Rookery View Park, 
https://ebird.org/wi/hotspot/L687059
Lake Wausau Sandbar, https://ebird.org/wi/hotspot/L2148871
Habitat: Urban Park, Open Water, Marsh
Best Birds: From the parking lot, walk across the grass a short distance to the water’s edge and scan across Lake Wausau. A separate, smaller island is located directly east of this park and holds a large Great Blue Heron nesting rookery, which is easily viewed before the trees start to leaf out in spring. Green Heron, and occasionally Great Egret, Snowy and Cattle Egrets and Black-crowned Night-Heron are possible here as well. While scanning over the open water of Lake Wausau, watch for migrant Common Loon, a variety of grebes like Horned and Red-necked, and a variety of swallows and waterfowl like Redhead and Lesser Scaup.
Looking northward over the lake you can see an area that local birders call the Lake Wausau sandbar, which is a mixture of a shallow sandbar and marshy area where the Big Rib River flows into Lake Wausau. You can scan over to that area from this park, or walk up along the causeway to view it better (be careful of traffic along the busy roadway). Unusual shorebirds like American Avocet, Marbled Godwit, Whimbrel, Ruddy Turnstone and Black-bellied Plover have occurred. Gulls, like Bonaparte’s, Herring, and Franklin’s stop by, and terns like Caspian and Forster’s, and sometimes Black and Common have all been recorded in this area.
You can also carefully walk across Rib Mountain Drive (again watch for traffic on this very busy roadway) and scan over the area north of a restaurant located here. This marshy area often attracts waterfowl, herons, and gulls.
Directions: Three miles southwest of Wausau. Located in the Town of Rib Mountain along Rib Mountain Drive, this small park is located on the north end of Lake Wausau. There is a small parking lot at 44.936824, -89.656144.
Site Address & Additional Information:
Rib Mountain Drive, Wausau WI
A spotting scope is recommended for distant viewing.
https://www.townofribmountain.org/parks_rookeryview
Dan Belter
