Looking for a new hobby? Birding is a great place to start, with plenty of resources such as Merlin Bird ID to help identify species and EBird helping uncover spots to sight uncommon creatures.
We spoke with Amanda Tokuyama, the GIS & Field Data Manager at the Urban Ecology Center, which has locations in Washington Park, Riverside Park and the Menomonee Valley, about birding in Milwaukee, from rare birds you might spot to ways to get started.
Celebrate this year’s winners of the Betty Awards!
What are some rare birds found at the Urban Ecology Center?
We have seen just this year a Hooded Warbler (an olive green and bright yellow little bird with a thick neck) at our Riverside Park location, which is a state threatened species. It was the first time we have documented the species in at least five years. Other rare warblers pass through too, like Golden-Winged Warblers and Blue-Winged Warblers.
At our Washington Park location, we get a lot of Black-Crowned Night Herons (small and squat herons with flat bills and stubby legs). They are a little more particular about the type of habit they like.
Another is our American Kestrels (the tiniest falcon in North America, are often attracted to the lights of sports stadiums). We had a pair breed at our Menomonee Valley location this year. Kestrels are declining across North America. So having them breeding is really significant because their population numbers are declining and being in such an urban area.
At Riverside Park, during the summer months and the breeding season, both Common and Yellow-Billed Loons are seen, with their numbers also declining. They are typically rarer birds because they are very secretive. They are really cool yet bizarre-looking birds.
We will get fall migrants coming through, so we might see something really cool in the coming months. We are hopefully going to start seeing Scarlet Tanagers (electrically red songbirds noted for their buzzing calls) again.
What have been some of your favorite birding experience?
One of the coolest experiences I had very recently was at Calvary Cemetery. I went for Swift Night Out, which is essentially people going around the city and staking out chimneys in the evening. This is because during fall migration, Chimney Swifts will mast roost in a single chimney. Typically there is just a pair in there, but now hundreds of them are migrating, circling and diving head first into a single chimney. We were just sitting in the cemetery watching them.
I always love when the American Woodcocks (plump in stature and with their long bills made for uncovering earthworms) come through because they do what is called a sky dance as their pre-breeding ritual. The males will shoot up very high in the air and then circle back down. Their wings are structured, so they will make this whistling noise. It’s very cool to watch and they are funny birds to begin with.
I think Milwaukee is a very special place for birds. It’s a really great place to see rare birds that you don’t have anywhere else just because of that habitat availability and being positioned along the lakefront. It’s a migratory funnel.
What species are the UEC focusing more attention toward protecting?
What are really under threat are insectivores and the birds we don’t necessarily see all of the time, like Common Nighthawks and Eastern Whip-poor-wills, which are largely nocturnal and very secretive during the day. Same with Barn Swallows and Purple Martins being under the most threat.
How can one join the birding community around here?
The birding community at the Urban Ecology Center is really great. A lot of them have been participating with us for years. We have one birder who has been with us since we started at Riverside Park over 25 years ago. Many are regulars who come to multiple walks a week.
We have three birding opportunities a week at each of our branches. Three Bridges Park on Tuesday mornings. Washington Park on Wednesdays. Riverside Park on Thursdays. For some, it’s more like a social activity. A good way to start your day.
