Wisconsin birders have been reporting rather unusual finds for this time of year over the course of the past few days. Posts to the Wisconsin Birding Network are a bit more reminiscent of spring, so what the heck is going on? There have been sightings of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Northern Parula, Magnolia Warbler, Black-and-white Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Hooded Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler and the Townsend's Warbler that many birders have trekked to see in Milwaukee. There's also one other report of a Blue-winged Warbler after my mid-October sighting.
Other late sightings include a Clay-colored Sparrow in Ashland and a Baltimore Oriole eating from a suet feeder in McFarland. There's a November 1st report of an American Avocet and a November 3rd report of Willets! Nearly all of these are record-late observations and many of them are being found in the southeast part of the state near Lake Michigan.
Birds in our Waunakee backyard are pretty typical, though. Daily regulars include Red-breasted Nuthatches, White-breasted Nuthatches, Black-capped Chickadees, House Finches, American Goldfinches, Hairy Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Dark-eyed Juncos, Mourning Doves, Northern Cardinals and Blue Jays. We still have some lingering Chipping Sparrows and White-throated Sparrows, but they'll probably not stay for much longer.
