Featured Image by Tina Kleppe
Weather has been mostly hot in the Grantsburg area, but there have been a few cooler days mixed in. The 10-day forecast looks like many days will be in the high 80’s and some may dip into the high 70’s.
The highlights for viewing this time of the year are summer resident birds, wildflowers in bloom, and our many butterfly species! We are seeing some of the earliest signs of migration, including some shorebirds coming to the area. There are mudflats on North Fork Flowage that are great for viewing shorebirds and other wading birds, such as egrets and herons. Baby animals are growing quickly, with many of the birds being close to the size of their parents at this point and becoming much more independent.
Grettum Flowage on Fish Lake Wildlife Area is drawn down still, and because of this there are a number of birds that have moved over to Dueholm Flowage, including American White Pelican, Double-crested Cormorant, many Trumpeter Swans, a number of different ducks, and more.
Highlights this week include: Cedar Waxwing, Chimney Swift, Great Egret, Least Sandpiper, Long-billed Dowitcher, Pectoral Sandpiper, Semipalmated Plover, Solitary Sandpiper, Spotted Sandpiper, Stilt Sandpiper, and Wilson’s Phalarope.
Bird sightings within the last week at Crex Meadows, Fish Lake, Amsterdam Sloughs, and surrounding area:
American Bittern
American Crow
American Goldfinch
American Kestrel
American Robin
American White Pelican
Bald Eagle
Baltimore Oriole
Barn Swallow
Barred Owl
Belted Kingfisher
Black Tern
Black-capped Chickadee
Blue Jay
Blue-winged Teal
Bobolink
Broad-winged Hawk
Brown Thrasher
Canada Goose
Cedar Waxwing
Chimney Swift
Chipping Sparrow
Common Grackle
Common Loon
Common Nighthawk
Common Raven
Common Yellowthroat
Cooper’s Hawk
Double-crested Cormorant
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Bluebird
Eastern Kingbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Towhee
Eastern Whip-poor-will
Eastern Wood-pewee
Field Sparrow
Golden-winged Warbler
Gray Catbird
Great Blue Heron
Great Crested Flycatcher
Great Egret
Greater Yellowlegs
Green Heron
Hairy Woodpecker
Hooded Merganser
Indigo Bunting
Killdeer
Least Sandpiper
Lesser Yellowlegs
Long-billed Dowitcher
Mallard
Marsh Wren
Mourning Dove
Northern Cardinal
Northern Flicker
Northern Harrier
Osprey
Ovenbird
Pied-billed Grebe
Pileated Woodpecker
Purple Martin
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Red-eyed Vireo
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-necked Grebe
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-winged Blackbird
Ring-billed Gull
Ring-necked Duck
Ring-necked Pheasant
Rock Pigeon
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Ruffed Grouse
Sandhill Crane
Scarlet Tanager
Sedge Wren
Semi-palmated Plover
Sharp-tailed Grouse
Solitary Sandpiper
Song Sparrow
Spotted Sandpiper
Stilt Sandpiper
Swamp Sparrow
Tree Swallow
Trumpeter Swan
Turkey Vulture
White-breasted Nuthatch
Wild Turkey
Wilson’s Phalarope
Wilson’s Snipe
Wood Duck
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Mammals seen in the area within the last week:
Beaver
Black Bear
Grey Squirrel
Grey Wolf
Muskrat
Red Fox
Red Squirrel
White-tailed Deer
13-lined Ground Squirrel
Sightings of Flowers in Bloom: