Two-Wheeled Bird Watching with Dog

On a rare (non-raining) but humid Saturday morning at the end of June 2014; Barbara, Opie and I headed west in the WPT to do some bicycling before the rains were supposed to roll into Milwaukee.  We gathered up all the other important things we use when preparing to ride our bikes, and then stopped for a quick shopping trip to our local Wal-Mart grocery; packing a nice picnic lunch into a small soft-sided cooler.

The easternmost end of the New Berlin Recreation Trail begins near Greenfield Park and 124th street and is an offshoot of the mighty Oak Leaf Trail.  We had decided to bike the entire length this morning; all seven miles there and back.  It's a virtual straight shot paved trail that runs just to the south of the large metal power line towers (following them as they stretch west to Waukesha, WI and next to a quiet railroad track.

Dozens of Gray catbirds were in residence along both sides of the trail; screeching and meow-ing in the underbrush.  The mostly flat areas underneath the power towers were intermittently littered with Milkweed plants and eager Monarch butterflies flitting about in search of prime egg-laying territory.  The trail itself was busy.  Bicyclists of every shape, size and determination, were riding east and west calling out, "on your left" as they rode up behind us.  Opie was riding shotgun in his special fleece-lined basket on the front handlebars of Barbara's mountain bike.  People always smile and say something kind when they see him in there.

A Great egret in breeding plumage sat upon a log to the south of the trail in the middle of a backwater estuary.  American robins would drop down to the asphalt to hop from one side to the other as we approached their positions.  Common grackle, Red-winged blackbird, Song sparrow, American goldfinch, and Northern cardinal were the predominant species we encountered.  I also heard Killdeer, Common yellow-throat, house wren, and Northern rough-winged swallows as we rode from mile marker to mile marker along the trail.  Several dangerous road crossings across busy multi-lane roadways caused us to be extremely careful and wary of danger.  Heck, just bicycling along such an obviously popular route made one stay on their toes for fear of either being struck, or at minimum; verbally shamed by a more expert cyclist to, "stay on your side of the path."

The sun was slowly, but incrementally losing it's dominance in the sky as we neared our picnic spot; two wooden tables underneath one tower in the parking area of a weekend shift -Waukesha factory.  People on roller blades, recumbent bikes, and on foot continued to pass by us as we ate our pre-packaged ham and cheese triangles paired with some peach ice tea and barbeque potato chip lunch.  Sure it was only 10:40 AM; but the seven mile ride, coupled with a natural spot in which to eat comfortably, caused it to make sense to us.  Opie needed to stretch and go to the bathroom anyway. 

Bicycling with your parrot?

A curious site unveiled itself as we sat munching on our food; a pair of cyclists out with their parrot (and I thought Opie's bike rig was unique) was quite an eclectic sight to see indeed. Some jogger dude stopped them as they were riding by to chat; so I was able to snap a photo.  We eventually left our cozy table after about a half-hour break, to head back east from whence we had come.  The grade seemed to be slightly more in our (downhill) favor as we rode.  The sun was still cranking down and the slight breeze seemed to be in our face each way; which was weird.  We swung into Buena Park in New Berlin (which is directly off the trail) just to see what it was.  It was small but nice.  It had all the amenities of a good place to bring the kids; playground, ball diamond, tennis court, grassy field, etc.

The rest of the ride back was without incident.  We arrived back at the WPT to load the bikes at approximately 10:45 AM; just as thunder began to rumble in the distance.  After loading everything and our short drive back home; the rain began to fall by 11:30.  It seems we had timed it out just right. :)

Here's the bird list for the trip:

1. Turkey vulture
2. Canada goose
3. American robin
4. American goldfinch
5. House finch
6. House sparrow
7. Song sparrow
8. Grasshopper sparrow
9. Killdeer
10. Common grackle
11. Great egret
12. Northern cardinal
13. Gray catbird
14. Northern rough-winged swallow
15. Mallard
16. Mourning dove
17. American crow
18. Red-winged blackbird
19. Black-capped chickadee
20. Lincoln's sparrow
21. Blue jay
22. European starling

New Berlin Recreation Trail

Trailside Cycle - Calhoun Road Crossing