Latest Conservation News: A Big Win for the Birds!
Happy October! It’s been an eventful month so far, with both big wins and some new challenges for the birds. Let’s start with the big win!
Photo by Shan Arora
In 2022, Madison’s Bird-Safe Glass Ordinance – which requires buildings that are more than 10,000 square feet to incorporate a pattern, such as dots or lines, to prevent birds from colliding with the glass – was...
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Join us November 11 at our first-ever Unconvention!
Native Plant Garden at UW-Madison Arboretum
By Lynn Barber, WSO Vice President
Announcing the first WSO UNCONVENTION: PEOPLE IN WISCONSIN TALKING ABOUT BIRD STUFF!
When and where is this birdy event?
Saturday, November 11th, 9 am to 4:30 pm, at the UW-Madison Arboretum Visitor Center in Madison (1207 Seminole Hwy). Lunch is included. The program schedule can be found here.
What “Bird...
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Harrington Beach Hawk Watch 2023
BROAD-WINGED HAWK (IMMATURE) - PHOTO BY TOM SCHULTZ
The date we selected for this year’s WSO Hawk Watch was Saturday, October 7th, and it turned out that our timing was fortuitous. We had been watching the forecast during the days leading up to this year’s event, and with strong northwest winds predicted, we were optimistic that we’d have a good hawk flight!
The group...
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Jaegerfest 2023 Report
LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL (JUVENILE) - PHOTO BY ROBBYE JOHNSON
The weekend of September 22-24 was another “unofficial” Jaegerfest (since it was no longer listed as a WSO field trip), and this year brought some very unusual circumstances – due to the totally unprecedented appearance of AMERICAN FLAMINGOS at Port Washington on Friday the 22nd!
The story really starts on...
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Fall Warblers Field Trip 2023
Although a little cool (48 degrees), the weather in Green Bay was sunny and calm as our field trip attendees arrived at Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary on September 9th. We gathered near one of the lagoons, took attendance, and began checking out the bird activity. Present were MALLARDS, WOOD DUCKS, and CANADA GEESE, as well as GREEN HERON, SPOTTED SANDPIPER, and LESSER YELLOWLEGS. ...
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Latest Conservation News
August is winding down and we hope you’re all enjoying the start of fall migration. As birds fly south, we’re reminded of how important it is to protect their stopover sites in Wisconsin. Below, we’ve featured some important opportunities to help protect those sites and the birds that depend on them.
The WSO Conservation Committee has made opposition to the development...
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Jagerfest 2023
This event started as a WSO (Wisconsin Society for Ornithology) field trip back in 1999 and has been annual ever since. Hundreds of birders have attended over the years, not only from Wisconsin, but also many from Minnesota and a number of other states. Jaegerfest is no longer featured as a WSO field trip for the past few years (for a variety of reasons), but many of us still...
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Horicon Marsh Field Trip 2023
Birding on Old Marsh Road East End - photo Tom Schultz
On Sunday, August 13 the group began gathering around 7:00 AM along Highway 49, near a large mixed gathering of AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS, DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS, GREAT EGRETS, GREAT BLUE HERONS, MALLARDS, WOOD DUCKS, RING-BILLED GULLS, and others. The skies were partly cloudy, and the temperature was cool and comfortable –...
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Honey Creek Birdathon 5/27-28, 2023
The weather was nearly perfect for our 2023 Birdathon at Honey Creek (May 27-28), with about 9 people showing up to camp overnight at the Cox Nature Center. Some of us took a couple of Saturday evening bird walks down Alder Lane, including one for owling. The 7:00 PM...
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Northern Kettle Moraine SF 6/3/23
On Saturday, June 3, at 6:00 AM, 16 people met at Long Lake Recreation Area for the WSO’s Kettle Moraine State Forest – Northern Unit field trip. This is a new meeting location for this trip. Mid-week I had to change the meeting location of this trip because on Wednesday before our trip while listening to WPR I discovered there was a huge event planned at Mauthe Lake, one of our principal...
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Green space replaces Cox house at Honey Creek
By Rebecca Gilman WSO Secretary
Attendees at this year’s WSO Birdathon/Bandathon were greeted with a new green space at our 372-acre Harold and Carla Kruse Honey Creek Nature Preserve. The house that once belonged to David and Hazel Cox and was purchased from surviving members of the Cox family in 2021 has been removed.
The decision to demolish the Cox house was a difficult one for...
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