Ovenbird Bird -Passerines – 5/4/2013

The Ovenbird was photographed in a Lake Park gully in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

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The Ovenbird Warbler is olive-brown above with stripes below, a white-eye ring, an orange patch on crown, and pinkish legs. It is usually difficult to see and is heard more often than seen. It has a range of South Canada, and the United States east of the Rockies. It has a habitat near ground in leafy deciduous woods and during migration in thickets. It has a diet of mostly insects, and some seeds. The name comes from reference to the bird’s nest, a domed structure with entrance on the side, like an old-fashioned oven.

 

 

Grasshopper Sparrow Bird – Passerines – 5/3/2017

The Grasshopper Sparrow was photographed at Lake Park north of Bradford Beach in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

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A little sparrow of open fields with a short sharp tail, flat head, yellow shoulder, and with a crown that is median striped with chestnut and black. It differs from other sparrows of the prairie in having a relatively unstriped buffy breast. The bird’s song is similar to the sound of a grasshopper. It can be found from Southern Canada to the Southern United States in prairie type habitats. Its habitat is grasslands, hayfields, and prairies. Its diet is mostly insects and seeds. It almost always forages for food alone.

 

 

Bufflehead Duck Bird – Swimmers – 1/3/2012

This male Bufflehead Duck was photographed at Lake Park on Lake Michigan in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

This female Bufflehead Duck was also photographed in Lake Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

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The male Bufflehead Duck is a small duck with mostly white and a black back, and a puffy black head with a large bonnet-like white patch. It has a gray bill. The female Bufflehead Duck has a dark brown head with white cheek spot, and a dark brown back with white wing patch, and a small gray bill. The breast and lower body is light brown. It has a range of Alaska, Canada, Northwestern United States, and winters to Mexico and the Gulf Coast. They have a habitat in lakes, ponds, rivers, and salt bays, a usually are seen in a small group. It is less sociable than most ducks, almost never seen in large flocks, and takes wing easily from the water with rapid wing beats. This makes more difficult to photograph. A diminutive diver and very energetic in its feeding. It feeds on plant material, aquatic insects, and crustaceans and mollusks.

 

 

Snow Bunting Bird – Passerines – 11/13/2012

The Snow Bunting was photographed on the soccer field at Lake Park on Lake Michigan at Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

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In the winter the Snow Bunting is almost all white except for a black back and tail, but in summer it is a brownish color with white. They have a range of arctic, circumpolar to Canada and the central United States. They have a habitat of prairies, fields, dunes, shores, and tundra. They can be seen flocking together in low grass fields and swirling through the air from place to place. The diet is mostly seeds and insects, and they forage in flocks while walking and running on the ground. They are very skittish, and are usually remote from effects of human activity.

 

Eastern Wood Pewee Bird – Passerines – 5/23/2014

This Eastern Wood-Pewee was photographed at Lake Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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The Eastern-Wood Pewee is a sparrow sized brown-gray color, with two white wing bars, and no eye-ring. It has a dusky gray breast and a partially yellow lower beak. The wings extend further down the tail than other flycatchers. Its range is from south Canada and eastern half of the United States. It has a habitat in woodlands and groves.

 

Field Sparrow Bird – Passerines – 10/1/2012

This darker Field Sparrow was photographed at Lake Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

This lighter Field Sparrow was photographed in Marshfield, Missouri.

This is a gray Field Sparrow photographed in Bender Park in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.

This juvenile Field Sparrow was photographed at Whitnall park in Milwaukee County.

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The Field Sparrow has a rusty cap with rufous striped upper parts, clear breast, a white-eye ring, a long slender tail, and less notable facial striping with a stout pink bill. Depending on the time of the year it may have darker or lighter coloring. A juvenile Field sparrow has a finely streaked breast. There is also a gray adult Field Sparrow that is worn and faded. They range from southeastern Canada and the eastern half of the United States. They have a habitat of brushy pastures, brush, and scrub. They have a diet of seeds and insects. It forages on the ground or in low vegetation.

 

Marsh Wren Bird – Passerines – 5/19/2013

The Marsh Wren was photographed at the north point of Lake Park north of Bradford Beach on Lake Michigan in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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The Marsh Wren is a small energetic gray-brown wren that is conspicuous with white stripes on the back and a white eyebrow stripe, and a tail often cocked. It has a range from south Canada to northwest Mexico that covers most of the United States. It has a habitat in cattail, bulrush, or brackish marshes, and brushy edges of ponds. It has a diet of mostly insects.

 

Nelson’s Sharp Tailed Sparrow Bird – Passerines – 5/19/2013

The Nelson’s Sharp-Tailed Sparrow was phtographed in Lake Park, north of Bradford Beach, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Lake Michigan.

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The Nelson’s Sharp-Tailed Sparrow is a marsh sparrow with ocher-orange on the face and breast surrounding a gray ear patch. The back is sharply striped with white. It has a range of Canadian Prairies and the Atlantic Coast. It has a habitat in coastal and prairie marshes. It feeds on insects and some seeds. It has a sharp tail with spiky tips.

 

Red Headed Woodpecker Bird – Nonpasserines Land Bird – 6/12/2013

The Red-Headed Woodpecker was photographed at Lake Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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The Red-Headed Woodpecker is a black-backed Woodpecker with a head that is entirely red, and with a white rump and large square white patches on the wings. It has a range east of the Rockies from southern Canada to the Gulf States. It has a habitat in groves, farm country, orchards, shade trees in towns, and large scattered trees. Its diet consists of a wide variety of insects, spiders, earthworms, nuts, seeds, berries, and wild and cultivated fruit. It can usually be heard, found and seen around dead trees.