Bird Club Field Trip Schedule 2013

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JANUARY 2013:

The New Year Bird Field Trip

Jan. 1 (Tuesday) 6:30am (breakfast), 7:30 am (hike in Port Washington)

                All things old are new again with the dawn of a new year, so join us at 6:30 a.m. for breakfast at Harry’s Restaurant in downtown Port Washington. We’ll bird the lakefront beginning around 7:30 a.m. (you can meet us near the boat ramps if you skip breakfast – but why would you?) before we move north to Harrington Beach State Park and Sheboygan if the weather cooperates. So dress warm and bring along some energy foods.

                Fee: free

FEBRUARY 2013:

North Woods Winter Bird Weekend

Feb. 22-24 (Friday to Sunday) -

                We rendezvous at 7 a.m. Friday along County Hwy. W in the Buena Vista Grasslands and hope to start the trip with Greater Prairie Chickens there. Then work our way north to Eagle River by Friday night and rise early on Saturday to work our way through the Nicolet National Forest in search of Black-backed Woodpeckers, Boreal Chickadees, Pine and Evening Grosbeaks, etc. Sunday morning we’ll make plans based on our success the previous day and then bird our way home. If you plan to attend, you must register with the Riveredge Bird Club field trip chair Carl Schwartz at cschwartz3@wi.rr.com or at 414-416-3272. Some details of this trip are subject to change as weather and birding opportunities change.

                Fee: Discuss room accommodations & travel expenses when registering with Carl.

MARCH 2013:

 March 10 (Sunday) – (WSO) Sheboygan - Lakefront Birding

Meet @ 8 a.m. at the Sheboygan Marina. Directions: take Hwy. 23 (Erie Av.) east into downtown Sheboygan. Continue east on Erie to 4th Street, turn right (south) on 4th to Ontario Ave. At Ontario turn left (east) and follow it to lake (Broughton Dr.). Turn right on Broughton Dr. and continue south until you see the marina on the left. Depending on current birding information, our travels may take us north to Manitowoc and Two Rivers harbors or south to Harrington Beach State park and Port Washington areas. Bring a bag lunch.

March 16 (Saturday) or March 23 (Saturday)

Dane & Columbia County Ponds  (WSO) --Date is weather/migration dependent; watch WSO web site for announcement.  Meet at 8 a.m. at Goose Pond, 1 mile south of Hwy. 51/60 on Goose Pond Road (south-east of the town of Arlington).Tour by auto to several ponds and flooded fields in this very productive area. A wide variety of water birds, shorebirds, migrant passerines and others are possible (i.e.: swans, Greater White-fronted & Ross’s Geese, pipits, longspurs, sparrows, etc.). Our trip typically ends after birding the causeway (CTH V) on Lake Wisconsin. Bring a bag lunch.

March 30 (Saturday)

Best Bird Area (RBC) – Meet at 7 a.m. in the Park and Ride lot just east of Hwy 45 on the south side of Hwy. 60 next to the Dairy Queen at the western edge of Jackson.  The trip will go to areas where the “best” birds have recently been recorded; pack a lunch.

APRIL 2013:

April 6 (Saturday)

Mead Wildlife Area (WSO) – Meet at 7:30 a.m. at the George Mead SWA headquarters building along CTH S, 2 mi south of CTH C or 6.2 mi north of Hwy. 10. This trip will be led by Dan Belter and Gerry Janz. If you have questions about this trip, you may contact Gerry at janzg@charter.net

April 7 (Sunday) – This trip (twice postponed) was tentative at time of publication so check Wisbirdn and the WSO web site

Dane & Columbia County Ponds  (WSO) -- Meet at 8 a.m. at Goose Pond, 1 mile south of Hwy. 51/60 on Goose Pond Road (south-east of the town of Arlington).Tour by auto to several ponds and flooded fields in this very productive area. A wide variety of water birds, shorebirds, migrant passerines and others are possible (i.e.: swans, Greater White-fronted & Ross’s Geese, pipits, longspurs, sparrows, etc.). Trip typically ends after birding the causeway (CTH V) on Lake Wisconsin. Bring a bag lunch.

April 14 (Sunday)

Annual Pike Lake Trip (RBC) – The club’s oldest annual field trip. Meet at 7 a.m. in the Park and Ride lot just east of Hwy 45 on the south side of Hwy 60 next to the Dairy Queen at the western edge of Jackson. We usually check out Big Cedar Lake, Wildlife Drive and some flooded fields before hiking the northeast corner of Pike Lake. Trip sometimes lasts only a half-day, but it never hurts to pack a lunch.

April 27 (Saturday)

White River Marsh/Green Lake County (WSO) – To experience the amazing dawn chorus of woodcock, snipe, grouse, cranes, turkeys, and bitterns, meet at 5 a.m. near the cattail marsh along White River Rd.  Follow it 4.3 mi east of Co D (north of Princeton in Green Lake Co.) or catch up with the group by 9 a.m. along that road. Bring a lunch.

MAY 2013:

May 5 (Sunday)

Port Washington Lakefront & Trail (RBC) – Another club favorite. Many will gather at Harry's Restaurant in downtown Port Washington for breakfast at 6 a.m. Or meet us at 7 a.m. in the Port harbor parking lot. We will walk up the nearby ravine on the Ozaukee Interurban Trail in search of spring migrants.  Bring a lunch in case we continue into the afternoon and check out other areas.

May 12 (Sunday)

Honey Creek Birdathon (WSO) – Show up by 8 a.m. to join members of RBC & WSO on a walk up the Honey Creek valley in the Baraboo Hills. Help tally the number of species identified on the property that day.  Bring along a lunch for after the hike. Camping facilities (a lovely lawn, running water and privies) are available, and the Cox Nature Center will be open.  Honey Creek Natural Area directions: Go west out of Prairie du Sac on CTH PF ~15 mi to Skyview Dr (Lins Rd on older maps). Go left ~¾ mi to Alder Dr and turn left to the Cox Nature Center. To take part in the weekend Bandathon, run by Professor Anna Pidgeon from UW-Madison who studies bird habitats and ecology, e-mail her at apidgeon@wisc.edu or call her at 608-262-5628.

May 30-31 (Thursday-Friday)
Southern Kettle Moraine and Southwest Wisconsin (RBC) – We will again start our trip in the Southern Kettle Moraine (will the Prairie Warbler be back again?) and overnight in Prairie du Chien so we can start out early Friday in Wyalusing State Park.  The Kettle Moraine State Forest-Southern Unit is 37 miles southwest of Milwaukee. From I-94, take Hwy. 67 south to Co. ZZ. Turn left on ZZ and go ~1/4 to 1/2 mile, passing the Ski/Hiking parking lot.  The entrance to the Mackie Picnic Area is on the left. Show up there by 5:30 a.m. with breakfast in hand or under your belt and pack a lunch (or be prepared to take pot luck at stops later in the day for gas and toilets). We will be hiking at least a half-mile. A state parks sticker is required here and at other stops on the trip. Tentative plans call for stops later Thursday morning at the Brooklyn SWA, Thompson Prairie and and Gov. Dodge State Park.  New lodging plan:  You are on your own to make a room reservation. We will be staying at Brisbois Motor Inn, 533 N. Marquette Rd, Prairie du Chien, (608) 326-8404 info@brisboismotorinnpdc.com where we have secured a rate of $40 for a one-bed room, $50 for two beds for Thursday night May 30 if you mention the Riveredge Bird Club and book during April. We plan a potluck picnic supper on the lawn of the motel, which is right on the main drag through town (Highway 35) and  just north of the bridge to Iowa. On Friday we will rise early for what many consider a major  highlight of their birding year: the dawn chorus at Wyalusing, which sits high above the confluence of the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers. Its specialties include Yellow-throated, Kentucky, Prothonotary, and Cerulean Warblers, as well as Acadian Flycatcher, Tufted Titmouse and Henslow's Sparrow and both Black- and Yellow-billed Cuckoos. We hope to turn east by 8:30 a.m. and make a stop for breakfast on our way to the Spring Green Prairie (and desert), which is not only spectacular in its own right, but often yields such interesting species as Lark Sparrow, Orchard Oriole and Northern Mockingbird. Nine Springs outside Madison will be our last major planned stop on Monday afternoon, but we have been known to improvise and chase “hot” species. Please notify Carl Schwartz at cschwartz3@wi.rr.com if you are participating and he will coordinate the potluck and carpooling and notify folks of any changes in the plan.

JUNE / JULY 2013:

AUGUST 2013:

SEPTEMBER 2013:

OCTOBER 2013:

NOVEMBER 2013:

DECEMBER 2013:

CLUB INFORMATION: