By Jennifer Lazewski WSO Executive Director
The WSO Board of Directors is recommending changes to membership dues, levels and publication fees after the first dues review since 2017. These recommendations resulted from a task force on membership dues after a thorough review of WSO history, current conditions, other comparable organizations and consultant suggestions. Under...
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Buena Vista Field Trip 2023 – Feb. 11
Townline Road feeders - Photo by Tom Schultz
We were pleased that this was a relatively mild day for this field trip, with the temperature starting around 25 degrees when we met at the gas station in Bancroft at 8:00 AM. There was a moderate wind blowing from the southwest, but the mild temperature made it quite tolerable.
Following check-in (26 birders were present) and...
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January Rare Birds: Kittiwake, Varied Thrush are highlights in quiet month
By Mark Korducki
January was a fairly quiet month for weather and birds. Most of the month was warmer than normal and much of the state saw very little in the way of snowfall.
The most unusual sighting was a Black-legged Kittiwake that was found on Columbia Lake in Columbia County. This lake remains open all winter due to the warm water discharge from a power plant and it...
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You're Invited! Bringing Birds Back Conference
By Karen Etter HaleWI Bird Conservation Partnership Chair
YOU are invited to join us in our quest to bring birds back. The Wisconsin Bird Conservation Partnership, WSO, and Bird City Wisconsin are hosting a conference March 24-25 to engage all those concerned with birds to help reverse bird declines at individual and community levels.
Bringing Birds Back will be held at the Culver Family...
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Milwaukee Lakefront Field Trip Report – 2023
Ross' Goose Photo by Matt Klemme
Our group met at South Shore Yacht Club on Sunday, January 8, with an 8:00 AM start time. The temperature was in the mid-20s, under cloudy skies, and light to moderate winds from the southwest. One of the first birds spotted was pretty exciting… a ROSS’S GOOSE, which was hanging around with a group of CANADAS. After a short time...
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December Rare Birds: Late warbler is a 1st for state CBCs
Myles Hurlburt photographed this Summer Tanager that local birders got a chance to see in early December at a private residence in the Wausau area.
By Mark Korducki
The mild weather of November continued into mid-December before a low pressure front moved in right before Christmas. This strong system produced blizzard conditions and plunged temperatures well below zero. This unusual...
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A birding challenge worthy of Wisconsin
Photo by Kyle Lloyd Arpke Two Snow Buntings in Kewaunee County
By Kyle Lloyd Arpke
I’m writing this article as I drive back home after a six-month odyssey that spanned the entire state of Wisconsin. Well,“odyssey” is definitely way too strong of a word, but I’m not lying about the second part. Over the last six months, I challenged myself to go birding in all 72 counties in...
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WSO issues a public call for volunteer leaders
The Wisconsin Society for Ornithology is seeking volunteer leaders to join its Board Of Directors. WSO’s mission is to promote the study, enjoyment and conservation of Wisconsin’s birds. We are looking for new directors who share our passion for these activities and for building a future where birds are protected and thriving.
The WSO board is seeking candidates who have...
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Statewide bird conservation conference planned March 24-25
A statewide conference is in the works to explore how each of us, individually and as a community, can help bring back some of the 3 billion birds our continent has lost since 1970.
The Wisconsin Bird Conservation Partnership, Bird City Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology have come together to plan a special two-day meeting. It will be held Friday and Saturday, March 24-25,...
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Come to Waukesha County for WSO’s 2023 Convention
The Benjamin F. Goss Bird Club will join WSO to host the 2023 convention on May 19-21 – WSO’s first since 2019! As a venue, the convention committee has chosen The Ingleside Hotel in Pewaukee (https://www.theinglesidehotel.com/), which is near the sprawling, bird-rich Southern Unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest and the many forests, prairies,...
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New surveys find Honey Creek Preserve a rare gem, full of bird life, challenges, opportunities
Photo by Angus Mossman Federally-endangered rusty patched bumble bee on joe-pye weed in shrub swamp.
By Mike Mossman, Amy Staffen and Angus Mossman
The recent addition of the Dischler tract to WSO’s Harold and Carla Kruse Honey Creek Nature Preserve has inspired renewed interest in current and longterm management needs at this very rich and important natural...
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