May 16 Big Bike Birdathon

Today, 7 of us made the trek around Lake Mendota on our bicycles with our binoculars. Our goal was to explore some natural areas around the lake and see what kind of birds were around. After a solid start at the Lakeshore Nature Preserve, we made stops at Pheasant Branch Conservancy, Governor Nelson State Park, Cherokee Marsh, and Governor’s Island, finally making it back to do some evening birding at the Lakeshore Nature Preserve. On Governors Island, we spotted quite a few American redstarts (Setophaga ruticilla) whose black and orange makes them look like a smaller cousin of the Baltimore oriole. Other highlights among our 60+ species included cerulean warblers (Setophaga cerulea) and a bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) at Governor Nelson State Park. Although we don’t plan to make the same trek again soon, we do plan to keep our eyes toward the trees as new birds continue to migrate through Madison.