As the chirping you hear in the trees tells you, spring is here and so are the birds! Once our feathered friends migrate back to Wisconsin from Central and South America, over 400 species of birds can be seen in the state, with 250 of them considered regulars.
On the City Cast Madison podcast today, host Bianca Martin chatted with Dexter Patterson, a UW-Madison educator who founded the BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin, about the enjoyment he gets out of birding.
Patterson is hosting a “Learn to Bird” event April 26 at Aldo Leopold Nature Center. If you’re a newbie, here’s a few tips to help you get started.
Where To Go
Wisconsin is home to over 300 birding hotspots, and devoted birders travel to such major locations as Horicon Marsh, where some 300 species have been seen, or to Wyalusing State Park where the Mississippi River and the Wisconsin River meet.
But you don’t have to go that far to enjoy birding. Walk Lake Mendota along the Lakeshore Nature Preserve Trail to Picnic Point and check out birds on both land and water. Or stroll through the 17 miles of trails in the UW-Madison Arboretum. Head out to Pheasant Branch Conservatory on the northwest shore of Lake Mendota to enjoy the birds that call that pristine wetland home.
How To Prepare
The BirdCast is an incredible online tool that tracks the migratory patterns of birds, so you can see in real time when the ruby-crowned kinglet or the blue-gray gnatcatcher will be arriving in Wisconsin. For example, did you know that 32,600 birds crossed into Wisconsin on Monday night alone? The BirdCast says so!
Get yourself a decent (but not necessarily pricey) pair of binoculars and a field guide. Sibley’s and Peterson’s guides are the best for new birders – just make sure to get an “Eastern” guide because that will cover the Wisconsin region.
As if our libraries weren’t cool enough, you can check out a “Birding Backpack” for free from any Madison Public Library location, which includes binocs for both adults and kids, bird guides for adults and kids, and a birding location guide tailored to each library. The things you can do with your library card!
What Birds To Watch For, and Where
What birds can you see? It depends where you’re looking!
Right now is prime time to go birding in marshes as the temperature rises. Look for herons or egrets, sandhill cranes, and listen for songbirds like wrens and red-winged blackbirds.
Walk on prairie trails and look for grassland birds like song sparrows, or kestrels and other raptors. This time of year, you might also see woodcocks doing their “sky dance” mating ritual.
Head into the woods to catch warblers in the treetops or thrushes on the forest floor. Or look into your backyard to see cardinals, orioles, and goldfinches.
Meet Other Birders
There are plenty of events like Aldo Leopold Nature Center’s “Learn to Bird” event to get together with other birders. Madison Parks regularly schedules free “Bird & Nature Adventures,” which are 90-minute sessions where a volunteer leads birders on a quick, fact-filled excursion. And the Madison Bird & Nature Festival at Warner Park on April 27 will bring birders young and old together.
