Goose Pond Sanctuary Update: March 3, 2025
Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance’s Goose Pond Sanctuary always has a ton going on. Bird conservation, habitat restoration, research, and outreach are always in season here. Learn more about Goose Pond through the update below, by visiting our Goose Pond webpage, or by exploring our Goose Pond StoryMap.
Tundra Swans arrive and other Firsts of Spring
Despite the rock-solid ice that still covers Goose Pond, spring waterfowl touched down on February 26 to rest on their journey back to northern breeding grounds. Thirty Tundra Swans, who probably wintered along the Atlantic coast, occupy the pond with heads tucked under their wings. Canada Geese and Mallards hug a line stretching across the midwest that separates frozen and unfrozen to ensure quick access to breeding habitat when a warm spell allows. More of them have been flying over the Goose Pond area in search of corn and open water, and they are sure to join the Tundra Swans on Goose Pond over the next month.
Other early spring signs are stacking up. Water levels on small creeks are rising from snowmelt. We heard the first cardinal singing on February 25. Opossum activity is increasing as nighttime temperatures become tolerable. Graham’s chickens have started laying eggs again. These earliest events are readily noticed because they mark discrete changes during the quiet season of late winter. Firsts of the year will grow exponentially over the next few months as plants poke through the soil surface, more birds arrive and sing, queen bumble bees emerge from their winter burrows, and everything else races to claim their space during the sunny months of 2025.
Boxelders and a Backhoe
Jeff and his machine (photo by Graham Steinhauer/SoWBA).
Cooler temperatures in winter make chainsaw operation more comfortable (usually), and snow cover allows us to burn brush piles safely. Goose Pond staff and volunteers have been removing common buckthorn, a notoriously aggressive invasive shrub, at Otsego Marsh. A combination of Graham, Emma, volunteers, and a summer intern crew can tackle most ecosystem restoration activity at Goose Pond, Otsego Marsh, and Erstad Prairie, but some projects are simply unreasonable without some extra help.
Benade Prairie, a 70-acre tract purchased in 2019, contains diverse prairie, scattered oaks, a small pond, and until December of 2024, a boxelder woodlot. This patch of weedy trees didn’t support native wildlife, it decreased the valuable prairie habitat nearby, and harbored numerous invasive species like garlic mustard and bush honeysuckle.
Boxelder progress (photo by Graham Steinhauer/SoWBA).
We hired Jeff Lang, retired DNR employee and owner of Fair Meadow Habitats LLC, for his backhoe and chainsaw skills. Graham, Emma, and Jeff felled and treated the boxelder stumps with herbicide, and then Jeff wrangled the material into big brush piles with his backhoe. Goose Pond staff and volunteers burned these piles in early February. Without the help of Jeff and his backhoe, it would have taken Graham, Emma, and volunteers months to cut, treat, pile, and burn all of the scraggly trees. Birds already present at Benade Prairie like Eastern Meadowlarks, Western Meadowlarks, Savanna Sparrows, and Short-eared Owls will return in a few months to find much more favorable habitat than when they left it last fall. Thanks so much to John and Karin Exo who donated the funds to make this project possible.
Milkweed Seed for Monarchs – 1,192 acres of New Habitat
Collected milkweed seed.
As most folks know, monarch caterpillars can only eat Asclepias, more commonly known as milkweed. There are a dozen species of milkweeds in Wisconsin, but common milkweed is by far the most abundant and the easiest to grow. Thanks to volunteers and school groups, we had enough milkweed seed this winter to fill 27 orders for FREE. In total, we shipped 1,416 ounces of pure live seed to be planted on 1,192 acres across southern Wisconsin.
Monarch populations have declined by at least 90% in the last few decades primarily due to habitat loss and insecticide (especially neonicotinoids) applications on agricultural land. This program allows Goose Pond Sanctuary to help monarchs on a scale much larger than our sanctuary boundary. We’ve sent 6,604 ounces of pure live seed to plant on 5,876 acres for monarchs since 2020. Check out our Friday Feathered Feature for information on the 2024 monarch tagging season at Goose Pond and Find out more about monarchs in general by visiting Monarch Joint Venture or the Xerces Society.
Mark and Jenny McGinley finally allowed to “retire” after 19 years of Duck Box Monitoring
Mark and Jenny with a massive paper wasp nest on one of their boxes (photo by Mark Martin).
Starting in 2005, long-time volunteers Mark and Jenny McGinley have diligently monitored around 40 duck nesting boxes in south central Columbia county. What started as an Eagle Scout Project for their son, which entailed building 15 duck boxes with William Damm’s guidance, led to 19 years of cleaning boxes, adding fresh wood chips prior to the nesting season, evicting mice, and making countless repairs. The McGinleys not only ensured that nesting cavities were available for Wood Ducks and Hooded Mergansers each year, but they also kept excellent data on nest success starting in 2009. On average, they found that 54% of nests in their boxes were successful (meaning at least one Wood Duck or Hooded Merganser chick hatched). So far, because of their efforts, approximately 3,044 Wood Duck and Hooded Merganser chicks had a safe place to grow before leaving the nest.
We are so grateful that Mark and Jenny have undertaken this time-consuming, but rewarding task for the last 19 years. However, the McGinleys will be moving out of the Goose Pond area, so we will need a few volunteers to fill their shoes. If you are interested in monitoring the boxes at one or more locations (Otsego Marsh, Schoeneberg Marsh and Erstad Prairie, and the Anderson and Jackson Waterfowl Production Areas), please contact Graham at gsteinhauer@swibirds.org.
Opportunities, Articles, and More
Read Goose Pond Sanctuary’s recent Friday Feathered Features: White-breasted Nuthatch, eBird observations at Columbia County properties, 2024 Poynette Christmas Bird Count, and Common Grackle Research at Goose Pond Sanctuary.
The Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program is critical to purchase lands for wildlife and for people to enjoy, and we urge you to express your support for the program to your representatives. Contact your representatives with any easy template here, or learn more about the program here.
The Goose Pond spring prescribed fire workshop is full. The Prairie Enthusiasts have a similar program, Basic Prescribed Fire Crew Training, which still has space.
Thanks largely to the federal “duck stamp,” waterfowl are one of the few bird groups that have actually increased since the mid-1900s. This program is in jeopardy due to recent budget cuts. Tim Eisele, longtime SoWBA member and friend of Goose Pond and renowned journalist, outlines the history and importance of the Waterfowl Stamp Program in his recorded presentation Ding's Darling - An American Conservation Hero and the Federal Duck Stamp.
Bat populations were decimated by white-nose syndrome, but they seem to be recovering in recent years. Check out Wisconsin DNR’s 2024 Roost Monitoring Report.
Jim Hess, longtime SoWBA member and friend of Goose Pond, received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Bluebird Restoration Association of Wisconsin.
270 people tuned into PhD Neil Paprocki’s presentation on Rough-legged Hawks. Two of his birds were captured with the assistance of Goose Pond staff. View the recording here.
Federal Wildlife Refuge funding has been slashed, and many essential employees were fired. Use this handy template to voice support of refuges and their associated staff here.
Check out UW-Stevens Point’s Prescribed Fire for Forest Management Webinar Series. They have excellent recordings on oak savanna, game species, traditional ecological knowledge, and much more.
State-endangered bird released at Goose Pond
On November 25, 2024 a rehabilitated Peregrine Falcon was released at Goose Pond Sanctuary. The bird was admitted to Dane County Humane Society's Wildlife Center with injuries suggesting a window or building collision. Once the bird was deemed fit for release, rehabbers and Greg Septon, leader of Wisconsin FalconWatch, identified Goose Pond Sanctuary as an ideal place for release. The open water provided numerous ducks and coots, while the food plot contained other prey items that would give the young falcon ample hunting opportunities. Seeing a once-injured Peregrine Falcon take flight and soar effortlessly beyond the horizon was awe-inspiring.
Thanks to the Wildlife Center staff and volunteers for their work caring for this bird, to Greg Septon for banding the bird, and to both of them for allowing Goose Pond Staff to be a part of that special moment.
Peregrine Falcon just before release at Goose Pond Sanctuary (photo by Emma Raasch/SoWBA).
Christmas Bird Count celebrates 125th Year
Many people in the 19th century United States participated in a Christmas Day “Side Hunt.” Basically, the hunters who shot and killed the most animals were victorious. Although bets were sometimes placed, the most common prize was bragging rights. Frank M. Chapman, a concerned ornithologist, suggested that folks counted the birds instead of killing them. The first Christmas Bird Count (CBC) was held in 1900, making 2024 the 125th year. This is one of the longest-running community science projects. Brenna Marsicek, SoWBA Director of Outreach, wrote a great article summarizing the Madison CBC and other counts in south central Wisconsin.
Poynette CBC: The Poynette CBC was started by Bill Smith and Steve Krings in 1971, and Mark and Sue took over as coordinators in 1980. A record 47 people participated in 2024 and found 74 species. This count is dedicated to Ken Lange, who passed away in November. Ken was a retired Wisconsin DNR naturalist for Devils Lake State Park, and coordinated the CBC there for many years. Find the 2024 Poynette CBC details here.
Pardeeville CBC: Like much of southern Wisconsin, the Pardeeville CBC area holds many habitats from prairie and agricultural fields to oak forests and cattail marshes. The Count Summary reports that folks found 52 species including 19 American Black Ducks, 41 Eastern Bluebirds, and 104 American Robins. Thanks to Brian Doverspike for coordinating the Pardeeville CBC.
Madison CBC: People and birds are really the only things required for a successful CBC. Fortunately, Madison has both. This year, a whopping 256 birders counted 49,923 birds of 97 species! A few notable numbers include 2,546 Common Goldeneyes, 70 Bald Eagles, 1,068 Black-capped Chickadees, 40 Golden-crowned Kinglets, and an Iceland Gull. Find more details about the Madison CBC and other local CBCs here.
Great Backyard Bird Count
Red-headed Woodpecker (Arlene Koziol).
Each February, Birders from around the globe don’t have to travel far to contribute to one of the largest citizen science projects, the Great Backyard Bird Count. At Goose Pond, Graham counted birds at the Prairie Lane feeders and found five species, while Emma tallied the birds at the Kampen Rd feeders. Emma counted eight species, but the highlight was seeing and hearing four White-crowned Sparrows, a species that isn’t a guaranteed winter resident, but has stuck around the last two winters. Mark and Sue participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count at Wildland, LLC (SoWBA conservation easement), and recorded 18 species. Their highlight was counting 2 Red-headed Woodpeckers and 41 Blue Jays.
Written by Graham Steinhauer, Goose Pond Sanctuary land steward; Mark Martin and Susan Foote-Martin, Goose Pond Sanctuary managers; and Emma Raasch, Goose Pond ecological restoration technician
Cover photo: Tundra Swans at Goose Pond Sanctuary during a previous year (photo by Arlene Koziol).
