Brice Prairie, La Crosse County, WI, US – eBird Hotspot
Habitat: Cropland, Dry and Sand Prairie, Open Water, Urban/Residential.
Best Birds: Swans, geese, ducks, and shorebirds during spring and fall migrations. Eurasian Collared Dove, Horned Lark, Clay-colored Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow, Bobolink, and Dickcissel during breeding season.
Lapland Longspur and Snow Bunting sometimes found with Horned Lark in late winter/ early spring.
There is a network of trails through the prairie that spread out from the Visitor Center. The Lake Onalaska Overlook has an observation platform on the south side of County ZB from which thousands of ducks, geese, swans, pelicans, cormorants and shorebirds can be observed during spring and fall migration. Farm fields along the west side of County Z north of the Visitor Center can be great for shorebirds in spring if there is standing water. Roads north of the visitor center through open cropland can be productive for longspur, Snow Bunting, and Snowy Owl during winter months.
Directions: 10 miles N of La Crosse, W of Hwy 35 on the north end of Onalaska. Brice Prairie is the area west of the railroad tracks. The Brice Prairie Tract is a restored prairie around the Upper Mississippi River NWR La Crosse District Visitor Center (43.927144,-91.282882). The visitor center is located on County Z just north of its intersection with County ZN. The Lake Onalaska Overlook parking is on the south edge of the prairie area and there is an observation deck on the south side of County ZB (43.923063,-91.290095).
Site Address & Additional Information:
Upper Mississippi NWR Visitor Center, N5727 County Rd Z, Onalaska, WI
https://explorelacrosse.com/project/national-wildlife-fish-refuge-visitor-center/
Dan Jackson
