https://ebird.org/hotspot/L157681
Habitat: Cedar Swamp, Hardwood Swamp, Conifer Bog, Southern Hardwood Forest, Pine Plantation, Sedge Meadow, Native grassland, Successional Oldfield, Willow/Alder/Dogwood Swamp
Best Birds: Northern species at or near the southern limits of their breeding range include Ruffed Grouse (rare), Wilson's Snipe (rare), Sharp-shinned Hawk (rare), Alder Flycatcher, Winter Wren, Brown Creeper, Veery, Northern Waterthrush, Nashville Warbler, Mourning Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler (rare), Canada Warbler (rare), and White-throated Sparrow. These species are primarily located in the interior of the bog but can sometimes be found in appropriate habitat near the Watts Lake trails and/or adjacent to the roadsides.
Also check habitats appropriate for Black-billed Cuckoo, American Woodcock, Northern Saw-whet Owl (winter), Red-shouldered Hawk, and Black-and-white Warbler. Pine and/or spruce plantations along Birchwood Road harbor resident Red-breasted Nuthatch, Golden-crowned Kinglet (occasional) and Pine Warbler, .
The upland Beech-Maple forest along St. Augustine Road is home to Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Broad-winged Hawk (occasional), Eastern Screech-Owl, Great Horned and Barred Owl, Pileated Woodpecker, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Acadian Flycatcher, Yellow-throated Vireo, Wood Thrush, Cerulean Warbler (occasional), and Scarlet Tanager.
Wood Duck and Hooded Merganser abound in the woodland's ephemeral ponds in Spring and early summer. Listen along the roads for Least Flycatcher, Warbling Vireo, Blue-winged Warbler, American Redstart, and Chestnut-sided Warbler in lightly wooded and thicketed second growth forest openings. A small marsh just south of the entry to the UWM Field Station on Blue Goose Road houses resident Virginia Rail, Sora, and sometimes Sedge Wren.
Eastern Bluebird and Henslow's, Field, Savannah, and Vesper Sparrow inhabit the UWM grasslands. Clay-colored Sparrow is also possible in open shrubby areas.
At the south end of the Bog, Mud Lake is an early Spring stopover site for numerous migratory swans, geese, ducks, grebes, bitterns, rails, and coots. American Bittern are occasionally resident here. Least Bittern, Sora, Virginia Rail, and Sandhill Crane seasonally reside in the cattail marsh surrounding the lake. Osprey, Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, and Red-shouldered Hawk (occasional) nest in the area. Short-eared Owl periodically makes an appearance here as well as in the interior of the Bog. The lake's muck islands harbor nesting Willow and Alder Flycatcher (uncommon). Marsh Wren and Swamp Sparrow are abundant in the emergent cattail marsh. Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (uncommon) is possible as a lingering late Spring migrant.
Directions: The Cedarburg Bog is 20 miles north of the Milwaukee metro area. It is bordered by State Highway 33 in the north, Cedar-Sauk Road in the south, by private land holdings on Ozaukee County Highway I in the east, and by Birchwood Road, Blue Goose Road, and County Hwy Y to the west. To visit the north end of the Bog, take I 43 exit #96 (Saukville/Port Washington exit) and travel west 4.4 miles on State Highway 33 to the Watts Lake parking lot (43.4071086, -87.997994). The prime birding areas on Blue Goose Road (and St. Augustine Road) are two miles north of State Highway 33. The Mud Lake parking pullout on Cedar-Sauk Road (43.367500, -88.024764) is three miles north of State Highway 60 via County Highway Y or County Highway I. Public access to Mud Lake is only possible by canoe or kayak and a portage of nearly 400 yards from the Cedar-Sauk parking area.
Site Address & Additional Information:
The Cedarburg Bog SNA is a sprawling 2200 acre mosaic with six relict lakes surrounded by emergent vegetation. It is the largest relict glacial bog in southeastern Wisconsin. As such, it has boreal features which harbor breeding bird species associated with more northern latitudes.
3095 Blue Goose Road, Saukville WI
Friends of the Cedarburg Bog (bogfriends.org)
John O'Donnell
