Register now for Birds, Bikes, & Brews!

What could be better than spending an afternoon birding, biking, and drinking beer?

Come celebrate three of Wisconsinite's favorite past times with us!

Advanced registration is now open for our third-annual Birds, Bikes, & Brews event - a casual afternoon of biking, birding, and enjoying locally-brewed craft beer with our friends at Next Door Brewing Co.

Your $15 registration includes a Birds, Bikes, & Brews pint glass, coupons and deals from local businesses, plus a free pint of our specially-brewed bird themed ale made by the beer geniuses at Next Door Brewing when you return from your ride. Plus, Madison Audubon receives $1 from each pint of specialty beer sold that day!

Register now!

Here are the details:

- Join us at any time between 2-6 p.m. at Next Door Brewing Company
- We'll give you a map and a checklist, and you'll head out on the Lake Monona Lake Loop to look for as many birds as you can find while on two wheels!*
- We'll have several birding stations set up along the way, with helpful volunteers. You can stop, take a peek through a spotting scope, and learn something new!
- When you're done birding and biking, the Lake Loop brings you right back to Next Door Brewing, where we'll have a cold one (or two!) waiting for you! Cheers!

*No pressure, no rush! Enjoy the ride, and know that birders of ALL skill levels are welcome. Even if you don't consider yourself a birder, we guarantee you'll have fun (and there's good beer involved)

Here's a little secret we'll let you in on: when you register before August 31 and use code EARLYBIRD16, you can get 15% off of your $15 registration! 


This event is made possible with support from Next Door Brewing Co., Cricket Design Works, and Screen Door Studio.

From the Educators: Summer education programs wrap up

This year has been filled with adventure for kids and young adults in our Madison Audubon programs. Thanks to your support, we have been able to reach 2,259 youth since January – and have built long-term relationships with over 100 of them! Because of your support, local kids are spending more time exploring outside, asking questions, and making observations about nature...and they're unearthing their own special love and connection to our natural world as they explore.

Conservation Academy partcipants from Operation Fresh Start learn about water quality management. Photo by Carolyn Byers

Conservation Academy partcipants from Operation Fresh Start learn about water quality management. Photo by Carolyn Byers

What were we up to this summer?

Operation Fresh Start Conservation Academy participants celebrate the end of their summer season with Smokey the Bear! Photo by Carolyn Byers.

Operation Fresh Start Conservation Academy participants celebrate the end of their summer season with Smokey the Bear! Photo by Carolyn Byers.

  • Kids at Vera Court Neighborhood Center and Salvation Army Community Center adventured with insects, water critters, and tiny flowers in our Micro Explorers curriculum.

  • Through our Conservation Academy program, Operation Fresh Start crews learned about career paths in habitat restoration, stream ecology, ornithology, wildlife biology, urban forestry, and water resource management. We celebrated their summer of learning with a retreat at the Mackenzie Environmental Education Center!

  • A partnership with MSCR (Madison School & Community Recreation) allowed us to provide a week of Wildlife Immersion lessons for summer camp kids. Birds, binoculars, scat, tracks, and art projects were our highlights!

This fall, we plan to continue our partnerships with local schools and community centers, and hope to share the wonder of wildlife with as many kids as possible!

- Carolyn Byers
Director of Education
 

Help tag monarchs at Goose Pond Sanctuary

Releasing a freshly-tagged monarch butterfly. Photo by Arlene Koziol.

Releasing a freshly-tagged monarch butterfly. Photo by Arlene Koziol.

Bring your whole family and join us at Goose Pond Sanctuary to help with conservation efforts to track declining populations of monarch butterflies. 

Photo by Arlene Koziol

Photo by Arlene Koziol

Madison Audubon works with monarchwatch.org to capture and tag butterflies at our Goose Pond Sanctuary for monitoring efforts throughout their migration route. You can help with this important citizen science effort!

According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the recognizable orange-and-black butterfly species is in trouble. "Threats, including loss of milkweed habitat needed to lay their eggs and for their caterpillars to eat, are having a devastating impact on their populations and the migration phenomenon. Unless we act now to help the Monarch, this amazing animal could disappear in our lifetime. The state of Monarchs reflects the health of the American landscape and its pollinators. Monarch declines are symptomatic of environmental problems that also pose risks to food production, the spectacular natural places that help define our national identity, and our own health. Conserving and connecting habitat for monarchs will benefit many other plants and animals, including critical insect and avian pollinators, and future generations of Americans."

Attend a tagging event at Goose Pond on September 3rd or 10th to help with this important effort. Please register! We will be unable to support additional trip attendees due to limited materials and impact on the land. 

Register now

Volunteer and help restore Wisconsin's beautiful prairies

As the seasons change at our sanctuaries, so do our volunteer opportunities!

Canada wild rye. Photo by Carolyn Byers

Canada wild rye. Photo by Carolyn Byers

Fall is one of the busiest times at Faville Grove and Goose Pond, as it's an ideal time to collect native prairie plant seeds from the hundreds of acres of restored habitat at each site. 

We're seeking volunteers all through the autumn season to help with prairie seed collection at both sites. See below for details.


Madison Audubon's FAVILLE GROVE SANCTUARY (near Lake Mills) will host seed collecting parties on the following days, beginning Wednesday, Sept. 7:

  • Wednesdays, 9:30 a.m. - 12 noon
  • Saturdays, two shifts: 9:30 a.m. - 12 noon, and 1:30-4 p.m.

Madison Audubon's GOOSE POND SANCTUARY (near Arlington) will be collecting seed through the end of October, beginning Sept. 16:

  • Fridays, 9:30 a.m. - 12 noon
  • Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. - 12 noon

The seed our volunteers help to collect is used in future prairie restorations both in our own Sanctuaries and across our service area. The local-genotype seed we collect on site helps preserve genetic characteristics that thrive in our specific climate. Plus, it's incredible to see the full-circle restoration process: plant a prairie, collect seeds, and plant a new prairie! 

You don't need any experience to help us collect prairie seed! It is a great learning experience, a fantastic time of year to be outside, and its a fun way to connect with others in our community. 

If you have any questions about helping us collect prairie seed, email our Sanctuary land stewards!

Faville Grove land steward Drew Harry: faville@madisonaudubon.org
Goose Pond land steward Maddie Van Cleve: mvancleve@madisonaudubon.org

See you in the prairie!