Enjoy birds and nature in Southern Wisconsin!
There are countless fantastic destinations for watching birds right here in Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance's service area, including our three beautiful sanctuaries, Fair Meadows, Faville Grove, and Goose Pond. Faville Grove and Goose Pond Sanctuaries are open to all, every day of the year, during daylight hours. Fair Meadows is open during field trips and special outings.
We welcome all nature-lovers from every walk of life, ethnicity, sexual orientation and identification, and religion. You are welcome and valued in these spaces!
Faville Grove is a delight in all seasons. Photo by Matt Reetz
Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance’s Faville Grove Sanctuary
Visitors to Faville Grove Sanctuary are encouraged to walk off-trail to experience the landscape as the Native Americans did. Get your feet wet in the prairies of the Crawfish River floodplain; sit in the shade of centuries-old bur oaks on outcroppings of pre-Cambrian quartzite bedrock; or stand in a dry, short-grass prairie and watch a harrier hunt over a floating bog of sphagnum, sedges and tamarack.
Northern Shovelers at Goose Pond Sanctuary. Photo by Arlene Koziol
Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance’s Goose Pond Sanctuary
Goose Pond Sanctuary and its surrounding properties in Columbia County are a haven for birds, rare plants, insects, and more. Over 250 species of birds have been spotted at this prairie pothole and its surrounding lands, just 30 minutes north of Madison. Visit during migration for a spectacle of migrating waterfowl and shorebirds, or come any time of year to enjoy the changing seasons.
Indigo bunting. Photo by Jim Hudgins, USFWS
Great Wisconsin Birding & Nature Trail
The Great Wisconsin Birding and Nature Trail is a mapped auto trail that reaches into every area of the state. Full-color viewing guides with maps and descriptions of every site leads the nature traveler to warblers, shorebirds, eagles, loons, cranes and all manner of mammals found in some of the states premier wildlife venues.
Sandhill cranes overhead at Pheasant Branch Conservancy. Photo by Jim Windelborn
Pheasant Branch Conservancy
Pheasant Branch Conservancy is a regionally significant natural area located on the north side of Middleton, Wisconsin. It contains a marsh with open water, springs, prairies, meadows, lowland forest, and wooded hills. These various habitats sustain a wide variety of plants and animals, including some that are threatened or endangered.
Golden-winged warbler. Photo by Arlene Koziol
Lakeshore Nature Preserve & the Friends of Lakeshore Nature Preserve
The University of Wisconsin-Madison Lakeshore Nature Preserve permanently protects the undeveloped lands along the shore of Lake Mendota where members of the UW-Madison campus community have long experienced the intellectual and aesthetic benefits of interacting with the natural world.
Big Springs at the UW-Madison Arboretum. Photo by Richard Hurd
University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum
Widely recognized as the site of historic research in ecological restoration, the UW-Madison Arboretum includes the oldest and most varied collection of restored ecological communities in the world. Explore tallgrass prairies, savannas, wetlands and several forest types.
Cherokee Marsh. Photo by Arlene Koziol
Cherokee Marsh
Cherokee Marsh is part of an extensive wetland complex of more than 2,000 acres. The north portion has been classified as a fen although it contains species characteristic of low prairies, shrub-carr, bogs, and sedge meadows. Cherokee Marsh is owned jointly by the City of Madison and the DNR and was designated a State Natural Area in 1976.
Red-headed woodpecker. Photo by Scott Duncan
City of Madison Conservation Parks
Madison Parks offers 19 unique conservation parks. A conservation park differs in how it is managed and why the land was acquired. The goal of the conservation park is to restore native plant and animal communities while providing educational opportunities.
Red-winged blackbird. Photo by Mark Sadowski
Jefferson/Dodge County Bird Walks
Walks led by experienced local birders. Karen Etter Hale and Brad Webb have been leading these walks since 2008. Locations throughout Jefferson and Dodge Counties vary, and are decided shortly before each walk to ensure that a good showing of birds are present!
Horicon Marsh. Photo by Arlene Koziol
Horicon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge
Horicon Marsh is the largest freshwater cattail marsh in the United States. Located in southeast Wisconsin, Horicon Marsh has been formally recognized as a Wetland of International Importance by the Ramsar Convention of the United Nations. This renowned marsh is now home to the Horicon Marsh Education and Visitor Center.
Eastern meadowlark. Photo by Phil Brown
Glacial Heritage Area - Jefferson County
There are 9 State Wildlife Areas in the Glacial Heritage Area, encompassing more than 25,000 acres of high quality wildlife watching opportunities. These properties host an array of grassland, wetland and wooded habitats. They offer exceptional bird-watching during the spring and fall migrations.
Bald eagle. Photo by Arlene Koziol
Sauk Prairie Recreation Area
The Sauk Prairie Recreation Area, located in southeastern Sauk County, consists of a portion of the decommissioned Badger Army Ammunition Plant. The property is still undergoing demolition and clean-up work. The recreation area is open year-round from one hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset.
Sandhill crane breakfast. Photo by Andrea Westmoreland
Capital Springs Recreation Area/Nine Springs E-way
Capital Springs, conveniently located just minutes from downtown Madison, contains a rich system of trails, marshes, prairies, woods, springs, creeks and lakes which provide a healthy place for birdwatching, outdoor learning, solitude and reflection. A large portion of the popular Capital City State Trail meanders through a variety of habitats within Capital Springs Recreation Area.
Necedah National Wildlife Refuge. Photo courtesy USFWS
Necedah National Wildlife Refuge
Nestled in central Wisconsin is a landscape that was epitomized by early homesteaders as the Great Wisconsin Swamp. A mosaic habitat of sedge meadow, savanna, prairie, and pine-oak forest established in 1939, Necedah National Wildlife Refuge is home to ringed boghaunter dragonflies, Whooping Cranes, Trumpeter Swans, wolves, Karner blue butterflies, badgers, and Red-headed Woodpeckers.
Pleasant Valley Conservancy. Photo by Joshua Mayer
Pleasant Valley Conservancy SNA
Pleasant Valley Conservancy State Natural Area No. 551 is a 140 acre Preserve in western Dane County, Wisconsin. It consists of extensive restored oak savannas, dry, mesic, and wet prairies, wetlands, and oak woods. Scenic views and wildlife viewing are excellent, and several trails provide ready access to the Preserve. The Preserve provides excellent habitat for cavity-nesting birds, including Red-headed Woodpeckers, a characteristic bird of oak savannas.
Schurch-Thomson Prairie, owned and managed by The Prairie Enthusiasts. Photo by Joshua Mayer
Schurch-Thomson Prairie
This site is a 160-acre farm in the Military Ridge Prairie Heritage Area with mix of prairie, savanna, woodland, and agricultural fields that provides habitat for several rare and endangered species. It has over 220 species of native plants and supports many butterflies and other prairie insects, as well as rare grassland birds and animals like the badger and bull snake.
Honey Creek is owned and managed by the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology. Photo by Joshua Mayer
Honey Creek WSO Preserve
Honey Creek State Natural Area lies within the scenic Baraboo hills. More than 80 species have been recorded during the nesting season. Unusual nesting species include Veery, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Yellow-throated Vireo, Blue-winged Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush, and Acadian Flycatcher. Honey Creek was designated a State Natural Area in 1971.
Spring Green Preserve - hoary puccoon. Photo by Joshua Mayer
Spring Green Prairie & Preserve SNA
Spring Green Prairie is known as “Wisconsin’s Desert”—a rolling sand prairie on an old terrace of the Wisconsin River. The Nature Conservancy opens this property to visitors for hiking, photography and bird watching. A population of pocket gophers lives here among interesting grassland birds and plants that are found in few other places in the state.
