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FIELD REPORTS

Winter 2000

black duck

American black duck Anas rubripes

Date
Observer
Field Report
12/1/00 Paulios, Japuntich, Price The shallow flats around the point are frozen. Good areas of open water still exist off of point # 6. Mallards, American Black Ducks, Common Goldeneyes, Common Mergansers, Bufflehead, and Canada Geese were all seen in good numbers along the edge of the ice and out in the bay. American Tree Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncoes were seen in the Phragmites australis that lines the inner lagoon. A Northern Shrike was spotted along a fencerow just outside of Green Bay on the way to the point.
11/15/00 Berkopec Good numbers of Lesser Scaup and Bufflehead in the bay. A late Killdeer and Snow Buntings were seen along the beach. A lone Northern Pintail was seen with a large flock of Mallards and Black Ducks NE of the point.
11/14/00 Paulios Good numbers of diving ducks are using the flats just west of the point. Most of these are Lesser Scaup and Redheads, but Common and Red-Breasted Mergansers, Bufflehead, and Common Goldeneyes were all seen mixed in. In addition, a male Harlequin Duck was spotted just north of point #1. A pair of Swamp Sparrows were seen with a mixed flock of sparrows and juncoes at point 2. Two late Great-Blue Herons were also seen feeding at point # 8.
11/11/00 Jon Rose A report from a duck hunter - Black Scoters were seen off the point with good numbers of Lesser Scaup and other diving ducks.
11/9/00 Jon Rose Hunters report that the main flight of diving ducks has arrived in Green Bay.
10/30/00 Paulios, Marks, Japuntich Fairly strong SE winds made for poor banding, on the last banding day of the fall. The first Snow Buntings of the year were seen on the north beach. Bonaparte's Gulls were seen feeding south of point 8. The final banding totals from the Fall of 2000 are 164 birds in 351 net hours. Hermit Thrushes were the most common bird that we banded. Yellow-rumped warblers, Palm warblers, and Lincoln's sparrows were notably absent from our list of species banded this fall. A complete listing of banding results will be up shortly on the bird banding page.
10/27/00 Paulios The morning started humid and warm with variable winds, but soon changed to north winds as the storm front rolled in. Good numbers of birds were seen and banded just before the storm. American Goldfinches and American Tree Sparrows were banded for the first time this year. The first migrant Common Loon was heard singing south of the point during the calm before the storm. In addition, a Ruffed Grouse was heard drumming near point # 3 just before the storm hit. An immature Northern Harrier was hunting over the back marsh and Black-Bellied Plovers, Semipalmated Plovers, and Killdeer were seen on the walk out, making for a plover smorgasborg.
10/21/00 Paulios and Berkopec Seventeen birds and seven species were banded in five hours today. Fox Sparrows, Hermit Thrushes, Black-capped Chickadees and White-Throated Sparrows made up the bulk of the migrants. The first American Tree Sparrows of the year were spotted at numerous locations along the point. Rusty Blackbirds and Red-winged Blackbirds were singing on the sunny side of the lagoon. A White-Crowned Sparrow was spotted at point #4 in the Bidens. Waterfowl migration is behind schedule, as very few Lesser Scaup have shown up yet. It's late October and we have yet to band a Yellow-Rumped Warbler!!
10/12/00 Paulios, Erdman A number of new migrants were seen today out on the point. Three Common Mergansers and two Common Ravens were seen flying over the point. The first Orange-Crowned Warbler, Fox Sparrow, and Swamp Sparrows of the fall were banded today. In addition, White-Crowned Sparrows, Purple Finches, and Rusty Blackbirds were seen with Pine Siskins, Juncoes and hundreds of sparrows feeding on the Bidens in the lagoon. As of today, we have yet to band a Yellow-Rumped Warbler this Fall out on the point. Point count numbers for this, as well as many other passerines, are down from a year ago.
10/5/00 Erdman The periodic rain showers made birding and banding very slow today. The first Dark-Eyed Junco of the fall was banded today. In total, 10 birds were banded, including Hermit Thrushes, both Kinglets, White-Throated Sparrows and the Junco. A few late Tree Swallows were hawking insects over the lagoon.
10/4/00 Paulios The Point was sunny and cold with North winds of 10-15 mph. Good numbers of diving ducks have moved into the bay, including > 1000 Ruddy Ducks, >2000 Lesser Scaup, and a small number of Redheads. The Bidens in the lagoon is ripe with seed and is attracting hundreds of sparrows, blackbirds, and a flock of 30-40 Pine Siskins. In addition, the Bidens and Polygynum are attracting hundreds of Mallards, Wigeon, Gadwalls and Teal. One lone, cold Semipalmated Plover and a flock of Forster's Terns were seen out from point # 6. Eastern Bluebirds were seen migrating overhead for the first time this Fall from point # 6 and #2.
9/30/00 Paulios, Howe, Berkopec, Einhorn Saturday's 41 birds and 13 spp. was the best banding day of the year. Six species of warblers were banded, including the first Northern Parula and Bay-Breasted Warblers of the Fall. Ducks were very active all day, due to the opening of duck hunting in Wisconsin. Over a thousand Mallards were using the point and lagoon. Mixed in were American Wigeon and both species of Teal.
9/27/00 Erdman, Paulios Strong NE winds made banding diffucult today, and resulted in only 5 birds in 4 hours. Banding highlights included our first Northern Waterthrush, Hermit Thrush and Ruby-Crowned Kinglet of the fall. In addition, a male Cooper’s Hawk narrowly avoided a net as he was searching for his late morning snack. Numerous flocks of Lesser Scaup and Ruddy Ducks were seen out in the bay. A small flock of Sanderlings, Semipalmated Plovers, and Dunlins were feeding at the tip of the point. Approximately 300 Mallards were feeding in the lagoon with a handful of Northern Pintails, American Black Ducks, American Wigeon, and Green-Winged Teal. The first Golden-Crowned Kinglets and Hermit Thrushes of the year were seen, signifying that October is just around the corner.
9/24/00 Erdman Sunday was clear and cool with steady NW winds. Banding was not as successful, with only seven birds caught in five hours. Good concentrations of waterfowl were seen on the point and in the Bay, including the first Ring-Necked Ducks of the year. Also on the point were Ruddy Turnstones and Sanderlings. A large flock (83) of Bonaparte’s Gulls was seen out in the Bay. Good numbers of Ruby-Crowned Kinglets and Winter Wrens signals the onset of the late fall migrants. Golden-Crowned Kinglets can’t be far down the road.
9/21/00 Paulios Thursday was clear and cold with a steady wind from the NW. Good numbers of Mallards, Black Ducks, Gadwall and Wigeon were loafing off of point # 6. Mixed in were two Black-Bellied Plovers and a Semipalmated Plover. The first flock of Lesser Scaup was seen out in Green Bay. Blackpoll, Magnolia, Nashville, and Tennessee Warblers made up the bulk of the migrating passerines. In addition, White-Throated Sparrows, Winter Wrens, Red-Breasted Nuthatches and Brown Creepers were also spotted. Thursday was the most successful banding day of the fall, with 11 species and 21 birds in four hours.
9/20/00 Paulios
Recent rains contributed to an abundance of mosquitoes on the Point this morning. Good numbers of ducks were loafing between point 9 and 6, including Gadwalls, American Wigeon, Green-Winged Teal, and a lone female Lesser Scaup. Warbler diversity was low, Tennessee and Blackpolls were abundant. A large flock (170) of Ruddy Ducks was located off point 8. Numerous flocks of American Robins suggests that winter might be right around the corner.
9/16/00
Howe, Wolf, Roberts

After cool, clear night (40's) warblers were locally abundant in the canopy of the forest and in dogwoods near the Wequiock Creek bridge. Common Yellowthroat, Black-and-white Warber, Bay-Breasted Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and Black-throated Green Warbler were observed. Banding success was poor, perhaps because most birds were in the canopy. The lagoon is densely vegetated with Bidens, Polyganum, and other aquatic plants; only the far west end holds open water.
9/15/00 Paulios Very cold, windy morning with high storm surge into lagoon. Philadelphia Vireo, American Redstart, and Blackpoll, Bay-breasted, Tennessee, Cape May, Yellow-rumped, and Black-and-white Warblers were observed. Season's first Yellow-rumped Warbler and Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Two Cooper's Hawks were hunting in the lagoon. Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk, and (possibly) Merlin also were recorded. Black-bellied Plover was observed at tip of Point.
9/5/00 Paulios Birding was slow today. A few Warbling Vireos greeted my arrival with song, but no real substantial passerine movement followed. Very few ducks and geese were found on the point, this could correlate with the start of the early goose season. A few Sanderlings, Least, Bairds, Spotted and Ruddy Turnstones were present along the beaches. Song sparrows are flocking in beach scrub along south shore.
8/31/00 Paulios, Erdman, Marks Very warm with a strong SW wind. Small groups of warblers were seen high in the trees all day. Banding was slow; 2 Chickadees, a Wood-Pewee, and an Ovenbird. Mallards and Canada Geese are starting to congregate (300-400) on the point. American Wigeon, Green-Winged Teal, Blue-Winged Teal, Black Ducks, and a Drake Redhead were also mixed in. Throughout the day, large numbers of monarchs were migrating and staging on the point.
8/29/00 Paulios Strong winds made locating passerines diffucult. The first Sanderlings of the year were seen on the point running along the beach. Good numbers of ducks were congragating from point 9-6, including a few Wigeon and Gadwall. The only passerine movement was at 11:00 along the south beach, with Common Yellowthroats and Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers making up most of the movement.
8/23/00 Paulios Good passerine movements today, possibly due to fog cover. Unfortunately, the fog and foliage made ID difficult. Good numbers of Semipalmated and Least Sandpipers were also using the point, and a flock of Dowitchers was seen overhead. The Horned Grebe was still present at Point #4. Numerous green frogs were found in the lagoon and at point number 8. In addition, a Gray-Tree Frog was also heard calling.
8/22/00 Paulios Very warm, humid, and hazy. The water is very low in the lagoon. About 100 peeps using north shore, along with a Lesser Yellowlegs and Pectoral Sandpiper. Bonaparte's Gulls were seen with a small flock of Common Terns out in the Bay of point #6. Numerous gull skeletons were found on the beach, suggesting Great-Horned Owl predation.
8/17/00 Paulios, Berkopac Cloudy and cool skies with a South wind of 5-10 mph. Very little bird activity. Noticeably absent were the Red-Winged Blackbirds and Eastern Kingbirds. A large midge hatch concentrated hundreds of tree swallows and purple martins on the point. One mixed flock of Semipalmated and Least Sandpipers was using the beach at point 9. Dozens of song sparrows were using the weedy areas along the south beach.


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