On March 18, 2020 Madison Audubon made the tough decision to cancel all field trips through May 2020 to protect our community from the spread of COVID-19. However! Birds bring so much joy to life, and birding is a great activity you can do independently or with members of your household, so we wanted to provide you with a resource for recreating some of the field trips on your own.
Let’s start with the one scheduled for early April, originally led by Patrick Ready, local bird guru and pottery-making extraordinaire. Pat put together this DIY bird walk at Lake Farm County Park. Thank you Pat, and happy birding!
Yellow-rumped warbler, photo by Phil Brown
Spring Birds at Lake Farm County Park
Start at the Picnic shelter #1 off Libby Road (4269 Libby Road, Madison). Check the area there for woodpeckers, cranes, Meadowlarks, Eastern Bluebirds, Tree Swallows, and watch the skies for flyover birds, like gulls or pelicans.
From here walk over to the boat landing along Lake Waubesa. Along the way check the woods and flooded areas for Sapsuckers, Northern Flickers, Eastern Phoebe, Robins, Chickadees, blackbirds, pond ducks like Mallards, Wood Ducks and Blue-wing Teal.
At the boat landing scan the lake for migrating waterfowl, Loons, Canvasbacks, Ring-necked Ducks, Coots, Mergansers, Ruddy Ducks, Redhead Ducks, etc.
From there walk the main path along the lake (heading North) and look for woodland species as mentioned before. Stop now & then to scan the lakes for more waterfowl species.
Along the shore there may be Swamp, Song, Fox or Chipping Sparrows, or in marshy areas look for Rusty Blackbirds, Red-wing Blackbirds and pond ducks. Some years we hear Winter Wrens calling out near the end before the path joins the bike trail.
On the boardwalk section of the bike/hiking trail you can scan Upper Mud Lake for more waterfowl, Bald Eagles, possibly Tundra Swans or Pelicans.
Looking south, check the north end of Lake Waubesa for mergansers, loons, etc.
Heading back toward the Shelter 1 parking lot walk along the prairie trails and look for Killdeer, Meadowlarks, Goldfinches, bluebirds, Savannah Sparrows, some years a rare Harris Sparrows shows up, cranes, Canada Geese and flyover gulls like Ring-billed or Bonapartes.
Allow 2-3 hours to cover this area at a leisurely pace, stopping often to watch birds in a variety of habitat.
Have a great time birding and enjoy the outdoors. Take a kid along! Follow COVID-19 health suggestions if birding with friends. Be safe - stay well!
Patrick Ready
Madison Audubon Field Trip Leader
