The Honey Creek Preserve is a priceless gem of biological diversity, and the surveys over the past few years have shown that. WSO’s property is part of the Baraboo Hills Important Bird Area and recognized as part of the high ecological value Honey Creek State Natural Area. Come and join us as we gather at the property and do some exploring on Saturday May 25 during the Honey Creek Birdathon/Bandathon event. Birding activities will start at 3:45 am with the dawn chorus along Skyview Road. At 6 am, there will be more birding, mostly along the roadway. Please gather at the Cox Nature Center for the main large loop hikes of about 2.5 miles with creek crossings. The groups will head out at 8:30 am and usually return between 11 am and noon. Dr. Anna Pidgeon and her UW-Madison graduate students will be banding birds after about 6:30 am and going until 10:30 or 11 am. (These activities are weather dependent, and they may start later or end earlier.) Kids are welcome, and attendees get a chance to see birds up close and release them. We may also have a visit from Uncle Butzie, an educational turkey vulture, with member Lisa Hartman. There is a limited amount of camping space available by the nature center. For the event day, please park by the nature center or along Skyview Road. We need to leave Alder Drive (which is a public road that leads to the Cox Nature Center) open for other traffic and the bird banding crew. You can find maps and information about the Honey Creek Preserve (which is open to visit anytime) at https://wsobirds.org/about-wso/honey-creek-preserve. Map apps should get you to the Cox Nature Center if you enter “Alder Drive” in Plain, WI.