Wildlife Updates

Saturday and Sunday 10:00 am to 4:00 pm

*Your first stop should be the Visitor Center. Here you can get the latest information, get answers to all your questions, and view the displays. Browse the Bog Shoe Gift Shop which is always well-stocked with a large variety of wildlife-related items. Also, take time to view the introductory, high-definition videos, all of which were revised with new footage and music. Copies of the videos (DVD and high definition Blu-ray) are for sale at the gift shop.

The warmer weather is bringing back our resident nesters, and migrants are still moving through in good numbers. Duck species are waning, but smaller birds, such as sparrows and warblers are gearing up for their northern journey. Some experts say many are still to the south waiting for warmer weather in the north.

New birds include American Redstart, Black-throated Green Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Northern Parula, Blackpoll Warbler, Ovenbird, Least, Spotted and Solitary Sandpipers, White-crowned Sparrow, Baltimore Oriole, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Least and Alder Flycatcher.

Warblers are coming through in good numbers. Good places to look for wood warblers include the overlook parking lot on Phantom Trail and the woods behind the rest area.

Trumpeter Swans and Sandhill Cranes are nesting. Pied-billed Grebes are plentiful. Horned Grebes are still present on Phantom Lake in good numbers. The Red-necked Grebe pair is nesting near the Auto Tour #3 pullout. Yellow-headed Blackbirds are also present here, and both Sedge and Marsh Wrens can be heard (and often seen) here.

Large flocks of sparrows are still moving through. Savannah, Vespers, Swamp, and Song Sparrows are common. Watch for Lark Sparrows along the edges of open fields, especially along County Road F. Clay-colored Sparrows and Eastern Towhees are calling in the upland areas. Eastern Meadowlarks may be found in the prairie areas, and Upland Sandpipers may be seen near the overlook on West Refuge Road.

Bald Eagles are nesting. A nest can be easily seen on Hilda's Corner Road at Upper North Fork Flowage, and another is on the Whiskey Creek trail just off of Phantom Lake Road. Northern Harriers are common hunting in the sedge meadows. Osprey are nesting on the many platforms found throughout the wildlife areas.

Sharp-tailed Grouse are dancing, but they are hard to find along the roads. Places to look for them include Murphy's Road, East Refuge Road, and James Road.

Please report your bird sightings to us at information@crexmeadows.org. All sightings are important this time of year!

Bird and Other Wildlife Updates
UPDATED MAY 14, 2013 Visitor Center Hours: Monday - Friday 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Saturday and Sunday 10:00 am to 4:00 pm Your first stop should be the Visitor Center. Here you can get the latest information, get answers to all your questions, and view the displays. Browse the Bog Shoe Gift Shop which is always well-stocked with a large variety of wildlife-related items. Also, take time to view the introductory, high-definition videos, all of which were revised with new footage and music. Copies of the videos (DVD and high definition Blu-ray) are for sale at the gift shop. The warmer weather is bringing back our resident nesters, and migrants are still moving through in good numbers. Duck species are waning, but smaller birds, such as sparrows and warblers are gearing up for their northern journey. Some experts say many are still to the south waiting for warmer weather in the north. New birds include American Redstart, Black-throated Green Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Northern Parula, Blackpoll Warbler, Ovenbird, Least, Spotted and Solitary Sandpipers, White-crowned Sparrow, Baltimore Oriole, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Least and Alder Flycatcher. Warblers are coming through in good numbers. Good places to look for wood warblers include the overlook parking lot on Phantom Trail and the woods behind the rest area. Trumpeter Swans and Sandhill Cranes are nesting. Pied-billed Grebes are plentiful. Horned Grebes* are still present on Phantom Lake in good numbers. The Red-necked Grebe pair is nesting near the Auto Tour #3 pullout. Yellow-headed Blackbirds are also present here, and both Sedge and Marsh Wrens can be heard (and often seen) here. Large flocks of sparrows are still moving through. Savannah, Vespers, Swamp, and Song Sparrows are common. Watch for Lark Sparrows along the edges of open fields, especially along County Road F. Clay-colored Sparrows and Eastern Towhees are calling in the upland areas. Eastern Meadowlarks may be found in the prairie areas, and Upland Sandpipers may be seen near the overlook on West Refuge Road. Bald Eagles are nesting. A nest can be easily seen on Hilda's Corner Road at Upper North Fork Flowage, and another is on the Whiskey Creek trail just off of Phantom Lake Road. Northern Harriers are common hunting in the sedge meadows. Osprey are nesting on the many platforms found throughout the wildlife areas. Sharp-tailed Grouse are dancing, but they are hard to find along the roads. Places to look for them include Murphy's Road, East Refuge Road, and James Road. Please report your bird sightings to us at information@crexmeadows.org. All sightings are important this time of year! Big Year at Crex Meadows 2013 February 1st, 2013 through December 31st 2013. Birds may be identified by sight or sound and only on GLG properties. These properties include Crex Meadows Wildlife Area, Fish Lake WA, Amsterdam Sloughs WA or Danbury WA. How it works: Use a brochure with all the birds listed as a guideline. The date and location must be indicated on the brochure to count that species. Every Friday, before 8 a.m, the previous week’s bird list is to be submitted to BigYear@CrexMeadows.org. Please include in e-mail: common name of bird, category, date, and location spotted. A list will be created of all the birds spotted for that week and distributed to help others. Participants will need to keep track overall of the number of bird species spotted. At the end of the year, the person with the most birds marked off the brochure will be proclaimed the winner! They will receive recognition in the FOC newsletter, a gift certificate, and of course, bragging rights! For more information about the Big Year, please call 715-463-2739 or e-mail BigYear@CrexMeadows.org. The Big Year Bird List through May 14, 2013 (entries in bold are from the past week)		HOME ------------- Events ------------- Directions ------------- Wildlife Areas ------------- Seasonal Calendar ------------- Things to Do ------------- Visitor Center ------------- Friends of Crex ------------- Bird Updates ------------- Auto Tour ------------- Education ------------- DNR Education ------------- Photo Club ------------- Partnerships ------------- Donate ------------- Shop ------------- Newsletters ------------- Calendar ------------- Contact Us ------------- Frequently Asked Questions Local Weather Forecast We NOW HAVE A GROUP FORUM Click to join CURRENT MEMBERS CLICK HERE LINK TO THE CREX BLOGSPOT 2013 Photo Contest Guidelines 2012 NATURE PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST RESULTS GLG PLANT LIST GLG BIRD LIST SUPPORT WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT Click the logo to go to the WIsconsin DNR Website
Canada Goose Trumpeter Swan Tundra Swan Wood Duck Gadwall American Wigeon American Black Duck Mallard Blue-winged Teal Northern Shoveler Northern Pintail Green-winged Teal Canvasback Redhead Ring-necked Duck Greater Scaup Lesser Scaup Bufflehead Common Goldeneye Hooded Merganser Common Merganser Red-breasted Merganser Ruddy Duck Ring-necked Pheasant Ruffed Grouse Sharp-tailed Grouse Wild Turkey Common Loon Pied-billed Grebe Horned Grebe Red-neceked Grebe American White Pelican Double-crested Cormorant Great Blue Heron Great Egret Green Heron Turkey Vulture Bald Eagle Northern Harrier Sharp-shinned Hawk Coopers Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Rough-legged Hawk American Kestrel Merlin Peregrine Falcon American Coot Sandhill Crane Killdeer Spotted Sandpiper Solitary Sandpiper Greater Yellowlegs Willet Lesser Yellowlegs Least Sandpiper Upland Sandpiper Wilson's Snipe American Woodcock Franklin's Gull Bonaparte's Gull Ring-Billed Gull Common Tern Forster's Tern Rock Pigeon Mourning Dove Great Horned Owl Barred Owl Short-eared Owl Northern Saw-whet Owl Whip-poor-will Belted Kingfisher Red-bellied Woodpecker Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Downy Woodpecker Hairy Woodpecker Northern Flicker Pileated Woodpecker Alder Flycatcher Least Flycatcher	Eastern Phoebe Great-crested Flycatcher Eastern Kingbird Northern Shrike Blue-headed Vireo Blue Jay American Crow Common Raven Horned Lark Tree Swallow Northern Rough-winged Swallow Cliff Swallow Barn Swallow Black-capped Chickadee Red-breasted Nuthatch White-breasted Nuthatch Brown Creeper Sedge Wren Marsh Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Ruby-crowned Kinglet Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Eastern Bluebird Veery Swainson's Thrush Hermit Thrush Wood Thrush American Robin Brown Thrasher European Starling Cedar Waxwing Orange-crowned Warbler Nashville Warbler Northern Parula Yellow Warbler Chestnut-sided Warbler Magnolia Warbler Cape May Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Black-throated Green Warbler Blackburnian Warbler Pine Warbler Palm Warbler Blackpoll Warbler Black-and-white Warbler American Redstart Ovenbird Eastern Towhee American Tree Sparrow Chipping Sparrow Clay-colored Sparrow Field Sparrow Vesper Sparrow Lark Sparrow Savannah Sparrow Grasshopper Sparrow LeConte's Sparrow Fox Sparrow Song Sparrow Lincoln's Sparrow Swamp Sparrow White-throated Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Snow Bunting Bobolink Red-winged Blackbird Yellow-headed Blackbird Eastern Meadowlark Brewer's Blackbird Common Grackle Brown-headed Cowbird Baltimore Oriole Pine Grosbeak Purple Finch Red Crossbill Common Redpoll Pine Sisken American Goldfinch
*This website is brought to you by the Friends of Crex, a non-profit organization dedicated to SUPPORTING WILDLIFE AND WILDLIFE EDUCATION at the crex meadows complex* FRIENDS OF CREX, INC. 102 EAST CREX AVENUE, GRANTSBURG WISCONSIN 54840 (715) 463-2739 www.crexmeadows.org All photos are used by permission and are the sole copyright of the photographer