Results Are in for the Great Wisconsin Birdathon 2021!
At last, the results are in for Team Chirp Chaser’s Great Wisconsin Birdathon 2021! We know you have been waiting with bated breath!
Teams from the Chirp Chaser’s headed out as early as 5:00 a.m. on May 12th and logged exactly 100 species this year. We were one short of our number from 2020 and quite shy of our goal this year (perhaps 115 was a little too ambitious). What is useful to note however, is that the team went out eleven days earlier than last year and temperatures had been very irregular, hot one day, very cold the next. It seemed both birds and humans were confused!
But May 12th dawned cool and sunny and in spite of the earlier date and unpredictable weather, the team proceeded to see a number of species that were new to our bird checklist AND we found several species that are designated as "species of concern" (meaning they are declining in population). One of them, a Red- Headed Woodpecker was seen at the Dunville Wildlife Area and another was a Bobolink, singing his heart out, seen at the Tom Lawin Wildlife Area. The Golden- Winged Warbler was seen at the Krank Preserve, clearly emphasizing the benefit that Conservancy protected lands create for birds. Others of interest were a Trumpeter Swan (to the best of our knowledge this is the type of swan we think it was, Tundra Swans were probably far north by then). Two of our teams saw the swan which helped in identification. Others spied a Harris’s Sparrow which is not something we have had on our list before as well as a Yellow-Headed Blackbird. A Green Heron, White Pelican and Solitary Sandpiper were some of the other species that were unique. The whole list is detailed below.
Additionally, we are delighted to share that we made our goal of $1500 in donations! That’s $500 more than last year and we are so grateful to all of our donors, many of whom have supported us in the past. $750.00 will go to aid the Conservancy in maintaining our properties and $750.00 to the Natural Resources Foundation to help fund bird conservation projects. Our birds face many obstacles – we love that we are helping them out in this way. Many thanks to our supporters and to the volunteers who made up our team. We are already looking forward to next year!
Great Wisconsin Birdathon 2021 Checklist:
Canada Goose, Trumpeter Swan, Common Loon, Wood Duck, Mallard, Ruffed Grouse, Ring-necked Pheasant, Sandhill Crane, Kildeer, Solitary Sandpiper, Greater Yellow Legs, Lesser Yellow Legs, Least Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper, Wilson's Phalarope, Semi-palmated Sandpiper, Great Blue Heron, Green Heron, Kingfisher, Pied-billed Grebe, American Coot, Ruddy Duck, Ring Billed Gull, American White Pelican, Blue -winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Hooded Merganser, Osprey, Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle, Red-Tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Northern Harrier.
Red-Headed Woodpecker, Red-Bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker ,Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Pileated Woodpecker, Great Crested Flycatcher, Least Flycatcher, Yellow-Throated Vireo, Blue-Headed Vireo, Eastern Kingbird, Eastern Phoebe, Northern Rough Winged Swallow, Bank Swallow, Barn Swallow, Tree Swallow, Cliff Swallow, BC Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Red-Breasted Nuthatch, White-Breasted Nuthatch, House Wren, Sedge Wren, Wood Thrush, Bluebird, American Robin, Grey Catbird, Brown Thrasher, Pine Siskin, American Goldfinch, Eastern Towhee, Ruby -throated Hummingbird, Chipping Sparrow.
Clay colored Sparrow, Field Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Harris's Sparrow, White Throated Sparrow, European House Sparrow, Eastern Meadowlark, Bobolink Orchard Oriole, Baltimore Oriole, Red-Winged Black Bird, Brown-Headed Cowbird, Yellow Headed Blackbird, Brewers Blackbird, Common Grackle, Northern Cardinal, Rose-Breasted Grosbeak, American Crow, European Starling, Ovenbird, Golden-Winged Warbler, Blue-Winged Warbler, Black and White Warbler, Nashville Warbler, American Redstart, Yellow Warbler, Chesnut-Sided Warbler, Pine Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Rock Pigeon, Mourning Dove, Black-Billed Cuckoo, Blue Jay Cedar Wax-wing.