Yesterday, I took a last minute road trip to the Lone Rock / Spring Green area to try to find a Loggerhead Shrike that someone discovered there. I did find the bird and others have seen 2 in the area including a juvenile. This is a species that has become rare in Wisconsin (we are at the very northern edge of their range). People guess that there may be less than 10 breeding pairs in Wisconsin.

Afterwards, I checked out a shorebird spot a little farther east (along Dyke road just west of Spring Green). I didn't find many shorebirds, but was lucky enough to find a Black-bellied Whistling Duck which is extremely rare this far north. That bird has been seen by others since then including this morning.

Here is a link to a picture that I took:

http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2150912330048936665eZivsd

I know that these birds are not right in the LaCrosse area, but if anyone is interested in directions, please let me know.

I am still trying to get in touch with the Necedah refuge folks about a trip to see the Whooping Cranes. I will post details when I get it set up with them.

Good Birding,

Dan Jackson, President
Coulee Region Audubon Society
(608) 483-2271

There is a Marbled Godwit in a puddle in the plowed field immediately north of Midway. This field and puddle is directly west of the intersection of County OT and County XX. There are two puddles in the southwest corner of this field. The bird is located in the larger (northmost) puddle.

There was also a single Killdeer, a few Ring-billed Gulls, and a single Bonaparte's Gull around this puddle.

To view the bird, I parked just south of the intersection of XX an OT.

Good Birding,
Dan Jackson

Coulee Region Audubon Society president Dan Jackson Has this to say about the Townsend's Solitaire he found during the La Crosse Christmas Bird Count on December 15, 2007:

"I took advantage of a sunny afternoon yesterday to try to get another look at the Townsend's Solitaire that I found on the LaCrosse CBC along CTH MM about 1/2 mile uphill from the construction parking lot entrance for the Shrine.

The bird was still present and I was able to get some pictures."

Below is one of his photos from his recent sightings.

Dan Jackson recently found at least one Thayer's Gull in La Crosse.

Here is his report dated Tuesday March 22 ,2007:

Today, over the noon hour, I checked out the gull flock that is starting to build up on the Black River between the Clinton Street and I-90 bridges. Although the flock is mostly Ring-billed and Herring Gulls, I was able to identify 1 adult Thayer's Gull and 1 possible 1st year Thayer's Gull. The adult bird was located on the ice behind the Midway Best Western Motel on Rose Street.

There are lots of dead fish in the ice on the Black River and on Richmond Bay. The next few days should be great for gull watching in these locations.

Dan Jackson and others have spotted a Slaty-backed Gull in La Crosse.

Here is his report dated Tuesday January 2 ,2007:

Today, at about 12:30 pm, I found an adult Slaty-Backed Gull in LaCrosse. The bird is a member of a flock of about 1000 gulls that are on the Black River just south of I-90 and are directly Hwy 53/35 from the Bridgeview Mall.

This bird is very similar in appearance to the Menash bird. It is almost identical in size to a Herring Gull. It has a yellow bill with small red and black spots on the lower mandible that is similar in size and shape to that of a Herring Gull. The bird's eye has a yellow iris. It has bright pink legs and feet. The mantle is a medium grey that is significantly darker than that of the Herring and Ring-Billed Gulls in the same flock and it has black primaries. Like the Menasha bird, it has a white triangle just back from the tip of the wing. This triangle includes spots on the first 2 primaries. The spot on P10 is larger than that on P9 which gives it a triangle shape. There is a string of white spots on the primaries at the margin that separates the dark grey mantle from the black primaries. The bird's head and neck are slightly mottled with brownish feathers. When looking head-on, this almost looks like a bib.

The bird was seen by 6 avid birders and 3 others.

Here is a link to the album that contains the first installment of pictures of the LaCrosse Slaty-Backed Gull. It includes standing, resting, and flying shots of the birds. They were taken through a few cameras and vary in quality and lighting.

And this from Dan on 1/3/07:

I was able to take a few more pictures today of the Slaty-Backed Gull in LaCrosse. The only flying shot I got was a shot with horizontal wings and does not help with wing markings. However, they are fairly clear shots and show other field marks.

They can be seen here.

Tom Rhorer of La Crosse sent in this message and these photos:

Attached are photos of a scissor tailed flycatcher taken May 10, 2006 in the prairie restoration area at the south end of Goose Island.

 

 

 

Coulee Region Audubon Society past president Fred Lesher has been keeping tabs on Peregrine Falcons in downtown La Crosse in recent years. Here are his latest reports:

April 10,2006 - A Peregrine Falcon was in the nestbox on the USBank in downtown LaCrosse today at 8:30 AM. Another peregrine was perched nearby on some sort of cylindrical antenna.

April 21,2006 - I was able to see the tips of primaries projecting over the edge of the nestbox on the USBANK in LaCrosse this morning at 9:00 AM.

Coulee Region Audubon Society president Dan Jackson is again reporting a first year Iceland Gull "that I found on Monday evening was back on the docks behind the Midway Hotel at about 4:45 this afternoon. The gull flock that was using the area appears to have left over the past 24 hours. Yesterday, there were hundreds of gulls just above the I-90 bridge over the Black River. This afternoon, they were gone. The only remnants that I could find was a small flock of 30 birds behind the Midway Hotel."
Follow this link and this link to see a couple of his latest photos.

Below are his reports and photos from his March sightings.

Dan Jackson has reported a 1st year Iceland Gull on 3/14 & 3/16, an adult Glaucous Gull on 3/15 & 3/16, and an adult Lesser Black-Backed Gull on 3/15 & 3/16 and now a Glaucous-winged Gull on Richmond Bay.

Here's his report of March 24, 2006 as well as some of his photos of the gulls:

was able to refind the Glaucous-Winged Gull on Richmond Bay on the North Side of LaCrosse over the noon hour today. The gull flock was close to the landing at the end Goddard Place. I spotted the bird along a stretch of open water on the far shore about 150 yards northeast of the landing. This is among this bird's favorite hangouts. I have seen the bird in that general area more often then anywhere else. There is a blue barrel on that shoreline as a point of reference.

Bill and Anita Doering and I also found an adult Lesser Black-Backed Gull and an adult Thayer's Gull on the Black River behind the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant on Hwy 53 (Rose Street) around 12:45. This is located about 1 mile south of I-90 and north of Clinton Street. The best place to scope gulls in this area is from the back side of the Midway Best Western Hotel just south of the Kentucky Fried chicken. If you turn into the hotel's parking lot, you can go around the building on the north side and then park next to a dumpster at the back of the hotel and view the river. The Lesser Black-Backed Gull was seen from this spot yesterday as well.

Another loafing spot is on the Black River Beach. This is located south of the Kentucky Fried Chicken location and just north of the intersection of Rose (Hwy 53) and Clinton Streets. We haven't found any specialties there yet this year, but have in past years.

I noticed that gulls are also resting on the ice above I-90. The best place to view these birds is from Fisherman's road on the east side of the LaCrosse airport. From I-90, turn off at the airport exit and head north toward the airport. Instead of turning left on Fanta Reed to reach the terminal, go straight toward the private hangers and control tower. Turn right on Fisherman's road and follow it until it turns north (near a beach). Gulls often hang out on the beach or on the water and ice opposite the beach. If you follow this road farther north, you will also see the dike and spillway at the lower end of Lake Onalaska. Gulls are starting to use the ice above the spillway as another loafing spot.

A flock of gulls has also been found on the other side of French island above the dike at the end of Spillway Drive. This can be reached by going past the airport on Fanta Reed and then turning north at the stop sign (Lakeshore Drive). Turn left on Spillway Drive (2nd intersection) and follow it out to the boat landing at the base of the dike. This is also a great spot to check out diver ducks.

I talked to the owner of Bob's Bait and Tackle located just west of where Clinton Street crosses the south end of Richmond Bay) and asked if it was OK to park in his lot while we look at the gulls. He said it was fine. I did make a point of buying a bottle of pop and a knit hat (it really helped) and that definitely helped. If birders make a point of going in and buying a can or bottle of pop and saying thank you, it will go a long way to making sure we continue to be welcome (his pop and water are also cheaper than those at Kwik Trip).

The latest rarity is a Glaucous-winged Gull.

If the record is accepted (it has already been viewed and approved by John Idzikowsky), this will be the 5th state record and 17th mid-continent record of this species (15 states and 2 provinces).

 

First year Iceland Gull

 

Adult Glaucous Gull

 

Adult Lesser Black-backed Gull