Crex Meadows State Wildlife Area
Wildlife Update: April 14, 2023
Summer Visitor Center Hours
Weekdays from 8:00 am-4:30 pm
Weekends 10:00 am-4:00 pm
Spring has sprung in the Grantsburg area! After several days reaching temperatures into the 80’s, the snow is almost completely gone, other than in the heavily shaded areas. The sun is getting stronger, the days are getting longer, and more birds are returning every day! Ice is disappearing off the flowages, but there are still a few areas where a bit of ice still remains.
There are a couple of cooler days in the upcoming forecast, and we are also supposed to be getting rain over the weekend and several days next week. Visitors should continue to proceed with caution when driving around the wildlife areas, as roads may be very wet and muddy. It may not hurt to give us a call if you are planning a trip, just to see what road conditions are like.
Within the past few days, we have been seeing several different species showing up in the area, including American Bittern, American White Pelican, Canvasback, Common Loon, Eastern Bluebird, Eastern Kingbird, Great Egret, Herring Gull, Redhead, Ruddy Duck, Wilson’s Snipe, and so many more!
Sharp-tailed Grouse are participating in their mating displays at this time, which is a sight you won’t want to miss! Get to the property before daylight, and head up to the north end of the refuge to see if you can find any dancing!
Mammals are still roaming around as usual. Highlights this week include: 13-Lined Ground Squirrel and River Otter.
Mammals seen in the area within the last week:
| 13- Lined Ground Squirrel Beaver Black Bear Coyote Fisher (tracks) | Grey Squirrel Grey Wolf (Tracks) Muskrat Raccoon Red Fox | Red Squirrel River Otter Striped Skunk White-tailed Deer |
Bird sightings within the last week on Crex Meadows, Fish Lake, Amsterdam Sloughs, and surrounding area:
| American Bittern American Black Duck American Coot American Crow American Goldfinch American Kestrel American Robin American Tree Sparrow American White Pelican American Wigeon American Woodcock Bald Eagle Barred Owl Belted Kingfisher Black-capped Chickadee Blue Jay Blue-winged Teal Brown Creeper Brown-headed Cowbird Bufflehead Canada Goose Canvasback Cedar Waxwing Chipping Sparrow Common Goldeneye Common Grackle Common Loon Common Merganser Common Raven Dark-eyed Junco Downy Woodpecker Eastern Bluebird Eastern Kingbird Eastern Meadowlark Eastern Phoebe | European Starling Fox Sparrow Gadwall Golden Eagle Golden-crowned Kinglet Great Blue Heron Great Egret Great Horned Owl Greater Scaup Greater White-fronted Goose Greater Yellowlegs Green-winged Teal Hairy Woodpecker Herring Gull Hooded Merganser Horned Lark House Finch House Sparrow Killdeer Lapland Longspur Lesser Scaup Mallard Merlin Mourning Dove Northern Cardinal Northern Flicker Northern Harrier Northern Pintail Northern Rough-winged Swallow Northern Shoveler Northern Shrike Osprey Pied-billed Grebe Pileated Woodpecker | Purple Finch Red-bellied Woodpecker Red-breasted Nuthatch Redhead Red-tailed Hawk Red-winged Blackbird Ring-billed Gull Ring-necked Duck Ring-necked Pheasant Rock Pigeon Rough-legged Hawk Ruby-crowned Kinglet Ruddy Duck Ruffed Grouse Rusty Blackbird Sandhill Crane Sharp-tailed Grouse Short-eared Owl Snow Bunting Snow Goose Snowy Owl Song Sparrow Swamp Sparrow Tree Swallow Trumpeter Swan Tundra Swan Turkey Vulture Vesper Sparrow Western Meadowlark White-breasted Nuthatch Wild Turkey Wilson’s Snipe Wood Duck Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Yellow-rumped Warbler |