Slow Start to a New Year

1/1/2024

“New Year, New Me!” is what I told myself as midnight approached on December 31st. “This next year, I will finally do what I’ve been pushing off! Tomorrow morning, I’m going to get up early, watch the sunrise over the Lake, and record my first-of-the-year (FOY) bird that isn’t a Rock Pigeon or a European Starling!”

I slept in, missed the sunrise, and recorded a Rock Pigeon as my FOY bird.

I also told myself I would begin writing a blog a day starting New Year’s. If you haven’t noticed by now, I’m about 24 hours behind schedule.

Now, this isn’t to be all doom-and-gloom about 2024. Rather, it was a fairly decent start. I finished work early. (Yes, I did work, but I don’t see that as a negative.) After spending some time at home, I made it out to bird along Lake Michigan at the Lake Express Ferry Terminal and near Petroleum Pier.

When the ferry is parked during the winter months, the parking lot is nearly empty except for other birders and the occasional fisherman. This winter has been mild, compared to previous ones, so the water has not frozen over, allowing Mallards and Red-breasted Mergansers (RBME) to drift close to the viewing platform. Along the breakwaters stood Herring and Ring-billed Gulls. Both Great and Lesser Black-backed Gulls, and sometimes Glaucous and Iceland Gulls, grace these structures with their presence, but none of these species showed up today. Overhead, a flock of Canada Geese descended on the grass on the opposite shore.

From here, I drove towards Petroleum Pier under the Hoan Bridge. Since last year, this general area, home to the Port of Milwaukee, huge road salt mounds, and Milorganite, has been under construction, and access to the pier has been restricted. After a brief detour, I used a scope to peer through the fence to see a Bufflehead, Greater and Lesser Scaups, Common Goldeneyes, and more RBME.

On the way home, I made a stop at the Forest Exploration Center, where Dark-eyed Juncos scurried among the tall grass near the parking lot. Night approached quickly as I entered the hardwood forest. Farther in the woods, a pair of Great Horned Owls hooted in a duet through the silent trees. One was protecting a nest that the pair has been using for a few years now. The other one flew towards the reservoir to hunt.

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Location: Milwaukee County

Weather: Cold, cloudy, windy

Species seen: 14

Yearly total: 14