Many bird watchers look forward to the annual crane count coordinated by the International Crane Foundation. This year, it was held on April 13.

Photo by Gary Shackelford

At Faville Grove Sanctuary, American White Pelicans announce their return from southern coastal waters in large flashes of white above the Crawfish River.

Photo by Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren

This prairie version of a suburban rain garden or a woodland vernal pool is a valuable food resource for both migrating and resident birds.

Photo by Gary Shackelford

Ring-necked Ducks (Aythya collaris) are named for a chestnut ring encircling the necks of the drakes, but it is faint and can only be seen at close range or with a bird in hand.

Photo by Gary Shackelford

Vociferous by nature and by scientific name (Charadrius vociferus) the Killdeer gets its common name from the sound of its shrill, far-carrying cry as it circles in flight.

Photo by Gary Shackelford

Leucism is a condition caused by a genetic mutation that results in the loss of all types of pigmentation—the affected areas can be either entirely white or a pale, washed out shade of the expected coloration.

Photo by Gary Shackelford

The Gray Partridge (Perdix perdix) is a game bird in the pheasant family. Perdix is Latin for partridge. They were introduced into North America in the early 1900s from Hungary and Czechoslovakia.

Photo via Pixabay

now is a great time to be on the lookout for the intriguing display of the American Woodcock, whose migration back from the gulf states in the coming month or so marks a classic rite of spring.

Photo by Peter Rea/USFWS Midwest

For the past ten years, our first sight and sound of Sandhill Cranes at Fair Meadows has been a gentle unison call and the graceful glide of a pair descending into the sedge meadow south of our house.

Photo by Gary Shackelford

Mid-January, I was lucky enough to take a trip to Costa Rica with my family. Found there is one Earth’s most critically important ecosystems—the mangrove forest.

Photo by Arlene Koziol

Although American Robins have a well-known reputation as harbingers of spring, populations can be found throughout the northern continental U.S. in winter, including Wisconsin.

Photo by Gary Shackelford

Ring-necked Pheasants are a nonnative species brought to Wisconsin in 1916 as a game bird. Management at Goose Pond has primarily focused on the restoration of native habitat to support native species, though pheasants also benefit from these practices.

Photo by Ralph Russo

This week, I’d like to focus on a species observed by our other Christmas Bird Count group, a bird who always looks like it just lost a bar fight: the Red Crossbill.

Photo via Pixabay.

This year we prepared for the first-ever Christmas Bird Count (CBC) at Fair Meadows Sanctuary, after we recently learned that we were not part of any of the official National Audubon CBC circles.

Photo by Gary Shackelford

From mugs to sweaters and holiday cards, the striking red of the male Northern Cardinal can be spotted more times in my grandma’s living room than at my bird feeders.

Photo by Arlene Koziol

We were looking for a bird who may usually only be seen in Wisconsin in the winter, and who exhibits brutal behaviors for a small songbird. Soon one was spotted perching atop a tangle of shrubbery—the Northern Shrike.

Photo by Mick Thompson

Each December, birders come together for the longest-running citizen science project in the US: the Christmas Bird Count. In the Madison-area, the count is coordinated by our organization, and put on with help from around 200 volunteers each year.

Photo by Kelly Colgan Azar

Then, in a small clump of willows just off the trail, we spotted another robin-sized bird, but it was light gray and had a bulkier head than a robin. A closer look revealed the black mask and hooked beak of a Northern Shrike.

Photo by Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren

The Goose Pond Sanctuary team shares an update on Jeffrey and Dorothy, two Rough-legged Hawks that staff helped capture and attach transmitters to as part of the Rough-legged Hawk Project.

Photo by Arlene Koziol

An ever dependable sound of winter is the drilling, drumming, and knocking of our industrious non-migratory woodpeckers. Charisma and conspicuousness is a recipe for intrigue, and woodpeckers have these in excess.

Photo by Phil Brown

At Fair Meadows Sanctuary, the Swamp Sparrow is a common migrant and summer resident. The occasional winter birds that I have seen are invariably found feeding on invertebrates in the shallows of a pond that has year-round open water due to brisk upwelling from underground springs.

Photo by Gary Shackelford

This was our 12th year of tagging monarch butterflies and together with partners, staff and volunteers, we have reached a major milestone: tagging 10,445 monarchs since 2012! 

Photo by Arlene Koziol

Being from the east (relative to Oregon), any opportunity to hear or see a North American owl is exciting, barred or otherwise. However, this is not the case out west, where the Barred Owl is reviled as an invasive species.

Photo by Phil Brown