Bird & Nature Blog
A clutch of the latest stories from Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance
The 118th Christmas Bird Count period is officially over, and the Madison CBC data has been submitted! Huzzah and thank goodness! It was an awesome year in many ways: over 100 participants, a record 97 species observed (previous record was 95 in 1997 and 1998), 60,151 individual birds counted, 9 species high-counts, and some cool and unusual birds for this time of year (like an ovenbird and Iceland gull!).
Photo by Carolyn Byers
The elementary school kids at Vera Court Neighborhood Center are excited about a brand-new project they’re working on- their very own Field Guide! This semester they’re building their literacy and art skills by creating pages for their field guide. Each week the kids head off to a new park with a MAS educator and focus on exploring different subjects like birds, mammals, plants, and macroinvertibrates. They keep a careful list of everything they encounter, and the following week each student selects one organism to enter into their field guide.
Madison Audubon photo
Goose Pond is a prairie pothole, one of the most threatened types of wetlands in the world and a mecca for wildlife. They’re biodiversity hotspots.
They’re also in danger of destruction in Wisconsin. These shallow ponds with fluctuating water levels fall under the "non-federal" or “isolated" wetlands category. Current proposed legislation seeks to eliminate any permitting or oversight by agencies like the WDNR and would allow developers to destroy and build over these wildlife havens.
Photo by Arlene Koziol
Last summer Our summer educator, Olivia Sanderfoot, reached over 300 kids with our outdoor education programming! Wow! Many of those kids met weekly with Olivia, and were able to benefit from repeat visits and lesson content that built as time progressed.
This fall we are once again partnering with Vera Court, Bayview, and Salvation Army community centers. They’re all doing awesome things, but we’re particularly excited about our lessons with Salvation Army: the older elementary school students are mentoring the younger as everyone explores local parks. We’re hoping the older kids grow and shine with the added responsibility. At the very least, they’re excited about their new roles!
Madison Audubon photo
Monarch tagging is underway at Goose Pond Sanctuary, with sessions happening on September 9 and 16. Nearly 100 monarchs were tagged on the 9th, but in the morning session, the strangest species of butterflies appeared...
A rare Danaus plexippus gigantus maddius was captured at Madison Audubon Goose Pond Sanctuary. Fortunately master butterfly scooper Jim Otto spotted the maddius. He approached it slowly, gave a war cry, then swept the net forward quickly and captured the maddius before it landed on the terrified Everett Reetz.
Photo by Arlene Koziol
