Bird & Nature Blog

Wisconsin’s prairie-chickens need you today

You may have heard about the proposed large-scale solar energy energy project in the Buena Vista Wildlife Area (near Stevens Point). This Important Bird Area provides critical habitat for one of Wisconsin’s dwindling but beloved species, the Greater Prairie-Chicken. You have an opportunity to weigh in on this matter by Friday, June 14.

Photo by USFWS Midwest

Holding the haying for grassland birds

Holding the haying for grassland birds

In southern Wisconsin, the rolling hills and family farms go hand in hand. We sometimes get questions from farmers about how to make sure their practices support birds, as well as the livestock and crop needs of their farm. Here is the answer to a question we hear from farmers: when can I hay my fields so grassland nesting birds can raise their young?

Photo by Carolyn Byers

Backyard habitats are growing!

Lots of people in the Madison area are making their gardens a beautiful, vibrant landscape while supporting birds, bees, butterflies, and other native wildlife!

The native plant sale that we put on with Holy Wisdom Monastery, SOS Save Our Songbirds, and Johnson’s Nursery in Menominee Falls was a huge success! Not just in terms of dollars but equally and even better in terms of number of bird- and insect-supporting native plants that have found their way into yards in Southern Wisconsin as a result.

Photo by Mary Dummert