AvC6IbNIqMrPIYJgEnBIel1Cdg_-Mn0kJV99Mv9xd8_aem_ZmFrZWR1bW15MTZieXRlcw
Complete eBird trip report: https://ebird.org/tripreport/244396
Bonus highlights:
Striped Skunk
Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel
Fox Squirrel
Wolf and Bear scat
American Beaver
Red Fox
Canadian Tiger Swallowtail
Black Swallowtail
Six-spotted Tiger Beetle
Oak Besma Moth
Pretty much every native plant that was flowering throughout the day!
Our biggest misses:
Northern Shoveler, Redhead, and Ruddy Duck - have been at the SE portion of Lost Creek. Maybe the wind or time of day we went, but we certainly felt the cold shoulder. They may have gone into summer secrecy for nesting efforts, too.
Ring-necked Pheasant - normally pretty vocal at Lost Creek, wind may have been the culprit.
Eurasian Collared-Dove - Isherwood Rd. Didn’t have high hopes as they haven’t been reported in a while, likely still around though. More miss than hit species this time of year.
Common Gallinule and Yellow-headed Blackbird - haven’t been reported at Lost Creek yet this year.
Least Bittern and Black-crowned Night-Heron - time of day at Lost Creek wasn’t ideal, plus wind factor.
Cooper’s Hawk - easiest easy bird to miss
Red-shouldered Hawk - didn’t have one staked out/holiday weekend crowds at DuBay.
Owls and Hermit Thrush - wind.
Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Purple Finch, White-throated Sparrow, and Palm Warbler - not enough time to hike into Dewey Bog
Blue-headed Vireo - not singing or have moved on.
Tufted Titmouse - don’t know what to tell ya here.
Sharp-shinned Hawk, Brown Creeper, Winter Wren, Blackburnian, and Black-throated Green Warbler - haven’t been on territory on N Torun this year, not enough time to hike Hemp SFA.
Yellow-rumped Warbler - seems like there aren’t as many on territory this year, it’ll be interesting what the summer unfolds.
Dickcissel - still kind of early plus wind.
Next year we’ll be out earlier in May!
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