Featured Image By: Lynne Mall
Weather has cooled off a bit here in the Grantsburg area; some days with highs in the 40’s and lows into the 20’s. There look to be a few warmer days within the 10-day forecast, with highs back up into the 50’s, but this likely won’t last long! With our first significant frost happening this morning (11/6), we may have had some migratory birds head south, especially since there was a thin layer of ice on some of the flowages! Recent rain has helped the water levels in flowages come up slightly, but levels are still low.
Fall migration is still occurring but is starting to slow a bit. Sandhill cranes are still hanging around in the area, and we are still seeing close to our peak numbers. The DNR staff completed a Sandhill crane count on October 28th, with a final count of 10,438 (this number is lower than most years). Many cranes will likely begin to depart for their winter destination in the next couple of weeks.
Additionally, most fall hunting seasons have now opened, with a couple more to open in the coming weeks (see full list of current and upcoming seasons below).
The best crane viewing recently has been at Dikes 4 & 5 on Crex and at Grettum Flowage on Fish Lake.
Other bird highlights this week include Cackling Goose, Cedar Waxwing, Common Goldeneye, Northern Shoveler, Northern Shrike, Rough-legged Hawk, Short-eared Owl, Snow Bunting, Tundra Swan.
Bird sightings within the last week at Crex Meadows, Fish Lake, Amsterdam Sloughs, and surrounding area:
American Coot
American Crow
American Goldfinch
American Robin
American Tree Sparrow
Bald Eagle
Barred Owl
Belted Kingfisher
Black-capped Chickadee
Blue Jay
Cackling Goose
Canada Goose
Cedar Waxwing
Common Goldeneye
Common Raven
Dark-eyed Junco
Downy Woodpecker
Fox Sparrow
Gadwall
Greater Yellowlegs
Green-winged Teal
Hairy Woodpecker
Hooded Merganser
Mallard
Northern Harrier
Northern Shoveler
Northern Shrike
Pied-billed Grebe
Pileated Woodpecker
Purple Finch
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Red-tailed Hawk
Ring-billed Gull
Ring-necked Duck
Ring-necked Pheasant
Rough-legged Hawk
Ruffed Grouse
Sandhill Crane
Sharp-tailed Grouse
Short-eared Owl
Snow Bunting
Trumpeter Swan
Tundra Swan
White-breasted Nuthatch
Current and Upcoming Hunting Seasons (for a full list of WI hunting seasons, please visit the WI DNR website):
Archery Deer Hunting: September 12-January 3
Fall Turkey: September 12- January 3
Ruffed Grouse : September 12- January 3
Regular Goose: September 16-December 16
Regular Waterfowl: September 26-November 24
Rifle Deer Hunting: November 21-29