The weather was hot outside but bird club met in the comfort of the fan cooled nature center. With the drawdown of the marsh, the landscape looked quite different. Large mud flats revealing Mud Creek’s winding path are bordered with the beginnings of green vegetation along the edges. Large groups of sandhill cranes, Canada geese, […]
This month’s CEI Bird club meeting began with big news.. A Bell’s vireo was sighted just east of Kiel. This is a new bird for Manitowoc County, bringing the total observed species to 346. Our county ranks fourth in our state for number of species identified. Previously only observed in southwestern Wisconsin, this bird is […]
The morning was cold, rainy and windy when CEI Bird club met this month. We all shared the migrating birds we’ve been seeing including our favorite red-headed woodpeckers and warblers, up close interactions with sandhill cranes and a congregation of 10 eagles at one member’s site. We discussed the phone apps Merlin, Seek, and E-Bird […]
With a robin busily building its nest on a bench in front of the Nature Center, Bird Club members discussed upcoming projects and events. We are eager to attend CEI Bird Club member Jim Van Hoof’s “Bird Photography” presentation on Saturday April 18th. Several members are participating in the Midwest Crane count also on Saturday, […]
UPDATE: Short-eared owl trip to the Killsnake took place March 12th at 5:00pm. Success! Members caught sight of the short-eared owls, northern harriers, meadowlark as well as the usually migrating waterfowl. A big thanks to Nancy Gill for guiding us on this trip! Today’s CEI Bird Club meeting began with introductions along with an explanation […]
Today’s Bird Club discussions included the importance of predators in the bird population, how historical records can be documented on eBird and local birding hot spots. First timer Eileen treated everyone to photos of her first viewing of a Carolina wren. While the group met a Northern harrier swooped by to check us out. The […]
January Bird club kicked off with a viewing of a video from the Great Lakes Eagle Project, part of a UW Wisconsin Sea Grant program. A trained team tags, assesses and collects biological samples from eaglets at 5 to 9 weeks of age. The study is monitoring levels of heavy metals, chemicals and PFAS as […]
Today birders in attendance were treated to watching a rough-legged hawk hunting just across the road in the marsh. There’s always something to see out the Nature Center’s window! Bob shared there’s currently an excellent opportunity to view flocks of snow buntings, horned larks, and lapland longspurs just west of Collins Marsh south of the […]
November’s CEI Bird club meeting began with introductions all around, sharing reasons why we each find value in birding. Cheryl shared an Smithsonian magazine article describing the study of aeroecology. 11,000 species of birds and 1400 species of bats use the air atmosphere in at least part of their life cycle. Increasing geomagnetic activity– AKA […]
A cool crisp fall morning welcomed CEI birders viewing the many species now using the Collins Marsh empoundment area. Mallards, gadwell’s, widgeons, green winged teal, Canada geese, and many other unidentified ducks graced us with their presence. A female harrier winged her way along the shore while redwinged black birds and finches flew overhead. Birders […]