A fabulous plant sale, thanks to YOU!

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 Menomonee 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 Ann Mader, provided by Lisa Gaumnitz

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Summer 2025

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Summer 2025

This season at the sanctuaries (Summer 2025): learn what’s been going on behind the scenes, who you can expect to find when you visit, and how to get involved in the coming few months!

SoWBA photo

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The Last Experiment of the Year

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All of us in SoWBA enjoyed the recent newsletter about Citizen Science, with Mickenzee's account of the Lincoln Elementary School's citizen scientists my favorite.

SoWBA and the Southern Wisconsin Chapter of Trout Unlimited recently hosted those 4th graders on their and our annual end of the year field trip. For many it's their first chance to see and hold a fish.

Photo by Carolyn Byers

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Who's That Singing? Gray Catbird

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One of the most fabulous summer birds is certainly the Gray Catbird, who is doing a LOT of singing right now in southern Wisconsin. It makes a variety of sounds that are both silly and interesting, given that this bird is a relative of mockingbirds and thrashers — birds that are skilled mimics. Its song is a delightful gibberish of babbling noises, and its call is what gives it the name Catbird.

Photo by Dennis Church FCC