Winter Visitor Center Hours
Weekdays from 8:00 am-4:30 pm
Weekends CLOSED
Featured photo by Jane Knott
We are well into our winter season now, and this year it has felt like an “actual Wisconsin winter” in some weeks. This week we have certainly had this feeling with temperatures well below zero most days and snow sticking around after a couple of recent storms.
Flowages are all still frozen, but we are expecting warmer weather in the coming days (even up into the low 40’s), so this could change rapidly if the warm snap continues for an extended period.
We are seeing normal wildlife activity for this time of the year with lots of mammal tracks being seen and many different winter birds being reported.
A few highlights for winter birds include Golden Eagle, Lapland Longspur, Northern Shrike, Purple Finch, Rough-legged Hawk, Snow Bunting, and Snowy Owl.
We have been sporadically seeing a Snowy Owl around the property. Try taking a drive past the airport on the south side of Crex Meadows, or a trip up East Refuge Road. These are some locations where sightings have been more consistent.
We have not been seeing irruptive activity for owls like Northern Minnesota is: no Great Grey Owl sightings and no above average Snowy Owl sightings.
Mammals (mostly tracks) seen in the area within the last week:
| Grey Wolf | Bobcat | Weasel (various) |
| Coyote | Red Fox | River Otter |
| Fisher | Grey Squirrel | Eastern Cottontail |
| Mink | White-tailed Deer | |
Bird sightings within the last week on Crex Meadows, Fish Lake, Amsterdam Sloughs, and surrounding area:
| American Crow | Golden Eagle | Red-breasted Nuthatch |
| American Goldfinch | Hairy Woodpecker | Ring-necked Pheasant |
| American Tree Sparrow | Horned Lark | Rock Pigeon |
| Bald Eagle | House Finch | Rough-legged Hawk |
| Barred Owl | House Sparrow | Ruffed Grouse |
| Black-capped Chickadee | Lapland Longspur | Sharp-tailed Grouse |
| Blue Jay | Mourning Dove | Snow Bunting |
| Brown Creeper | Northern Cardinal | Snowy Owl |
| Canada Goose | Northern Shrike | Trumpeter Swan |
| Common Raven | Pileated Woodpecker | Turkey Vulture |
| Dark-eyed Junco | Pine Siskin | White-breasted Nuthatch |
| Downy Woodpecker | Purple Finch | White-throated Sparrow |
| European Starling | Red-bellied Woodpecker | Wild Turkey |