Bird & Nature Blog

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So You Want to be a Birder

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This week’s post is written with new and aspiring birders in mind. Birding is a boundless hobby that can take you in so many directions! But it’s also one that can feel intimidating if you aren’t sure how to get started—especially with all our spring bird walks and field trips on hold. I’m not here to give you any expert advice, because I’m not an expert. Far from it. I’m a new birder myself. I went through this process not long ago and I’d love to share what I learned.

Read on for a few simple steps to get started with birding!

Photo by Caitlyn Schuchhardt

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Lookin' Out My Backdoor

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So went the advice of Creedence Clearwater Revival (admit it, some of you remember the band) and it's applicable today. Most of are and should be at home most of the time. Our bird friends are there too. You never know what you're going to see to amuse, inspire, or awe you unless you take the time to look.

In my front, side, and back yards, the stars this spring have been the cardinals. Two males and a female have been foraging and chasing one another. They can really fly through tight spaces. Some chickadees are sparing me some arduous clean up. I had about a three foot, rotting stump of an apple tree and decided that a year of procrastination was enough. The stump had to go. But a pair of chickadees started work on it just a couple of days ago. They are preparing a nest? Feeding on insects? Who cares, the stump is theirs for as long as they want it.

Photo by Mr.TinDC, FCC

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Birds, Beauty, and Not Too Many of Us

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With proper respect for social distancing, I hope many of you are able to get out and experience what nature can offer. We in Madison Audubon and other conservation organizations talk, plan, raise money, volunteer, and finally spend hours and hours in the field restoring parts of nature. Time to remember that nature can restore us.

Some of our favorite places to experience nature — state and county parks, for example — might be drawing crowds that push the social distancing limits. Here are two suggestions for off the beaten track lands that will be glorious to visit and not too crowded.

Photo by Joshua Mayer

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Bird Your World

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Welcome back to our Entryway to Birding blog! We are another week closer to spring and new birds are arriving in Madison by the day. Common loons are diving on Lake Monona. Yellow-bellied sapsuckers are back drilling their holes. Golden-crowned kinglets are flitting fast about. Our daily schedules may be thrown to the wind, but the rhythm of the seasons is still a constant—and there is comfort in that.

Last week, I wrote about the joy, the comfort, the wonder of birds—and how watching them can help us feel more connected to the world around us. This week, I’m going to explore the places that connection can take you.

Because the truth is … birds are just the beginning.

Photo by Caitlyn Schuchhardt

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Streaming Birds

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Streaming Birds

Spring is sprung and our bird friends are oblivious to our anxiety. Their beauty and vitality can take us out of ourselves for precious rejuvenating hours.

How about a new place of many of you to look at some of our most interesting birds and some other amazing creatures? Try spring creeks!

Much of Madison Audubon's territory lies in Wisconsin's Driftless Area and holds a resource that is quite rare globally: spring creeks. A spring creek is spring fed; as important, the source of those springs are sandstone and limestone aquifers that confer wonderful productivity to the water.

Photo by Joshua Mayer