On a sweltering late-July afternoon, a mother wood duck and her seven ducklings tucked into a shady spot on the island in Bay View’s Humboldt Park Pond.
“This is the first year we’ve had baby wood ducks here,” said Konrad Kuchenbach, a Bay View resident and nature photographer.
On the other side of the island a great blue heron dips its dagger-like beak into the water. There were three blue herons in the park this summer, Kuchenbach said, but they become solitary in late summer. Only the juvenile is left, as the parents have since moved on.
The Bay View oasis is one of many prime locations to check out birds in Milwaukee. In Humboldt Park alone, there have been roughly 180 bird species documented, according to the online database eBird.
Many may not realize it, but the Cream City, with its publicly accessible lakefront and parks, is a great place to be a birder.
While summer may seem like it just got started, the season is already starting to shift for Milwaukee’s feathered friends. Fall migration is about to pick up in the Great Lakes, which sits in between two of North America’s bird super highways, the Atlantic and Mississippi flyways where millions of birds fly through treks throughout the hemisphere.
So when will the fall migration happen? Where are the best spots to check out birds? And what are the benefits of birding? Here’s what to know.
Fall bird migration ramps up in mid-August
Spring migration is much shorter because birds are territorial over their nesting grounds. Fall migration is longer and much more drawn out.
Fall migration officially kicks off in mid-July, said Rita Flores Wiskowski, a board member of Wisconsin Metro Audubon Society and leader of the BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin. It ramps up in mid-August and then will peak in mid-September to early October.
Shorebirds have already started their southward migration and are more visible closer to Lake Michigan, Flores Wiskowski said.
In more inland parks, like Humboldt Park, she expects to see warblers, osprey, mergansers and many more stop by in the coming weeks.
Climate change is making its mark on bird migration
Timing is key for bird migration, and climate change may be causing a timing mismatch between migratory birds and the resources, like leaves and insects, that they need when they arrive at their breeding grounds. Some are migrating earlier, but others run the risk of not being able to keep up.
Even weather or climate patterns occurring thousands of miles away can affect bird migrations, which can bring more rarities to Wisconsin.
Last year’s flamingos spotted in Port Washington, Wisconsin – the first time the tropical bird has ever been seen in the state – were a great example of this. Biologists believe the flamingos were blown north due to strong winds from Hurricane Idalia.
Over his decades of birdwatching, Kuchenbach has noticed that some birds don’t show up that used to, and peak migration times seem to be getting earlier.
More:Climate change is jeopardizing loons, a beloved symbol of the Northwoods. Here's why.
Milwaukee is an important Great Lakes pitstop for migratory birds
Millions of birds migrate through the Great Lakes region each year. Some of the highest concentrations of birds are found near the lakeshores, which makes Milwaukee a great spot to birdwatch.
There is a lot of public access to water, said Jym Mooney. This is largely thanks to Wisconsin’s public trust doctrine, which protects the public’s rights to navigable waters.
The parks near the lakefront, like South Shore, Warnimont and Lake parks, are some of the best places to go to bird, especially during peak migration in the spring and fall, Flores Wiskowski said. She also said she enjoys more inland parks, like Havenswood State Forest, the only urban state forest in Wisconsin.
But really, she loves how accessible the activity is because birds are everywhere and “all you need are your senses.” Any green space will work, especially if there are native plants.
“Even your backyard can be a restaurant stop for birds,” Flores Wiskowski said.
Free bird apps can help you get started
If someone is curious about birds in their area, apps are a great place to start, Flores Wiskowski said.
eBird, by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, is an online database of more than 1.5 billion bird observations. People can keep track of bird lists, photos and sounds. Birdwatchers can even pinpoint specific places, like Humboldt Park, to see what birds people have seen recently.
eBird is one of the world’s largest examples of citizen science, and much of the data are used for science and conservation.
Merlin Bird ID, also by the Cornell Lab, helps birders identify birds based on questions, photos or sound. Users can explore bird calls nearby and keep track of the birds they’ve identified. The information is based on more than 800 million sightings submitted to eBird from birders around the world.
An interactive map by the National Audubon Society, known as the Bird Migration Explorer, lets birdwatchers track the journeys that birds make each year. It not only lets people know where the birds they love travel, but also challenges they face along the way, like habitat destruction and pollution.
eBird, Merlin Bird ID and Bird Migration Explorer are all free to use.
Birding can be as social as you want it to be
Other ways to get started in birding is to go on bird walks or join a bird group.
The Wisconsin Metro Audubon Society meets Sunday mornings at the Wehr Nature Center in Franklin. On Aug. 24, Mooney will start up another round of bird walks just in time for fall migration. The Warbler Walks will take place each Saturday through September in Lake Park. Flores Wiskowski also said that Wisconsin's BIPOC Birding Club is a safe, welcoming environment for anyone interested in birds.
The best birding is when there is a combination of new and experienced birders, Flores Wiskowski said, explaining that new birders bring excitement, and experienced ones bring knowledge.
But Flores Wiskowski said one of the best things about birding is that it can be as social as people want it to be.
More:Wondering where that bird in your backyard came from? A new mapping tool details its amazing journey.
It’s a way to heal, connect with nature
Birding is about more than just birds.
People need a connection to nature more than ever, Flores Wiskowski, and birding is a great way to get away from computers and phones, and take care of mental health.
Being immersed in bird song is not only soothing, but Flores Wiskowski said that it’s something that humans have always naturally gravitated to because that’s where resources are.
And today, it’s where she finds peace and connection.
Mooney described birding as a sensory experience and “everything else falls away” when he’s outside.
“If you open yourself up to the whole world of nature, there is so much to see and learn from,” he said.
More:‘The Earth is healing’: What a prairie restoration project on the Oneida Reservation can teach us about partnerships and the land
Caitlin Looby is a Report for America corps member who writes about the environment and the Great Lakes. Reach her at clooby@gannett.com or follow her on X@caitlooby.
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