April 7, 2010 by Erin Gnass

Last night, Green Bay experienced its first, intense spring thunderstorm for the year, which brought along large amounts of rain and wind. I was hoping to find a few new migrants at the Point, but only found twenty-one species, very windy and overcast conditions, and a lot of flooding. Regardless, I was still fortunate enough to find the Fox Sparrows near the middle of point the Point along the edge of some woody shrubs and trees. Song Sparrows and Red-winged Blackbirds were also still very numerous and actively singing and foraging. Within the forest, American Robins, White-breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creepers, Northern Flickers, Downy Woodpeckers, Hairy Woodpeckers, Black-capped Chickadees, Blue Jays, and Golden-crowned Kinglets were present. Along the bay, gulls and American White Pelicans were flying off the shore, and Double-crested Cormorants and at least one hundred Scaup were swimming off the bay. Also, one of mates of the nesting Bald Eagle pair flew overhead along the coastline. Right before leaving the point, I heard a pair of Sandhill Cranes calling off in the distance.

Observer:  Erin Gnass