Three Waters Reserve, Green County, WI, US - eBird Hotspot
Habitat: Southern Hardwood Forest, Oak Savanna, Native and Restored Grassland, Bottomland Hardwoods, Marsh, Open Water.
Best Birds: It is common to see American White Pelican, Osprey, and Bald Eagle flying over the lake, river, and backwaters. Bald Eagle nest in the area. Common sightings on the river and in backwater marshes include dabbling ducks, mergansers, grebes, and occasional spring migrant American Bittern. Marsh and Sedge Wren are also commonly heard or observed.
The forested floodplain and upland forest and savanna are commonly used by nesting Cooper’s Hawk, and Pileated and Red-headed Woodpecker. Grassland birds include Sandhill Crane and Dickcissel.
Fall kettles of Broad-winged and Sharp-shinned Hawk and other migrant raptors are commonplace, riding the updrafts along the forested river corridor.
Directions: Located 34 miles S of Madison/2 miles north of Brodhead. From County Hwy E take Golf Course Road west to Three Waters Reserve. TWR occupies sixty acres of riparian wetland and sandy upland slopes bordering the Sugar River and Decatur Lake on the former Decatur Lake Country Club/Golf Course property. Southern Wisconsin Land Conservancy owns and operates TWR which includes public hiking trails.
Site Address & Additional Information:
N3941 Golf Course Rd, Brodhead, WI 53520
The former club house is now used as an event center and as a field station for watershed education and research, and for citizen science monitoring of the Lower Sugar River Watershed. Bird and other wildlife viewing can be enjoyed from the public trails and the facility’s ADA accessible wrap around deck. Since restoration began to convert the golf course greens to prairie and wetland, springtime visitors have observed denning fox with triplet pups.
Steven Apfelbaum
