I’m not much of a sports person (not that birding is a sport), but the Great Wisconsin Birdathon does give me the similar competitive feeling of a low stakes challenge. Maybe something like cornhole or horseshoes. Sure you want that ringer, but mostly you just want to go somewhere with your friends and be outside. This year, our effort is dedicated to Laura Wentz, a valued member in previous Birdathons who passed away late in 2023.
Our team, the Reckless Wrens, visited 21 locations, submitted 28 eBird checklists, and detected a total of 143 species! This is the Reckless Wrens’ 12th year participating in the Birdathon administered by the Natural Resources Foundation. For teams affiliated with nonprofits, bird clubs, or Bird Cities, half of the money they raise goes to the Bird Protection Fund and the other half they keep for their own bird conservation projects. Teams choose a 24-hour period to find as many species of birds as possible, and folks either donate to the whole team or a particular team member. You’ve still got until June 15, so please consider donating, and thanks to everyone that has already donated!
Below are a few of the experiences collected by our team members this year. Thanks so much to all contributors and to our team members JD Arnston, Meg LaPointe, Carolyn Chee, Brand Smith, Miles Roth, Emma Raasch, Calla Norris, Sue Foote-Martin, Mark Martin, Jim Otto, Kathy Shurts, and of course our fearless leader, Jim Shurts.
Low water levels, but lots of color
From left to right: Jim Shurts, Kathy Shurts, and Mark Martin birding at Otsego Marsh (photo by Jim Otto).
We started our Birdathon day at Dane County’s Vienna Pothole Wildlife Area and the FWS Vienna Waterfowl Production Area (WPA). Water levels were low but we managed to spot 18 species, including Yellow-headed Blackbirds, and later in the evening, a Common Nighthawk. We continued north in Dane County to the Jackson WPA and various ponds nearby. Highlights included a Trumpeter Swan and a Red-breasted Merganser along with several species of shorebirds.
Our Saturday was spent primarily at SoWBA’s Otsego Marsh. We were joined by Mark Martin and Jim Otto. From the parking lot we looked to the western unit and saw five gobblers in full strut and one hen. We then took a leisurely walk through this wonderful property. Highlights and significant numbers included 17 American White Pelicans, two Pileated Woodpeckers, two Blue-headed Vireos, 10 colorful Baltimore Orioles, 14 Common Yellowthroats, a male Scarlet Tanager (Kathy’s favorite), five Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, and eight Indigo Buntings. After lunch in beautiful downtown Rio, we headed back to Otsego Marsh and birded the newly acquired SoWBA property on the west side of the road. The highlights were a dozen or more Savannah Sparrows and a nesting Eastern Bluebird. All in all it was a good 24 hours of birding.
—Kathy and Jim Shurts
Woodcocks take flight during the northern lights
Spike the spiny baskettail (photo by JD Arnston).
Meg LaPointe and I had 81 species total. It was a step down from what I was hoping for, but we did our best and had a good time. Most of our warblers came from three unburned patches of woods at Mud Lake. We did add one more member to our group while at Mud Lake. We’ll call him Spike—a lethargic spiny baskettail that was fumbling through the grass on a trail. He was so discombobulated that I was able to pluck him out of the grass—unusual for a dragonfly. He rode along on my hand for a good chunk of the latter part of our morning at Mud Lake, although he seemed to regard the birds with less enthusiasm than Meg and myself. We were nearly back to our cars and I thought Spike might not be long for this world when he made a miraculous recovery and zipped off.
I think my highlight of the Birdathon would definitely be going out Friday night to see the northern lights. I didn't even realize it was happening until I read comments about it online at around 11:00 PM when I was home and ready to go to bed. I jumped in the car and drove to Goose Pond first. They were somewhat visible there but a bit drowned out by the light pollution from Arlington. I then drove down to Erstad Prairie where it was a bit darker. Sure enough, the northern lights were streaked across the sky from the east to the west skyline. What’s more, while I was watching the sky, several woodcocks began their sky dances. Although I couldn’t see them, their sky dancing songs combined with the northern lights were magical. That will definitely be a Birdathon night I’ll remember. —JD Arnston
Northern lights over Erstad Prairie (photo by Kathy Shurts).
An abundance of species near Rio
We mostly birded within the local area of our Wildland cabin near Rio (where SoWBA holds an easement), Wyona County Park in Wyocena, and Mark surveyed Otsego Marsh with Jim and Kathy Shurts and Jim Otto. We were pleased to find 94 species. Our goal was to find American Woodcocks at dusk on Friday evening but a thunderstorm prevented that. However, the next morning at 4:30 AM Sue stepped outside of the cabin and heard four males still in courtship.
Other highlights in the local area of the cabin were finding four Trumpeter Swans, both species of cuckoos, seven species of woodpeckers, six species of swallows, and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Our estimate is that within a half mile of the cabin there are at least six pairs of Red-headed Woodpeckers. At our neighbors to the south of Wildland we found two Purple Martins and were informed that the other 15 were out feeding. A Pine Siskin was found at our feeders. A few Pine Siskins have been at our feeders since January and hopefully they will nest in the area. High numbers included seven Red-headed Woodpeckers, 16 Swamp Sparrows, 15 Baltimore Orioles, 25 Common Yellowthroats, and 24 Yellow Warblers.
—Mark Martin and Sue Foote-Martin
Friendly faces, the aurora, and an errant storm cloud
Calla watching pelicans (photo by Graham Steinhauer).
We all know that hooligans sometimes occupy rural parking lots after dark, but more often than not, the cars belong to some wholesome folks exploring nature. A dash after sunset, I arrived at the Schoeneberg Marsh lot looking for woodcocks and night birds. One vehicle was there, and I could hear people along with the crunching of wagon wheels on asphalt. There was a “Hey Graham!” and saw that it was Carolyn Byers (SoWBA’s Director of Education) and her husband BJ (Land Management Director at Groundswell) with their son Jay in tow. They were looking for the aurora. Jay was pretty chatty and said something to the effect of “I don’t think you should go down there, it’s really windy and I saw sideways lightning!” Feeling quite grown up, I proceeded down the path, picked up a few woodcocks right near the boardwalk, and started listening for Soras.
And then I felt the first drop. I knew it was stormy, but this cloud mass coming uncharacteristically from the north caught me off guard. I scrambled back toward the parking lot with sheets of rain close behind. “Go Graham, Go!” I heard from the Byers’ car, with its occupants safe and dry. It turns out Jay was right (noted for next time).
I birded at the Sauk Prairie State Recreation Area, Goose Pond, Anderson WPA, Erstad Prairie, and Schoeneberg Marsh. Calla Norris joined me on Saturday morning back at Erstad and Schoeneberg. In total, we found 67 species including 13 Black Terns (Erstad), a Wilson’s Warbler (Erstad), and one of my very favorites, the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Schoeneberg).
—Graham Steinhauer
An eventful first Birdathon on the Wisconsin River
Carolyn (left) and Brand (right) on the hunt for birds (photo by Carolyn Chee).
This year’s Birdathon was Carolyn’s first and she had a blast! We started out at Horning Marsh, located on private property, followed by Black Hawk Island south of Portage and ended the day with the grade at Lake Wisconsin. The rain we got leading up to the Birdathon caused high water levels in some areas and shifted what species of birds seen in some areas. We saw a solitary sandpiper in the middle of a flooded gravel road at Black Hawk Island and a Northern waterthrush also hanging out nearby, both a treat to see! Our bird highlights included three Red-shouldered Hawks, eight Prothonotary Warblers, and a Hudsonian Godwit, which is uncommon! In total, we recorded 81 species for the day. —Brand Smith and Carolyn Chee
Bald Eagle flying with a fish over the river (photo by Carolyn Chee).
Finding more birds thanks to the power of sound
We started the 2024 Birdathon at the Rocky Run Oak Savanna on Friday evening in the hopes of hearing Eastern Whip-poor-wills shortly after sunset. We were about two miles in from the parking lot when we saw thick, dark clouds rolling our way. Just before making a run for it, we heard the first whip-poor-will, whip-poor-will calls out of the woods. We enjoyed it for a few seconds before heading back through the rain. Before the commotion of the storm, we counted 14 Eastern Towhees (a high count for Rocky Run) and we saw our first Blue-winged Warbler!
On Saturday we started the Birdathon at Goose Pond where we added a few new species to our list, including a Western Meadowlark calling in the Browne Prairie. We then went to Rowan Park where we added two Pine Warblers to our list; we were grateful for their distinct call as we never would have found their small, darting bodies so high in the pine canopy without it. We spent the last half hour of the Birdathon at Jamieson Park, and added a Black-billed Cuckoo to our list within the last five minutes of our 24-hour birding period! In total, we saw 71 species. —Emma Raasch and Miles Roth
Check out the Reckless Wrens’ full list of species found during the 2024 Birdathon here.
Written and compiled by the Goose Pond Sanctuary team
Cover image by Carolyn Chee. Prothonotary Warbler in bright yellow plumage.
