Featured Image By: Gary Meyer
Weather has been HOT and humid in the Grantsburg area; with our area under an extreme heat warning over the past several days. The10-day forecast looks like many days will be in the high 80’s and some into the 90’s, but it seems that the extreme heat will be over. The past couple of days we have also been dealing with unhealthy air quality from the BWCA fire smoke being pushed to us with the recent north winds.
The highlights for viewing this time of the year are summer resident birds, baby wildlife, wildflowers in bloom, and our many butterfly species!
Some of the baby animal reports this week included Common Loon chicks, Sandhill crane colts, Trumpeter swan cygnets, Red fox kits, Black bear cubs, White-tailed deer fawns, a number of ducklings of different species, and more.
Because we are amid “baby animals season”, the WDNR would like to remind visitors to Keep Wildlife Wild whenever possible. It’s important to observe wildlife at a respectful distance and always remember that a young animal’s best chance for survival is with its parents (there are a few exceptions for wildlife young who do not stay with their mother; this includes things like turtles, who are completely independent upon hatching).
Bird sightings within the last week at Crex Meadows, Fish Lake, Amsterdam Sloughs, and surrounding area:
Alder Flycatcher
American Bittern
American Crow
American Goldfinch
American Kestrel
American Redstart
American Robin
American White Pelican
American Woodcock
Bald Eagle
Baltimore Oriole
Bank Swallow
Barn Swallow
Barred Owl
Belted Kingfisher
Black Tern
Black-and-white Warbler
Black-billed Cuckoo
Black-capped Chickadee
Blue Jay
Blue-winged Teal
Bobolink
Broad-winged Hawk
Brown Thrasher
Brown-headed Cowbird
Canada Goose
Cedar Waxwing
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Chimney Swift
Chipping Sparrow
Clay-colored Sparrow
Cliff Swallow
Common Grackle
Common Loon
Common Nighthawk
Common Raven
Common Yellowthroat
Dickcissel
Downy Woodpecker
Eastern Bluebird
Eastern Kingbird
Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Towhee
Eastern Warbling Vireo
Eastern Whip-poor-will
Eastern Wood-pewee
Field Sparrow
Golden-winged Warbler
Gray Catbird
Great Blue Heron
Great Crested Flycatcher
Great Horned Owl
Green Heron
Hairy Woodpecker
Hooded Merganser
Horned Lark
Indigo Bunting
Killdeer
Least Bittern
Least Flycatcher
Lesser Yellowlegs
Mallard
Marsh Wren
Mourning Dove
Northern Flicker
Northern Harrier
Northern House Wren
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Northern Yellow Warbler
Osprey
Ovenbird
Pied-billed Grebe
Pileated Woodpecker
Pine Warbler
Purple Finch
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Red-eyed Vireo
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-necked Grebe
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-winged Blackbird
Ring-necked Duck
Ring-necked Pheasant
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Ruffed Grouse
Sandhill Crane
Scarlet Tanager
Sedge Wren
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Song Sparrow
Sora
Spotted Sandpiper
Swamp Sparrow
Tree Swallow
Trumpeter Swan
Turkey Vulture
Veery
Vesper Sparrow
Virginia Rail
White-breasted Nuthatch
Wild Turkey
Wilson’s Snipe
Wood Duck
Wood Thrush
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Yellow-throated Vireo
Mammals seen in the area within the last week:
Beaver
Black Bear
Coyote
Grey Squirrel
Grey Wolf
Muskrat
Red Fox
Red Squirrel
River Otter
White-tailed Deer
13-lined Ground Squirrel
Sightings of Flowers in Bloom: