The Reckless Wrens’ 13th Great Wisconsin Birdathon venture began at 5:00 PM on Friday, May 17 and ended at 4:49 PM on May 18. Considering the weather overall was cool and windy, our grand total was a very impressive 157 species, a new team record!

*Purple Martin housing at Warner Park (photo by Mark Martin).*

Thanks again for everyone’s hard work. This whole venture is an important fundraising effort organized by the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin. Fifty percent of the funds raised will go towards NRF’s Bird Protection Fund, and the rest will be returned to Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance. So far, we have raised $1,900. Part of our funds will help support Theo Meyer, an Eagle Scout candidate, and go towards a 12-unit gourd rack that was recently erected at Warner Park in Madison. Purple Martins are already nesting in it! Contributions can still be made before June 15 on our team page.

Here are some of our team members’ stories and highlights from the day:

“We started our Birdathon at the Dane County Parks Vienna Pothole Wildlife Area and Vienna Waterfowl Production Area (WPA) late Friday afternoon. The 120 acres of uplands and marsh make it a wonderful birding spot that always has some surprises. This year’s surprise was a flock of American White Pelicans, which are always fun to see. Given the strong winds and cold temperatures, we weren’t expecting much, but found 24 species of birds in about an hour, including Yellow-headed Blackbirds.

We continued north to Jackson WPA and also checked out small wetlands and potholes in the area. The next morning, we were back out to the same areas plus some others. The wind and cold temperatures were still present but we managed to add to our total, including flushing an American Woodcock out of a stand of small aspen. The weather made the birding a challenge this year but we still had fun. And speaking of that challenge, as captain of the Reckless Wrens, Jim was very proud of the team’s efforts!”

—Kathy and Jim Shurts

“It’s hard to pin down my highlights from this year’s Birdathon. On Friday night, Miles Roth and I birded at Rowan Creek State Fishery Area and Rocky Run Oak Savanna State Natural Area. We had heard Veeries before, but our Veery encounters at Rowan Creek felt like we discovered a new bird for the first time. Miles spotted one perched on a stump not far from the trail, and we stared at it, reluctant to believe that the rolling, two-toned sounds were actually coming from the bird.

We went to Rocky Run in hopes of adding Eastern Whip-poor-wills to our species list. We did not hear any whip-poor-wills, but the swooping Common Nighthawks and ‘peenting’ American Woodcocks made up for it. Just as we were leaving, we heard a Henslow’s Sparrow and a Grasshopper Sparrow only feet away—so many great encounters in such a short span of time!

On Saturday, Miles, Sofia Gillespie, and I birded at the newest SoWBA property in Cambridge. We counted 54 species during six hours of birding (see our lists here and here). Most of the 348-acre property consists of wide-open grasslands that harbor more Eastern Meadowlarks, swallows (barn, tree, cliff, and northern rough-winged), and Bobolinks than we could keep up with. The 45 acres of woodlands hid Indigo Buntings, Scarlet Tanagers, Baltimore Orioles, warblers, and more that revealed themselves in song. Another major highlight was hearing a Carolina Wren; we were never able to see it, but we heard it consistently while exploring the property.”

—Emma Raasch, Goose Pond ecological restoration technician

*Pat Clark paddles through Lewiston Bog (photo by Calla Norris).*

“Calla Norris and I had some excellent close encounters at Goose Pond (Western Meadowlark singing), Schoeneberg Marsh (American Woodcock skydance), and Erstad Prairie (Green Heron catching a fish), but hiking at Lewiston Bog was a particularly special treat for us.

*Orchids at Lewiston Bog (photo by Calla Norris).*

This private 600-acre wetland is packed with species not often associated with southern Wisconsin, like tamaracks, orchids, sphagnum, sundews, and a tremendous fern diversity. Although birding was a challenge because there were so many non-bird features to look at, we still recorded 27 species. Some notable finds include one Common Loon, one Alder Flycatcher, one Nashville Warbler, eight Northern Waterthrushes, and 10 Veeries. Thanks to our fearless guide Pat Clark (SoWBA board member) for access to the property and leading us safely through the somewhat treacherous bog.

Here are four of our checklists in the local area around Goose Pond and Erstad Prairie.”

—Graham Steinhauer, Goose Pond land steward

“Probably due to the weather, species diversity was a bit lower this year at Mud Lake State Wildlife Area. I birded on Friday from 5:00–9:30 PM. It was pretty rough—I got rained on a few different times and the high winds made it difficult to see in the upper canopy and hear any birds that might be calling. Saturday was significantly better, although there just didn’t seem to be as high a diversity in warblers as there has been in past years. That said, I still picked up a few good species—a Mourning Warbler (a lifer which has also been a nemesis bird for me!), a pair of Trumpeter Swans, and a fair number of Henslow’s Sparrows right around 4:45 PM on Saturday. In total, I had 81 species. Down from previous years, but still pretty decent considering the weather!”

—JD Arnston

*Trumpeter Swan in wetlands (photo by Courtney Celley/USFWS).*

“We concentrated on two areas. The first area was a private marsh north of Portage. While paddling down a channel in the marsh I flushed both a Black-crowned Night Heron and an American Bittern. They flew together for a while and landed in a location where I would flush them for a second time. It was interesting to see them flying together. While paddling into a horseshoe-shaped area of cattails, an adult Trumpeter Swan came crashing out of them, ran about 15 feet in front of me, and took off. I was glad it did not hit me for I would have surely gotten wet.

The other area was mostly floodplain forest in the Blackhawk Island area, south of Portage along the Wisconsin River. There, Dave Smith (my brother), Gail Steck and I found five Red-headed Woodpeckers in two locations along with Prothonotary Warblers, and had an excellent view of a Red-shouldered Hawk sitting on a power pole. Dave pointed out a bird to me that was very close and exactly what we were looking for: a Brown Creeper.”

—Brand Smith

“Gwen and I focused on the Pete Helland State Wildlife Area, where we found 68 species, including an American Bittern. We located a warbler hotspot where there were good numbers of 12 species including Orange-crowned, Magnolia, Blackburnian, Blackpoll, and Canada Warblers. At Pete Helland, we found two pairs of Osprey nesting on platforms on top of American Transmission Company power poles. Near Pardeeville, we found a nest on a cell tower and another one on the stadium lights at the high school.”

—Jeff Lang

“We birded at our Wildland, LLC on our wetland berm on Friday night and first thing on Saturday morning. Highlights included a Trumpeter Swan, two displaying American Woodcocks, two Virginia Rails, at least 42 Common Nighthawks hunting moths over the open water, and 20 Swamp Sparrows. We also birded the uplands and around the cabin and found at least four Red-headed Woodpeckers (this year’s logo bird for the Birdathon, sightings of which have been increasing in parts of Columbia County). Overall, we had 70 species at Wildland.

We met Jim Otto at 9:00 AM in the east parking lot at Otsego Marsh. Jim had begun the eBird list and had seen yet another Red-headed Woodpecker. Jim was lucky to spot a Sandhill Crane nest from the trail and quickly took a photo without flushing the bird. Another Otsego Marsh highlight was when Sue heard a Common Raven flying over Hawkos Pond. Common Ravens are uncommon in Columbia County, and this was the only raven found by our Birdathon team. We enjoyed finding two male Scarlet Tangers and had excellent looks at a pair. Overall, we found 60 species there.

Next we headed to lunch in Rio and on the way we found a small wetland with a beautiful drake Northern Pintail and a Semipalmated Plover. For future Birdathons, we will alway remember to stop by the ‘pintail pond.’”

—Mark Martin and Susan Foote-Martin, Goose Pond sanctuary managers

“I bird the Lower Locks Bird Blind in Marquette County almost every day. The Lower Locks Bird Blind is on the way to the Upper Fox River Public Access Hotspot. I first saw a Eurasian Wigeon there on May 7. One of my favorite parts of birding is meeting other birders and rare bird sightings. It was especially exciting to have birders travel to my own special spot. I counted birds three times at that location and my other interesting observations and high counts included a Trumpeter Swan, 150 Wood Ducks, 21 Gadwalls, an American Wigeon, 23 Redheads, 37 Dunlins, a Black Tern, 120 nesting Forster’s Terns, and three Yellow-headed Blackbirds. I missed seeing the Black-necked Stilt that was there on Friday and Sunday.”

—Josiah Santiago

Compiled by the Goose Pond Sanctuary team with written contributions from the Reckless Wrens Birdathon team

Cover photo by Kelly Colgan Azar. A Carolina Wren is puffed up on a perch.