Although I published this blog on July 14th, 2023, my birding journey started way before then. A glance at eBird records a tally of 561 total species of birds I’ve seen, or “lifers”. Well, it’s more like 558 “native, naturalized, or provincial” species and 3 “exotic or escapee” individuals. (The Mandarin Duck in Milwaukee, Swan Goose in Las Vegas, and Helmeted Guineafowl in Puerto Rico don’t count…yet…). Listing every pre-blog here would be daunting, time-consuming, and repetitive. I will attempt to showcase any new lifers on under this section, but I may dig into my archives and share an interesting story about a previous lifer. A prime example are the Bonaparte’s Gulls below.
In May, 2023, I returned to Sheridan Park in Cudahy, WI, to see if the female Flame-colored Tanager hung out after the initial welcome party of Midwestern birders and photographers. I saw her, too, on April 30th, 2023. Lifer 486. To my relief, the bird was gone, as I wanted to believe the bird found its way home south after visiting Lake Michigan.
Making sure the Tanager had departed, I ventured down the steep bluff to the lakeshore, and stood on the abandoned jetty. I scanned the horizon with my binos until I saw a pair of male Bonaparte’s Gulls (BOGU) floating like black-capped buoys far out on the lake. They were too far for a decent photo, so I braved the choppy water to watch them bob up and down on the waves. No sooner had I lowered my binos when I saw another BOGU fly southbound along the shore. Then another. Then two more. Soon, a steady procession of at least twenty flew past me, with more in tow! I managed to snap a few photos to capture these graceful flyers in action. I also wanted to test myself in taking photos of quick birds in flight. Thank G-d for my steady hands and Servo AF on Canon!
