Category: Community

THERE’S STILL TIME TO SEE MIGRATING BIRDS!

Spring migration, when many bird species visit town en route to their final destination, is a special time for birders. And Lakeshore State Park, with its mix of lakefront and prairie habitats, is a special place to take advantage of this opportunity.

Since June is the last month of spring migration season, we asked blogger and birder Nathaniel Wegner for some tips about taking advantage of it. Nathaniel, a home-schooled high school student who lives in Greendale, has been birding since 2017. He travels the state to explore parks and other natural environments and appreciates the unique experience each place offers.

“The number of species moving through our area is extremely fun to witness,” said Nathaniel. “The majority of Milwaukee’s shorebirds, warblers, and thrushes (and many sparrows and flycatchers) are migratory, so spring and fall are our only shot at seeing most of these species.”

At LSP, Nathaniel’s personal favorite during spring migration is the American Avocet. “Through the years, Lakeshore has been the best area in Milwaukee county to see this species,” he said. “It’s such a distinctive looking species in a class of birds that’s notorious for looking very similar, with its cinnamon colored head, black and white wings, and blue-grey legs.” You can usually find American Avocets on the beach along with other migrating shorebirds.

Nathaniel has been to many other parks with beaches, large grassy areas, rocks by the lake or rain gardens, but he considers LSP unique. “I think it’s the combination of all of these habitats (and in a relatively small area, in the middle of downtown) that gives it such bird diversity.”

You can learn more about birding at Nathaniel’s blog, Sunday Birders. And watch the Friends’ website for more tips from him about bird-watching at LSP.

 

Nathaniel Wegner Credit: Photo by Steve Wegner
Nathaniel Wegner Credit: Photo by Steve Wegner

President’s Message – June 2022

Making Lakeshore State Park a beautiful and thriving place takes a lot of work and your Friends organization plays a key role in making that happen.

We partner with the Wisconsin DNR and our community to support the park as Milwaukee’s premier lakefront destination for environmental and freshwater education, conservation, recreation, and outdoor enjoyment – for everyone!

Thanks to generous donations, memberships, and the support of the Friends over the past year, the park prairies have been further improved, the ADA-accessible fishing pier re-decked, the goose population remediated with a non-toxic solution, and multiple events held such as Cracking Arts Rebirth “swallows”, beach bonfires, and MKE Doors Open.

 And as the season turns towards summer, Lakeshore State Park is again abuzz with activity! We’re excited about programs and events being planned. We’ve just add over 4,500 native prairie plants. Our grant-funded bilingual park educator has over a dozen educational events planned at the park in June alone – with much more to come!

The need for these kinds of programs grows, so won’t you please help the Friends of Lakeshore State Park continue the work to make our park a thriving lakefront destination for everyone?

Become a Park Pal or Prairie Patron today!  This year joining or renewing at any level qualifies you for discounted rentals at Lakeshore Paddle Sport Rentals and Milwaukee Kayak Company.  See the park from a new angle!

David Wenstrup
President, Board of Directors

Park Property Supervisor Update – May 2022

Thank you to all the volunteers that came out for the Milwaukee Riverkeeper Spring Cleanup at Lakeshore State Park! Your work helped prevent dozens of bags worth of litter and debris from making its way into our precious resource of Lake Michigan, and it was one of the nicest weather days we’ve had for the event in years!

As we move to warmer weather, park staff and volunteers are working to make sure our prairies are ready for spring. You may see some of the prairies mowed back, in an effort to encourage mulch formation after they’ve served their purpose of food and habitat for winter wildlife. This practice also allows us to identify and remove invasive plants that seek to establish and take over prior to our native warm weather grasses and forbs emerging.

Thanks to contributions to the Friends of Lakeshore State Park, we are continuing efforts to restore our second largest prairie to native grasses and forbs. Our order of 4,548 prairie plants are set to be delivered the week of May 23rd. We are in need of all the help we can get (many hands make light work) for volunteer shifts 9-11:30am and 1-3:30pm daily on May 25th, 26th and 27th. To sign up for a shift (or a few), visit https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/parks/volunteer and follow the instructions for becoming a volunteer in our State Park System!

Migratory waterfowl are making their way back for summer, with recent sightings of a couple northern shovelers, American black ducks, and blue winged teal. American avocets are also on their way through, so keep your eyes open along the shoreline and quiet water basin at the park!

 

Avocets at the Park

We’ve got a number of events coming up in May, including our first beach ‘bonfire’ of the season, hope to see you there! All events meet at the north entrance unless otherwise noted.

Saturday May 7th, 9-10:30am Lakeshore History Hike
Sunday May 8th, 1-2pm Walk with Mom
Saturday May 14th, 9:30-10:30am Bird Hike
Wednesday May 18th, 6-7pm Bubble Walk
Wednesday May 18th, 7-9pm Beach ‘Bonfire’ (meet at pebble beach)
Saturday May 21st, 10-11:30am Kids Fishing Clinic (meet at south entrance near BMO Harris stage)
Saturday May 28th, 10-11 am Prairie Phenology Hike

Angela Vickio
Angela.Vickio@wisconsin.gov.

Looking for a group activity? Think about scheduling a Lakeshore State Park tour!

It’s a place to walk, run, picnic, fish, fly kites and more. But did you know Lakeshore State Park is also a classroom?

Each year, the park hosts dozens of group tours, walks and workshops on topics ranging from prairie ecology and native wildlife to Great Lakes history and the life cycle of the Monarch butterfly. Many are scheduled by teachers who bring science lessons to life as their students learn about animal tracking, fish identification and migratory bird patterns.

But anyone who’s curious can find a group activity just right for them. Think out-of-town wedding guests, book clubs, family reunions, church groups, drawing clubs — Lakeshore State Park offers enough variety to engage everyone.

“We welcome groups of all kinds. For those with limited mobility, for instance, we can keep walking to a minimum and stick to the paved trails. For kids, we can set up fishing clinics, fun hands-on activities and laboratory exercises. Other folks simply love to stroll the park and learn about prairie plant life.”

Park Superintendent Angela Vickio

Whenever possible, park staff will do their best to customize the experience.  Educators will be interested to know that programs can be tailored to fit curriculum needs, and many follow Next Generation Science Standards.

Angela advises planning in advance to ensure you can schedule a time that’s available. Most visits take about two hours.

The cost for a field trip is $30 for groups of under 15 participants and $2 per person for groups larger than 15. Chaperones accompanying children’s groups are free. To schedule, simply call or email Angela at (414) 750-1237, Angela.Vickio@wisconsin.gov.

Learn more on our Education page or download our brochure.

Park Property Supervisor Update – April 2022

As we move into mid/late April, watch for prairie smoke starting to emerge and bloom in the northernmost prairies.

Prairie smoke has wonderful pink flowers, that once pollinated will produce a fuzzy seed head that resembles the look and feel of the hair on the 1980’s Troll dolls. They are some of our earliest risers at Lakeshore, and only bloom for a short period of time. The first tree swallows are also starting to make their way back to the nesting boxes for the spring, as some of our winter birds migrate out.

Interested in volunteering? The Wisconsin State Park System recently launched a new way to communicate volunteer opportunities throughout the state. To stay in the loop on upcoming invasive species removal dates, prairie planting days in late May, long-term opportunities, and special volunteer projects, please visit  MyImpactPage – Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (betterimpact.com) to sign up for Lakeshore State Park!  Additional dates for public volunteer events will be added as staff returns for the season.

Do you have a large group looking to help?

We are in need of a group of ~20 volunteers later this summer (once the weather is a bit warmer) to help us finish painting the Harbor railing at our south entrance. If your group may have interest, please contact Angela Vickio to discuss possible dates.

While we are typically ready to re-open our fishing pier for the season, the pier sustained some storm damage this winter, causing some of the pilings that hold it in place to fail. The Department is currently exploring options for a longer-term solution for this issue, and we will provide an update when we are able to re-open it to use. We will still continue to lead fishing clinics starting in May again this year, just at an alternate location on the property.

Speaking of events, we’ve got our first ones for the season coming up in April! We’ll have many more as the weather warms but mark your calendars for the following early season hikes. All hikes listed below will start at the north entrance, just west of Discovery World.

Upcoming Events

Angela Vickio
Angela.Vickio@wisconsin.gov.

Volunteer Gardeners are Vital to Prairie Restoration

Year after year, more native grasses and flowering plants take root at Lakeshore State Park and fewer invasive plants thrive.

That’s not by accident!

Prairie restoration requires constant diligence – and digging and planting. Without volunteers to do this work, the thistle and Queen Anne’s lace might still be winning.

The Milwaukee Art Museum Garden Club’s “Prairie Pals” are an essential part of that effort. Beginning with the park’s annual spring planting, the club musters volunteers who regularly put on their gardening gloves and get to work.

“We’re so fortunate to have the club’s involvement,” said David Wenstrup, Friends of Lakeshore State Park President. “Consistent, dedicated effort is what it takes to do this work, and they’re fully committed to the mission.” After David helped the group out a few times, he decided to become a Garden Club member himself.

Anyone is welcome to join the Prairie Pals starting May 5 and continuing every other Thursday from 9 to 11 a.m. as they fill bag after bag with invasive weeds. You can come whenever you like, and you don’t have to be a Garden Club member – see the Park Supervisor Update for how to register to volunteer.

Helen Dahms and Grant Kniedler, who coordinate the Lakeshore State Park volunteers for the Garden Club, say that gardeners understand how important native species are for migratory birds, insects and other wildlife. But the volunteers benefit, too. “It’s a wonderful way to get some fresh air and camaraderie and also do some public service,” says Helen.

Grant calls it “a nice chance to be social in a productive way,” and he’s proud to have a role in sustaining a beautiful place. “I think it’s important to create a pleasant environment for the citizens of Milwaukee.”

“It is just such a beautiful setting.  To go down there and have the lake, the Summerfest grounds, the city skyline and the art museum — you can’t beat it.”

Helen Dahms

Garden Club members have been volunteering at Lakeshore State Park since 2018, coming from throughout the metro Milwaukee area to help. Some have their own gardens at home, and others are apartment-dwellers who appreciate an opportunity to work in the soil.