Well, this is the Peak!

Lots of birds are in Madison these days. Certainly it's the peak of the Spring migration. Warblers, vireos, waterbirds, flycatchers, orioles, tanagers, goatsuckers, sparrows and many others are here NOW but will mostly be gone (north) in less than two weeks. On the Tuesday bike-birding trips this week, we found more warblers than I've seen in one location in...a long time. In addition to a couple of semi-rarities, we saw Blackburnian, Bay-breasted, Pine, Magnolia, Golden-winged, Mourning, Cape May and other warblers, some eating Psyllids in almost-bare Hackberry trees and hence fairly easily seen. Vireos included a Blue-headed and a Philadelphia, woodpeckers a Red-headed, orioles an adult male Orchard, flycatchers a Yellow-bellied, mouses a Tit, nuthatches a Red-breasted, mergansers a Red-breasted, tremoloing a Common Loon in breeding plumage, owls a pair of Great Horneds, Sandhill Crane families a colt...all this at PICNIC POINT!
In subsequent guided bike-birding trips at other locations, we noticed a molting male Summer Tanager, Hooded and Prothonotary Warblers, Eastern Kingbirds, Philadelphia Vireo, Green Heron and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks.
All my trips are by bike (or bike-bus) and mostly cost a mere ten dollars. If you're reading this blog but have not yet signed up, you might want to send me an email so as to get important details and not miss out on the May migration.
Next trips: Friday May 13th at 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. Meet by the bikerack.

Many many birds today (Tuesday) -- Wednesday too?

Tonight I'll send out an email to those on my Bike-Birding email list detailing what was encountered on this morning's trips. If you're a reader of this blog who wants to become an active bike-birder, let me know.

WEDNESDAY trips, if weather is decent: 6:30 a.m. at one end of Lake Monona, and 4:oo p.m. at the other. Days of intermittent rain at the peak of migration (now!) can be very good...and I'm not just saying that. More trips on Friday and this weekend -- to influence times and locations, email me:
dfallow@yahoo.com

Thanks.

More migration, more trips....by bike

For readers of this blog who do not regularly receive emails from me: let me know that you're interested in the bike-birding tours that are happening almost daily, and I can give you details and useful information. Next trips: Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Where: in Madison. Cost:
$10. How: by bike/bus. Questions? Email me: dfallow@yahoo.com

Greener birdwatching

Birds fly. Madisonians can stay put and still see most of Wisconsin's bird species over the course of a year. "Staycation," you'll hear it called. Next time you tell me about a bird or butterfly you saw, please add how you got there. Madison is blessed with a variety of habitats and lots of water, hence many different birds appear here. While I don't like seeing an approaching Metro bus with a full bike-rack, I'd love to hear that every birdwatcher in town had gone bike-bus birding! It's easy to do -- scroll down to the bottom of the Metro homepage and watch the amusing video: http://www.cityofmadison.com/metro/

May in particular is a great time for ultra-local birdwatching. On every city block, there are dozens of warblers, flycatchers, vireos, nuthatches, kinglets, woodpeckers, lightbulb birds, thrushes, swallows, sparrows and hawks in sight or hearing during the month. (I guess the Yard List is the ultimate in a no-carbon avian staycation.) How many birds have you noticed within one mile of your home?

Low/no-carbon birdwatching

"Can I drive my car to your tours?" No.

"Can I give my bike a ride in my car's trunk, backseat or bikerack?" Nope.

What a Sunday that was, eh!

Yesterday morning at 6:30, as I set off on my bike as the lightning flashed, I thought, "Good thing I didn't schedule a bike-birding tour today!" Well...WRONG! as it turned out. The scary weather that was forecast never materialized (hereabouts), and I ended up spending most of the day outside. The SOUTH winds brought in some first-of-the-year birds, including HOUSE WREN, SORA, EASTERN TOWHEE, BANK SWALLOW, BROAD-WINGED HAWK and several sparrows -- WHITE-THROATED, SWAMP and LINCOLN'S. A dark-morph Rough-legged Hawk was surprising, as I thought I'd seen the last of that species for the season. Loons were flying northwest, over GREEN DARNER dragonflies including one "in tandem" pair. Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers seem to be near their peak, already, with females predominating yesterday. As I mentioned on "Diaspora" last Thursday, the Sapsuckers' "wells," sap-oozing holes in the bark of various trees, are visited by many other kinds of birds -- other woodpeckers, chickadees, kinglets and warblers, for example -- which can lead to some exciting interactions when they are discovered and driven away by the well's "owner." I didn't find the American Toads, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher or Northern Waterthrush reported to me, but did notice a MOSQUITO in our kitchen at night. And I got it before it got me! Opening the door this morning, I heard the first full song I've heard this year from a White-throated Sparrow. Soon they will be legion, along with Myrtle/Yellow-rumped Warblers. Sunday saw a big influx of Field Sparrows. The winter sparrows (Junco and American Tree) remain in small numbers, but that will change with the next serious south winds!

Whoa, an update! So many birds showing up recently in Madison and nearby busable/bikeable environs...especially waterfowl and raptors. On March 17th, after my "spot" on Terry O's popular radio show "Diaspora" (which runs on Thursday mornings between 9 and noon; I'm on somewhere in the 11:00-11:15 vicinity), I got back on my bike and found a Great Horned Owl on a nest, a male Kestrel near an old nest-site, a lingering Rough-legged Hawk and an overflying flock of about 40 White-fronted Geese. Today within bus/bike distance there were at least 17 species of ducks. Bluebirds are back, Kingfishers too, not to mention Pied-billed Grebes, Eastern Meadowlarks and American Woodcock. Now widespread are Sandhill Cranes, various blackbirds (mostly Redwings and Grackles), Turkey Vultures, Killdeer, Song Sparrows and
Robins.
So many upcoming birding-by-bike fieldtrips!