Join UW Bat Brigade members and UW-Madison students for a walk through Lakeshore Nature Preserve looking for bats! Learn about the diversity of bats that use the area and see how tools like echolocation recorders and thermal imaging cameras make it possible to identify and document bat species in the area.
Photo by NABat FCC
Come enjoy Fair Meadows Sanctuary during the Birding Day! This 374 acre sanctuary and State Natural Area has many trails and habitats to explore. During this Birding Day, attendees can grab a map, wipe their boots, and hit the trails independently. No guided walks are provided.
Fair Meadows Birding Days are held the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month, except in November.
Photo by Gary Shackelford
This field trip is full. Join the waiting list. Join UW Bat Brigade members and UW-Madison students for a walk through Lakeshore Nature Preserve looking for bats! Learn about the diversity of bats that use the area and see how tools like echolocation recorders and thermal imaging cameras make it possible to identify and document bat species in the area.
Photo by NABat FCC
Come enjoy Fair Meadows Sanctuary during the Birding Day! This 374 acre sanctuary and State Natural Area has many trails and habitats to explore. During this Birding Day, attendees can grab a map, wipe their boots, and hit the trails independently. No guided walks are provided.
Fair Meadows Birding Days are held the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month, except in November.
Photo by Gary Shackelford
As winter sets in, smaller ponds and lakes in south-central Wisconsin freeze, causing migrating birds to become concentrated on Madison’s large lakes, which remain open longer. We will look for waterfowl, gulls, and winter birds. This trip has produced some unusual sightings in the past, including Red-throated Loons, so don’t miss it!
Photo by Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance
Come enjoy Fair Meadows Sanctuary during the Birding Day! This 374 acre sanctuary and State Natural Area has many trails and habitats to explore. During this Birding Day, attendees can grab a map, wipe their boots, and hit the trails independently. No guided walks are provided.
Fair Meadows Birding Days are held the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month, except in November.
Photo by Gary Shackelford
September is a great month to explore New Glarus Woods State Park. Birders of all skill levels are welcome! We will hike the south side of the park through mature woods and restored prairies. Come see what fall migrants are visiting. The park is normally home to a variety of woodpeckers, songbirds, and wildlife such as deer, squirrels and turkeys. Best for hikers in good physical condition.
Photo by Mick Thompson
This morning trip is especially for new birders looking to grow their skills! Come to have your bird questions answered and get help identifying all of those small, streaky brown birds! We'll also be keeping our eyes out for any exciting migrants and recently fledged birds! The walk will be on even trails at a leisurely pace so bring the whole family! We will have binoculars for loan.
Photo by Arlene Koziol
Come enjoy Fair Meadows Sanctuary during the Birding Day! This 374 acre sanctuary and State Natural Area has many trails and habitats to explore. During this Birding Day, attendees can grab a map, wipe their boots, and hit the trails independently. No guided walks are provided.
Fair Meadows Birding Days are held the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month, except in November.
Photo by Gary Shackelford
Monarchs make a huge migration each year, from Wisconsin (and even further north) all the way down to their winter grounds in Mexico. It is an incredible journey, and one that scientists are still studying. This monarch tagging event, one of the most celebrated activities Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance hosts, will teach you about the amazing monarch life history, migration, and conservation needs. We will teach you how to safely catch, handle, tag, and release a monarch, all in the name of science and love of nature.
Photo by Kaitlin Svabek/SoWBA
Monarchs make a huge migration each year, from Wisconsin (and even further north) all the way down to their winter grounds in Mexico. It is an incredible journey, and one that scientists are still studying. This monarch tagging event, one of the most celebrated activities Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance hosts, will teach you about the amazing monarch life history, migration, and conservation needs. We will teach you how to safely catch, handle, tag, and release a monarch, all in the name of science and love of nature.
Photo by Kaitlin Svabek / SoWBA
This field trip is full. Join the waiting list. Prairies in fall can be spectacularly beautiful. On this trip you will immerse yourself in the textures, colors, sounds, and smells of fall at Faville Grove. We will meet by the Kiosk at W7480 Prairie Lane, Lake Mills, and then tour the Prairie Lane restorations and take in the fall landscape with its autumn colors including late blooming wildflowers (such as gentians, asters, and goldenrods), talk about the role of seed collecting in our restorations, and more.
Photo by Jeff Pieterick
Monarchs make a huge migration each year, from Wisconsin (and even further north) all the way down to their winter grounds in Mexico. It is an incredible journey, and one that scientists are still studying. This monarch tagging event, one of the most celebrated activities Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance hosts, will teach you about the amazing monarch life history, migration, and conservation needs. We will teach you how to safely catch, handle, tag, and release a monarch, all in the name of science and love of nature.
Photo by Michael Anderson
In addition to Swift Night Out, the BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin, the Feminist Bird Club - Madison Chapter, and Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance will also be hosting informal get togethers each evening to watch the swifts. We’re calling it Swift Week!
Photo by Brenna Marsicek/SoWBA
In addition to Swift Night Out, the BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin, the Feminist Bird Club - Madison Chapter, and Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance will also be hosting informal get togethers each evening to watch the swifts. We’re calling it Swift Week!
Photo by Brenna Marsicek/SoWBA
In addition to Swift Night Out, the BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin, the Feminist Bird Club - Madison Chapter, and Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance will also be hosting informal get togethers each evening to watch the swifts. We’re calling it Swift Week!
Photo by Brenna Marsicek/SoWBA
In addition to Swift Night Out, the BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin, the Feminist Bird Club - Madison Chapter, and Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance will also be hosting informal get togethers each evening to watch the swifts. We’re calling it Swift Week!
Photo by Brenna Marsicek/SoWBA
Come enjoy Fair Meadows Sanctuary during the Birding Day! This 374 acre sanctuary and State Natural Area has many trails and habitats to explore. During this Birding Day, attendees can grab a map, wipe their boots, and hit the trails independently. No guided walks are provided.
Fair Meadows Birding Days are held the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month, except in November.
Photo by Gary Shackelford
In addition to Swift Night Out, the BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin, the Feminist Bird Club - Madison Chapter, and Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance will also be hosting informal get togethers each evening to watch the swifts. We’re calling it Swift Week!
Photo by Brenna Marsicek/SoWBA
In addition to Swift Night Out, the BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin, the Feminist Bird Club - Madison Chapter, and Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance will also be hosting informal get togethers each evening to watch the swifts. We’re calling it Swift Week!
Photo by Brenna Marsicek/SoWBA
Swift Night Out returns this September, and we are collaborating with fellow bird-loving organizations to celebrate the incredible natural phenomenon of Chimney Swifts coming in to roost during migration! In addition to Swift Night Out, our organizations will also be hosting informal get togethers each evening to watch the swifts. We’re calling it Swift Week!
Hosted by BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin, the Feminist Bird Club - Madison Chapter, and Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance.
Photo by Steve Benoit
This field trip is full. Join the waiting list. Smith-Reiner Drumlin Prairie is a small parcel owned and managed by The Prairie Enthusiasts and a State Natural Area. It has 13 acres of remnant prairie between the two glacial drumlins. The drumlins will be covered with rough and cylindrical blazing stars and the valleys in between will have gay feather. This should be a monarch and grassland bird hotspot. Gentians and other prairie specialist flowers will also be blooming. This is a trip in conjunction with Southern Wisconsin Butterfly Association and The Prairie Enthusiasts.
Photo by Joshua Mayer
Join SoWBA staff and board members for a slow paddle exploring the incredible diversity of Cherokee Marsh. Get a great experience looking for spring birds, insects, and aquatic plants by boat; we expect to see species like Green Heron, Kingfishers, swallows, Sora, and more!
Photo by Brenna Marsicek/SoWBA
This field trip is full. Join the waiting list. Join fellow bird lovers of all skill levels on a slow-paced walk at Fish Camp County Park to listen and look for birds! Fish Camp County Park in McFarland is located along the shores of Lake Kegonsa, with trees, native prairie plantings, and wetlands all in the park. We expect to find lots of great migrating and resident bird species. We’ll walk on paved trails and board walk to enjoy this natural area.
Photo by Kelly Colgan Azar
This field trip is full. Join the waiting list. Ferry Bluff is one of the prettiest places in southern Wisconsin. It is also one of the few places to consistently hear the call of the Eastern Whip-poor-will. If you miss hearing this bird on a summer night or have always wanted to hear them, then this outing is for you! Join us for a short hike to the top of Ferry Bluff where we'll sit and wait for the whip-poor-wills to sing, usually about 30 minutes after sunset.
Photo by Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren
This field trip is full. Join the waiting list. Train yourself to listen for the birds rather than looking for them! Birding by Ear is a great way to practice your skills at bird ID using a totally different sense. Join Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance educator Mickenzee Okon for a trip to Cherokee Marsh - North Unit, where you will walk the paths through the woods and prairie, and learn tools, tips, and techniques for birding by ear.
Photo by Mick Thompson
This field trip is full. Join the waiting list. Join the Madison Nature Journal Club and Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance for a special opportunity to nature journal a live bird model–Uncle Butzie the Turkey Vulture! Lisa Hartman, a vulture researcher, will be bringing ambassador vulture Uncle Butzie for us to observe. Nature journaling includes sketching, but also writing questions and notes about what you’re seeing, sensing, and feeling. You do not need prior drawing experience to attend; we won’t be aiming to make beautiful pictures so much as we will be using words, numbers, and pictures to capture what we notice on our pages.
Grab the kids and join us for a fun morning outdoors learning about nature! Read a great pond-related children’s book, learn about what lives in a pond, learn how to and try dipping for pond critters, use magnifying glasses to see the critters close-up.
Photo by Carolyn Byers/SoWBA
Train yourself to listen for the birds rather than looking for them! Birding by Ear is a great way to practice your skills at bird ID using a totally different sense. Join Brenna Marsicek, director of outreach with Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance, for an outing at Edna Taylor Conservation Park in Monona. We will walk the paths through the wetlands, woods, and prairie, and learn tools, tips, and techniques for birding by ear.
Photo by Arlene Koziol
Join fellow bird lovers of all skill levels on a slow-paced walk at Fish Camp County Park to listen and look for birds! Fish Camp County Park in McFarland is located along the shores of Lake Kegonsa, with trees, native prairie plantings, and wetlands all in the park. We expect to find lots of great migrating and resident bird species. We’ll walk on paved trails and board walk to enjoy this natural area.
Photo by Arlene Koziol
Dragonflies are a fascinating and exciting group of animals to observe, and Fair Meadows Sanctuary has them in spades! Join us for a field trip that focuses on spotting, identifying, and learning about the many dragonfly species that call Fair Meadows home.
Photo by Gary Shackelford
Join us for a summer evening to watch Barn Swallows feeding and coming into the barn to roost for the evening, and counting bats coming out for their nightly foraging! This exciting, marvelous event is part of the Wisconsin Bat Program surveys coordinated by the Wisconsin DNR.
Photo by Jared Kelly FCC
On this midsummer morning walk, we’ll observe and learn about butterflies, those exquisitely beautiful creatures that dance around us in summer. We will observe a variety of butterflies as they take nectar from wildflowers, and learn about their identification, behavior, and lifestyle.
Cover photo by Arlene Koziol
Fair Meadows Sanctuary is full of diverse life in the summer! Join us for a hike through the prairies to see and learn about the plants in bloom, the insects that buzz around them, and the birds that nest, forage, and rest in these habitats.
Photo by Gary Shackelford
Join the Madison Nature Journal Club and Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance at Governor’s Island in the northeast part of Madison. This little-known park juts out into Lake Mendota and has amazing views. (It’s called an island but it’s actually a round peninsula.) The club will kick off with some quick tips on how to nature journal. Then people can split up to find what’s interesting to them to journal about. At the end of the event everyone will meet back up and optionally share what they nature journaled about.
