Chuck's Weekly Birding Report #10

20-26 May 2020

Dear fellow flock of birders,

Again, I hope all of you are well.

The past few days of birding I haven’t seen many warblers. Is the warbler migration over? It could be but I hope it isn’t. We need to get some good south winds to have another wave of warblers come to Wisconsin. I’m still in need of a couple more species to reach my goal of 30 warbler species.

Recently, it seems that new species of flycatchers are the latest new arrivals. We’ve had Great Crested Flycatchers for a couple weeks now. New flycatchers include Eastern Wood Pewees, Willow Flycatchers and Olive-sided Flycatchers. They have been seen this past week. In addition, some of the rarer flycatchers like the Acadian, Alder and Yellow-bellied Flycatchers have also been seen or at least heard. Flycatchers are not easily distinguished by looking at them. They are all very similar looking and certainly not colorful like the warblers. Their vocalizations are really what distinguish them one from another. I’ve included two flycatchers in my attached photos today, the Eastern Wood Pewee and the Olive-sided Flycatcher. Can you tell them apart?

Another two newcomers this past week are the Black-billed Cuckoo and the Yellow-billed Cuckoo. I’ve attached a photo of the Black-billed Cuckoo to this message.

I’ve been fortunate to see several male Scarlet Tanagers this year. Maybe it’s because I now  recognize their song well and search them out. I’ve attached of photo of the male Scarlet Tanager to this message.

One last photo I’m attaching is of a Sandhill Crane. It’s not a new arrival but where I found it made me laugh. I hope it makes you laugh too. Since there’s not much activity in the Visitor Center these days because it’s closed this Sandhill Crane decided it would take over the building. It was standing on top of the Visitor Center as if it were the King of the Arboretum.

Stay well and good birding to you all,

Chuck