EARLY-WINTER BIRDS ON ONALASKA

      November and December are busy migrant bird months on Lake Onalaska, a backwater of the Mississippi River along the Mississippi Flyway in western Wisconsin.  Flocks of post-breeding ring-billed gulls, Canada geese, tundra swans, a variety of ducks, American coots, sandhill cranes, American white pelicans and bald eagles congregate on Onalaska during that time.  I saw all these bird species through a live camera and our home computer screen.  

     The numbers of ring-billed gulls and Canada geese increased greatly by late October at Onalaska.  Flocks of both attractive species daily settled on that back-water's mud flats and shallows to rest between feeding forays.  The graceful, gray and white gulls fed on small fish they caught and dead fish and other tidbits they scavenged from the shallows.  However, most ring-bills left Onalaska by late November and drifted south before wintry weather hit Wisconsin. 

     But the ever-honking flocks of hardy and majestic Canada geese continued to rest on the flats and in the shallows, and "tip-up" to reach their long necks and beaks down to feed on aquatic vegetation in shallow water.  They also consume the green shoots of winter rye, and corn kernels in surrounding, harvested corn fields.  Sometimes I was excited to see their noisy gatherings flying in lines and V's over Lake Onalaska.  Some Canadas were still at Onalaska by late December of 2020.

      Flocks of stately tundra swans arrived overnight on Onalaska on October 26, 2020.  They nested on the Arctic tundra and migrated south to the Mississippi Flyway for at least part of the winter.  Once there, the elegant swans seemed to dominate the lake with their size, whiteness, numbers and loud, constant calling.  Tundra swans feed much like Canada geese do, and I often saw groups of them winging majestically up and down the lake and out to feeding areas.    

     The mid-west prairies of the United States and Canada are the land of ducks; duck factories where lots of ducklings are produced around innumerable ponds and wetlands.  Many kinds of ducks in North America raise ducklings on those prairies.  And in fall, many post-breeding ducks congregate on the Mississippi River and Lake Onalaska for at least part of the winter.  Flocks of mallards, green-winged teal, pintails and gadwalls  tip-up to ingest aquatic plants in shallow water.  Meanwhile, American goldeneyes, buffleheads, scaup and redheads dive under water to get various kinds of food, depending on the species.  These ducks were on Lake Onalaska until late December of 2020, when that still water froze shut.   

     Gatherings of American coots were on Onalaska during part of November before going father south.  They dabbled on the flats and in the shallows for a variety of plants and small animals.  Coots are related to rails and cranes, and are built a little like chickens.  But coots have lobes on their toes and are adept at swimming like ducks.  Like all creatures, they are built for what they do.

     Some American white pelicans stayed at Onalaska through November and well into December.  There groups of them worked together to catch small fish in their large beaks from the shallows.  These large, white birds fly gracefully in elegant lines and are adept at soaring magnificently on high.  But by late December, they all drifted farther south, where they can still catch fish, for the rest of winter.

     Groups of tall, stately sandhill cranes stalked fish, invertebrates and vegetation across the flats and shallows of Onalaska until the end of December when the still water of that lake froze.  Like all larger birds, they, too, are graceful in flight.

     Majestic bald eagles gather in flocks of immatures, adults and ages between on the mud flats, shallows and trees on islands.  Many of the eagles are younger birds, which indicates good nesting success.  Those groups could mated pairs or collections of six to sixty birds. 

     Bald eagles prey heavily on ducks and coots during November and December when those birds are abundant on Onalaska.  The eagles sometimes work in pairs or little groups to catch those waterfowl.  And the eagles fight over the water birds killed and ready to consume.\

     A blizzard and freeze around Christmas Day chased most of these birds out of Lake Onalaska.  Only bald eagles, and smaller flocks of Canada geese, tundra swans and mallard ducks remained there.  But, interestingly, and maybe coincidentally, more tundra swans suddenly showed up soon after Christmas Day at Blackwater Refuge in Maryland and Middle Creek Lake in southeastern Pennsylvania to join their relatives already there for the rest of winter.