This season at the sanctuaries: spring 2023
Madison Audubon's lands are permanently protected and conserved habitat for birds, plants, and other wildlife. They are stewarded, restored, and managed by our sanctuary teams. Many of these areas are open for all to visit, take in nature, and enjoy the seasons. Learn more here.
Spring has sprung at Faville Grove
The back and forth of early spring brought the tenuous arrival of numerous waterfowl species, but the freezing and thawing of ponds and wetlands has concentrated that waterfowl activity along the open water of the Crawfish River.
Clearing and burning a pile of brush at Ledge Savanna (photo by Drew Harry/Madison Audubon).
Plants are mostly dormant, besides the precocious skunk cabbage, already in bloom in swampy areas near the sanctuary. It’s a good time of year to conduct brush cutting activities, and we’ve recently made our way through many parts of the sanctuary, giving a much needed "haircut" and opening up the views for grassland and savanna birds. Read more in our latest Friday Feathered Features.
Songbird migrants include the usual suspects like Eastern Bluebirds, Red-winged Blackbirds, and Song Sparrows, which we’ve seen an influx of the last few days. Recent new arrivals include some Eastern Meadowlarks along the Crawfish River and American Woodcocks along the Lake Mills Ledge. Just last week we heard our first chorus frogs. Spring peepers, leopard frogs, and many other species will soon follow.
Plan your visit
Come visit Faville Grove to hear life returning to the landscape. Sandhill Cranes and Canada Geese are among the most boisterous, but there are other audible delights as well, like the haunting winnowing of the Wilson’s Snipe, which should arrive back to the Ledge Lowlands any day now.
Wilson’s Snipe (photo by Arlene Koziol).
Our April 11 Snipe and Woodcock Walk has filled up, but you’re welcome to visit and view these species on your own. One of the best spots tends to be along the Lake Mills Ledge Savanna. Set up at dusk and look to the west, and you can listen for their “peents” and watch the flight displays. To the east, you might hear or see Wilson’s Snipe. Many other parts of the sanctuary also have woodcock displays this time of year, and the sanctuary keeps adding habitat, so it might be fun to explore other areas for those peenting and preening spring showstoppers.
Trails and firebreaks are good spots to make your way through the prairies, savannas, and woodlands. This time of year wetlands hold much of our interest, as life returns here first. However, trails are likely to be muddy and slippery, so watch your step. For more, check out the Faville Grove Sanctuary map.
Get involved
To date we’ve had four burn days, with about 100 acres burned across seven units. Prescribed fires help cycle nutrients, promote flowering, and knock back woody encroachment in prairies. Those flowers that explode with blooms after a prescribed fire—like blue-eyed grass, rue anemone, or golden Alexanders—will provide important nectar resources for pollinators, especially the federally endangered Rusty-patched Bumblebee which can be found throughout Faville Grove. Those spring flowers are critical to queen bumblebees emerging and nest building. Right now we are looking for help on prescribed burns through the end of April. No experience is necessary.
Prescribed burn at Buddy’s Prairie (photo by Drew Harry/Madison Audubon).
Garlic mustard season is also right around the corner, we'd appreciate your help pulling or spraying this pernicious woodland invader. Garlic mustard control will likely start in mid-April and run through May.
If you’d like to volunteer, please contact land steward Drew Harry at faville@madisonaudubon.org
Learn more:
Questions? Contact Drew at faville@madisonaudubon.org
Glorious migration through Goose Pond
The Aurora borealis glimmers over Goose Pond Sanctuary the night of March 23, 2023 (photo by Ralph Russo).
On the first day of March, the west pond was ice free, filling us with the hope of spring as migrating waterfowl flocked to the open water. Read more about some recent species in our Friday Feathered Features.
The ice-and-sun cycle of this early spring has kept us on our toes. A record-breaking amount of snowfall hampered prescribed burn plans for late March and also postponed our very popular Fire Ecology and Field Instruction workshop. We're getting ready for the right conditions to carry out this crucial work.
Recently, the Friends of Pope Farm Conservancy hosted Madison Audubon's Goose Pond sanctuary staff and key volunteers for a Raptor Talk, a great overview of the many raptor research and citizen science programs we are involved with. Watch the recording here.
Plan your visit
Take in the remarkable sights and sounds of one of the most exciting times of the year as thousands of birds stop by this prairie pothole.
And what variety—in the past month, staff and eBirders documented 16 species of ducks and five species of geese: Canada, Greater White-fronted, Cackling, a few Snow, and a Ross's. On March 3, three species of swan were spotted at the pond together: a graceful pair of Trumpeter Swans among the large flocks of Tundra Swans, plus a pair of Mute Swans (a nonnative species) were in the mix.
Native swan species congregate with Canada Geese at Goose Pond on March 3, 2023 (photo by Mandy Martin).
Invasive Mute Swans on March 3, 2023 (photo by Mandy Martin).
Soon, shorebirds should start popping up around the area, bobbing around and foraging along shallow mud flats and thawed wetlands.
Trails may be soggy, but there's plenty to see and hear around the ponds and prairies. For more, check out the Goose Pond Sanctuary map or take a virtual trip via the Goose Pond Webcam.
Get involved
Volunteers sow seed near Otsego Marsh on March 4, 2023 (photo by Kaitlin Svabek/Madison Audubon).
With the help of volunteers, we planted 14 acres of former cropland around Otsego Marsh with a seed mix from 110 prairie species. A great big thank you from us, and from the birds and bugs that will benefit!
As the weather warms we will begin spending more time surveying and counting species. Sanctuary co-managers Mark Martin and Susan Foote-Martin were interviewed for a Baraboo News Republic article about their longtime participation in the Traditional Wisconsin Frog and Toad survey. We will also be surveying bees and bumblebees this spring, and are seeking volunteers to join the effort.
Springtime is also one of the seasons for prescribed burns. Anyone who is interested in helping is welcome and no prior experience is necessary.
If you’d like to volunteer for any or all of the above, please contact land steward Graham Steinhauer at gsteinhauer@madisonaudubon.org to be added to the email list.
Learn more:
If you have questions or would like to receive Goose Pond updates more often, email goosep@madisonaudubon.org
Cover image: Pale pinkish white rue anemone blooms in the woodlands at Faville Grove Sanctuary after a prescribed burn in 2018 (photo by Drew Harry/Madison Audubon).
