justnorth posted on February 20, 2007 07:20 :: 1680 Views
Despite the cold temperatures, birders have been turning up some good birds across the state. A great-tailed grackle was discovered outside of Horicon Marsh State Wildlife Area and is still around. Varied thrushes have still been showing well in Washburn, Dunbar and one was seen at Devil's Lake State Park. This has been an excellent winter for short-eared owls at various refuges and state wildlife areas. In particular they are very viewable at Killsnake, Brillion, Collins Marsh, Horicon, Shady Lane (west of Appleton), Bong, and in private grasslands of eastern Iowa and western Dane County. Viewing begins at about 4 p.m. and continues until dark. A snowy owl has also being seen southeast of Collins Marsh. Northern Wisconsin birders have been seeing good numbers of pine grosbeaks and both species of crossbills. In addition, boreal chickadees were seen along sheltered valley road in the Nicolet National Forest east of Three Lakes. Lake Michigan birders have been having good luck with winter gulls and waterfowl. The Menasha slaty-backed gull was spotted in Milwaukee and barrow's goldeneyes are currently being seen in Sheboygan, Milwaukee, and Harrington Beach State Park. Finally, a number of Carolina wrens have been reported to eBird this winter. It seems as if the previous warm winters and recent cold snap has made the increasing population of this species more viewable. As always, please report sightings to ebird www.ebird.org so that biologists can better document and track bird populations across the state.
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