Twitcher (noun, informal British) — a sometimes contentious term referring to a birder who goes to great lengths including extensive travel and expense to view rare species.
A Garganey observed last week at Zeloski Marsh (western portion of the Lake Mills Wildlife Area) was only the second individual reported in Wisconsin history, the first being sighted at Crex Meadows in 2014. This bird is a twitcher’s dream. Is it rare? Yup. Did someone provide decent directions? You bet. Does it have a unique look? Yes. Easy to get to? Mhmm.
The Garganey is an old world duck species commonly found in Europe, Africa, and southern Asia (see range map here). It’s placed in the Spatula genus along with Blue-winged Teal and eight others. Garganies are small dabbling ducks who prefer shallow marshes and ponds, breed in grassy uplands, and are strictly migratory. Blue-winged Teal and Garganey drakes both have a white crescent on their head, though in a different position.
The Garganey at Zeloski Marsh was associating with similarly-sized Blue-winged Teal (photo by Calla Norris).
The first person to report the bird on eBird was Brad Sillman on Thursday, April 21. Twenty-three more reports came in over the next 36 hours and then poof! It disappeared. Goose Pond Sanctuary land steward Graham and Calla Norris were lucky enough to observe the Garganey through binoculars with a small group of Blue-winged Teal.
The Zeloski Marsh eBird hotspot shows 249 species observed making it the most bird diverse location in Jefferson County (view a slideshow of species here). New species added to the bird list in 2022 include Eurasian Wigeon, Lark Sparrow, Hoary Redpoll, and White-winged Crossbill. The Glacial Drumlin State Trail runs through the area, making it an excellent location to bike or hike. Madison Audubon is proud to have been integral in the acquisition, restoration, and permanent protection of this extensive and productive wildlife habitat.
In 1937, the marsh is ringed by farmland (photo illustration by Graham Steinhauer).
An overview of the area in 2006, where the boundaries of agricultural land are still visible.
In 2022, the area includes restored wetland habitats, including marsh and prairie.
In 1945, the Zeloski family purchased the property 16 miles south of a small town called Sun Prairie. They drained the wetlands to grow vegetables, and would eventually plant corn and soybeans. Around the turn of the century 55 years later, Sun Prairie’s population had grown to over 20,000. Heavy rains and the larger areas of impervious surfaces making up the city caused extensive runoff that flowed down Koshkonong Creek and backed up into farmland, washing away berms and flooding hundreds of acres of cropland. Dennis and Betty Zeloski decided it was time to restore their land to wetlands and wildlife habitat.
Names of management areas in Zeloski Marsh (Madison Audubon document).
Around 2003, Madison Audubon purchased 1,496 acres from the Zeloski family with the help of a Knowles-Nelson Stewardship grant. Over the next three years, we hired contractors to remove invasive trees and center pivot irrigation rigs, collect wild rice and native plant seeds, and use those seed to replant the area. We named management units after local conservationists, many of whom had connections to Aldo Leopold. It was fitting that our little Garganey spent most of its time in the Richard (Dick) Hunt Management Unit—Dick is a member of the Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame and was a premier waterfowl researcher at the Wisconsin DNR for 36 years.
In 2006, Madison Audubon donated nearly all of the land to the Wisconsin DNR. Yet, we have a continued interest in Zeloski Marsh. Last year at the marsh, twenty-five hen wood ducks were tagged with geolocators under the direction of Ben Sedinger, Kennedy-Grohne Chair in Waterfowl and Wetlands Conservation at UW-Stevens Point. He will be back at Zeloski Marsh on April 30 to capture, band, and remove geolocators to learn more about their nesting success and migration movements.
We hope you enjoy visiting Zeloski Marsh, all thanks to so many of the donors, volunteers, and friends who make Madison Audubon’s work possible.
by Graham Steinhauer, Goose Pond Sanctuary land steward, and Mark Martin and Susan Foote-Martin, Goose Pond Sanctuary resident managers.
Cover photo via Pixabay. A Garganey, with distinct plumage that includes a white brow, swims across a calm pond.
