We need YOU to help contribute to our knowledge about wildlife that live in the Milwaukee Estuary and River system by submitting your bird observations to Ebird.org or AOCBirdBlitz@gmail.com through the month of June.
The Milwaukee Estuary is designated as an Area of Concern (AOC) due to historical land and waterway alterations and pollution contributing to a number of ecological problems. The “Area” includes a half mile “buffer” of land adjacent to the Milwaukee and Menomonee rivers, including their tributaries, in Milwaukee County. It also includes the harbor area and the mouth of the Kinnickinnic River upstream to Chase Avenue – basically the northern half of Milwaukee County.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources along with numerous stakeholders have developed a cleanup plan and have made some progress towards improving conditions in the AOC. Part of the plan is learning about the collection of birds, fish and other wildlife already living within the area in order to make better decisions about future restoration activities.
Several professional birders are now scouring the AOC for birds that breed here, but the public – INCLUDING YOU – can assist as well.
Please help us in this effort by sharing your breeding bird records through the month of June! Submissions should include specific dates, species and location coordinates (latitude and longitude). Specific locations are important, so if using eBird be sure to include this and avoid entering a Hot Spot or other generalized location.
As inspiration for your mission, here is a short list of bird species we are especially interested in knowing more about. If these birds breed in the AOC – we need YOU to help us find out where!
Target List:
Acadian Flycatcher, Alder Flycatcher, American Bittern, American Black Duck, American Redstart, American Woodcock, Bald Eagle, Bell’s Vireo, Black-and-white Warbler, Black-billed Cuckoo, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Blue-winged Teal, Blue-winged Warbler, Bobolink, Brown Thrasher, Canada Warbler, Carolina Wren, Cerulean Warbler, Common Gallinule, Common Nighthawk, Dickcissel, Eastern Meadowlark, Eastern Whip-poor-will, Field Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Henslow’s Sparrow, Hooded Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, Least Bittern, Least Flycatcher, Loggerhead Shrike, Long-eared Owl, Nashville Warbler, Northern Bobwhite, Northern Harrier, Osprey, Peregrine Falcon, Pied-billed Grebe, Prothonotary Warbler, Purple Martin, Red Crossbill, Red-headed Woodpecker, Red-shouldered Hawk, Sedge Wren, Sora, Veery, Vesper Sparrow, Western Meadowlark, White-eyed Vireo, Willow Flycatcher, Wilson’s Phalarope, Wood Thrush, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Yellow-breasted Chat.
