(Please note the location change) Coots in Lake Mendota, photo courtesy of Lakeshore Nature Preserve.
LOCATION CHANGE: Bring your friends and family and join us for a spring walk along the shores of Lake Waubesa as we bird Lake Farm Park and then the inland boardwalk that connects the Capital City Trail with McDaniel Park in the Village of McFarland.
Fun fact: Did you know that this boardwalk is the longest bridge constructed solely for non-motorized transportation in North America?
Parking Information
We will meet at the first parking lot at Lake Farm Park near the observation tower at 9:00 AM (address: 4330 Libby Rd., Madison — see map here).
What to Expect
The estimated round-trip length is roughly 3 miles of walking the Lake Farm path and part of the boardwalk. There are multiple types of trail surface encountered when taking the trail from the first lot (near the observatory tower). It starts as grass before transitioning to packed dirt. There are some low-lying areas where it gets mucky after a rain. Some sections of the trail are more packed dirt, some are crushed limestone. The bike path that runs along the prairie and to the boardwalk is asphalt. The boardwalk is wooden planks (in very good condition).
See the Birdability website for more information about Lake Farm Park and the Lower Yahara River Trail Boardwalk, where accessibility assessments are submitted by local volunteers.
Species spotted during this event:
Canada Goose 2
Mallard 22
Pied-billed Grebe 13
Horned Grebe 4
American Coot 346
Sandhill Crane 2
Ring-billed Gull 52
Great Blue Heron 1
Turkey Vulture 3
Bald Eagle 1
Red-bellied Woodpecker 5
Downy Woodpecker 2
Eastern Phoebe 1
Blue Jay 1
Black-capped Chickadee 7
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 4
White-breasted Nuthatch 3
Gray Catbird 2
Swainson's Thrush 1
American Robin 1
Cedar Waxwing 2
American Goldfinch 1
Dark-eyed Junco 2
White-throated Sparrow 4
Song Sparrow 1
Swamp Sparrow 1
Tennessee Warbler 1
Common Yellowthroat 1
Magnolia Warbler 1
Bay-breasted Warbler 1
Palm Warbler 4
Yellow-rumped Warbler 18
Northern Cardinal 2