Happy New Year everyone! We hope that 2023 will be a wonderful year for our local wildlife and for all of our visitors!
We are experiencing a very snowy winter in the Grantsburg area so far. We have had multiple storms throughout December, and now more to come in early January. We had a couple storms that were significant enough to create multiple power outages in the area, with trees and tree limbs down everywhere! Because of these storms, there are about 14 inches of snow accumulation out on our wildlife areas (this is even after the “heat wave” that we had last week!).
Visitors should proceed with caution when driving around the wildlife areas, as plows are having a hard time keeping up this year with the snow coming so consistently. It may not hurt to give us a call if you are planning a trip, just to see what road conditions are like.
Wildlife viewing has been quite typical for this time of year- pretty quiet, but with a few fun sightings here and there. Snowy owls have been sighted on and off, as well as Red Crossbills and Short-eared Owls! None of these have been reported within the past week, but they may still be hanging around the area somewhere- so keep your eyes peeled.
Our highlights within the past week include: Great Horned Owl, Northern Shrike, and Sharp-tailed Grouse.
Mammals seen in the area within the last week
Fisher
Grey Squirrel
Grey Wolf (tracks)
Red Fox
White-tailed Deer
Bird sightings within the last week on Crex Meadows, Fish Lake, Amsterdam Sloughs, and surrounding area!
American Crow
American Goldfinch
American Tree Sparrow
Bald Eagle
Barred Owl
Black-capped Chickadee
Blue Jay
Common Raven
Dark-eyed Junco
Downy Woodpecker
European Starling
Golden Eagle
Great Horned Owl
Hairy Woodpecker
House Finch
Mallard
Northern Cardinal
Northern Shrike
Pileated Woodpecker
Pine Siskin
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Ring-necked Pheasant
Rough-legged Hawk
Ruffed Grouse
Sharp-tailed Grouse
Snow Bunting
Trumpeter Swan
White-breasted Nuthatch
Wild Turkey