A rare sighting of a Swallow-tailed Kite near Goose Pond during summer 2023 (photo by Ted Keyel).
In Columbia County, Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance staff, interns, and volunteers work hard to protect and manage many natural areas. Thanks to the help of more than a thousand birders who use a tool called eBird, we are able to measure the impact of our work by identifying changes in the species and numbers of birds observed at Goose Pond Sanctuary, Erstad Prairie, and Otsego Marsh.
A county-first record of a Great Gray Owl at the Goose Pond hotspot in 2005 (photo by Ted Keyel).
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology launched eBird in 2002 and it is now the largest citizen science project in the world. Users keep track of a list of all birds that they see and hear in a specific location called a “hotspot,” which are public (or private) locations, including those often frequented by birders or researchers. eBird data can help scientists analyze species distribution and abundance over time, migration phenology, large scale impacts of climate change, and smaller scale impacts of habitat changes.
The Goose Pond Sanctuary team enjoys entering our observations on eBird. It is impressive how data adds up overtime. We also use Merlin to record bird calls to help with identification. Many eBirders are able to track species numbers they’ve identified in specific locations, counties, states, countries, and so on. Mark Martin and Sue Foote-Martin’s eBird total species is presently at 295. The Martins also use a private hotspot at their Wildland, LLC property, and note specific location or habitat units in the comments so they can track new species over time.
In Columbia County, there are 51 hotspots that have 50 or more species recorded, and 27 hotspots with at least 50 completed checklists. eBird ranks hotspots by the number of checklists submitted; in all of Wisconsin, the Goose Pond hotspot ranks #10. The ponds at County DM and County I, three miles southwest of Goose Pond, rank #61.
eBird data on species and checklist numbers at selected Columbia County properties (table compiled on January 2, 2025 by the Goose Pond Sanctuary team).
That said, contributing data to hotspots with less “birder traffic” is not only imperative to developing a thorough species list for a site, but can also be personally rewarding. While the Goose Pond hotspot has over 4,800 checklists, the Erstad Prairie and Otsego Marsh hotspots only have a few hundred each. At this stage, the species lists at Erstad Prairie and Otsego Marsh are impressive, but still growing, so it’s much easier to add new birds to the lists. During the 2022 and 2023 Great Wisconsin Birdathons, Goose Pond ecological restoration technician Emma Raasch added four “first observed” (or at least, first to be documented on eBird) warblers to the Erstad list: Nashville Warbler, Northern Parula, Blackpoll Warbler, and Wilson’s Warbler. One of Emma’s favorite birding memories was seeing a Canada Warbler at Otsego Marsh; it was her first time finding one, so learning that it was also the first to be documented at Otsego Marsh was the cherry on top!
Eurasian Wigeon at Erstad Prairie in 2015 (photo by Kyle Lindemer).
The Martins began entering eBird data in 2013 and now have 940 completed checklists totaling 241 species in Columbia County. These checklists include some impressive high counts. On October 14, 2021, Mark and Steve Thiessen counted 172 Blue Jays in migration. During the recent Poynette Christmas Bird Count on December 28, 2024, Mark, Kirsten Abramson, Jim Hess, and Bill Walters found a flock of 250 House Finches. These were both all-time high counts for Columbia County.
Emma first started doing eBird checklists at Goose Pond when she started working here full time in the spring of 2022. One of the most exciting parts about eBird, and bird watching in general, is that even if people have been counting birds at a location for 45 years, there is still room for the unexpected. While counting birds at the feeders and shrubs around the Kampen Road house for last year’s Great Backyard Bird Count, Emma counted 13 Northern Cardinals. Upon submitting the checklist, she was surprised to see that it was the new high count for cardinals at Goose Pond.
Another great part about eBird is that whether you’re up for a long hike or in the comfort of your home, you can participate in an international citizen science project. While isolating in her room last August with Covid, Emma noticed a football-shaped bird trying to balance on the wire. Upon a closer look, there were three fluffy, juvenile Green Herons clumsily exploring the backyard. Seeing them really brightened her day!
A few of the Martins’ Memorable Sightings:
2023: Swallow-tailed Kite, Highway 22 & King Road *First county record
2015: Eurasian Wigeon, Erstad Prairie
2014: Cinnamon Teal, Wildlands during the annual Sandhill Crane Count
2005: Great Gray Owl, Goose Pond *First county record
1989: Fulvous Whistling Duck, Goose Pond
1987: Harlequin Duck, Goose Pond
1982: Ruffed Grouse, Goose Pond
Data collected before the use of eBird can be added retroactively. For example, data can be entered from publications like Sam Robbins’s Wisconsin Birdlife (1991), when an Eared Grebe was recorded in 1956 by R. G. Willis at Goose Pond. Bill Hilsenhoff and David Willard, both excellent birders, record keepers, and frequent visitors from Madison, entered eBird data to the Goose Pond hotspot from their decades-old checklists: Bill’s eBird entries from May 1958 through 1966 ended up with 118 species first observed at Goose Pond and documented on eBird. David’s checklists from 1960 to 1966 had 35 first sightings. His 1962 Bohemian Waxwing is the only one ever reported at Goose Pond. David still regularly visits Goose Pond and continues to participate as an area captain in local Christmas Bird Counts.
The Martins still have hundreds of Goose Pond area checklists to enter from 1979 to 2012 for records of spring and fall waterfowl counts, waterfowl pair counts, and Christmas Bird Counts. If anyone has old checklists please contact us, and thanks to everyone who has contributed so far!
Written by Mark Martin and Susan Foote-Martin, Goose Pond Sanctuary managers, and Emma Raasch, Goose Pond Sanctuary ecological restoration technician
