Summer Visitor Center Hours
Weekdays: 8:00 am- 4:30 pm; Weekends: 10:00 am-4:00 pm.
The weather has been interesting in the Grantsburg area this past week. We have had most days in the 70’s, but have also had a couple of days in the high 80’s. We have had many storms within the past week, with a generous amount of rain along with them. This has made our water levels quite high in many of the flowages. We are expecting more rain within the next couple of days as well. Because of the rain, there will be some roads that are more difficult to drive on (especially some in the northern part of Crex Meadows, as they are very sandy roads that don’t hold up well after a lot of rain). Use caution while driving through.
We are also seeing some of our wildflowers blooming, and many more should follow within the next couple of weeks! The highlights right now are Hoary Puccoon, Spiderwort, Wild Columbine, Orange Hawkweed, Yarrow, Common St. John’s Wort, and the Butterfly Milkweed is getting very close!
Migration has mostly ended in our area, and we are in the midst of “baby animals season”, which is always an exciting time of the year! We have seen many swan and goose families on our flowages, along with some duck broods as well (Mallard, Wood Duck). We have also had several reports of Sandhill Crane colts that have now hatched; keep your eyes peeled, as these can be VERY difficult to see!
**This time of the year, the Wisconsin DNR would like to remind the public to help keep wildlife wild. Always remember that a baby animal’s best chance for survival is with its mother. To learn how to tell if a baby animal is truly orphaned, please visit the WI DNR website at dnr.wisconsin.gov, and search “Keep Wildlife Wild”.
Bird highlights from this past week include Red-headed Woodpecker, Black Tern, Upland Sandpiper, Red-necked Grebe, Least Bittern, Lark Sparrow, Dickcissel, and Ruddy Duck.
Recent bird sightings in Burnett County (focused on areas around Crex Meadows, Fish Lake, and Amsterdam Sloughs Wildlife Areas):
| Alder Flycatcher | Eastern Kingbird | Purple Martin |
| American Bittern | Eastern Meadowlark | Red-bellied Woodpecker |
| American Crow | Eastern Phoebe | Red-eyed Vireo |
| American Goldfinch | Eastern Towhee | Red-headed Woodpecker |
| American Kestrel | Eastern Whip-poor-will | Red-necked Grebe |
| American Redstart | Eastern Wood-pewee | Red-tailed Hawk |
| American Robin | European Starling | Red-winged Blackbird |
| American White Pelican | Field Sparrow | Ring-billed Gull |
| Bald Eagle | Golden-winged Warbler | Ring-necked Duck |
| Baltimore Oriole | Grasshopper Sparrow | Ring-necked Pheasant |
| Barn Swallow | Gray Catbird | Rock Pigeon |
| Barred Owl | Great Blue Heron | Rose-breasted Grosbeak |
| Belted Kingfisher | Great Crested Flycatcher | Ruby-throated Hummingbird |
| Black Tern | Green Heron | Ruddy Duck |
| Black-and-white Warbler | Green-winged Teal | Ruffed Grouse |
| Black-billed Cuckoo | Hairy Woodpecker | Sandhill Crane |
| Black-capped Chickadee | Hermit Thrush | Savannah Sparrow |
| Blue Jay | Hooded Merganser | Scarlet Tanager |
| Blue-winged Teal | Horned Lark | Sedge Wren |
| Blue-winged Warbler | House Finch | Song Sparrow |
| Bobolink | House Wren | Sora |
| Broad-winged Hawk | Indigo Bunting | Spotted Sandpiper |
| Brown Thrasher | Killdeer | Swamp Sparrow |
| Brown-headed Cowbird | Lark Sparrow | Tree Swallow |
| Canada Goose | Least Bittern | Trumpeter Swan |
| Cedar Waxwing | Least Flycatcher | Turkey Vulture |
| Chestnut-sided Warbler | Lesser Scaup | Upland Sandpiper |
| Chipping Sparrow | Mallard | Veery |
| Clay-colored Sparrow | Marsh Wren | Vesper Sparrow |
| Common Grackle | Merlin | Virginia Rail |
| Common Loon | Mourning Dove | Warbling Vireo |
| Common Nighthawk | Nashville Warbler | White-breasted Nuthatch |
| Common Raven | Northern Cardinal | Wild Turkey |
| Common Yellowthroat | Northern Flicker | Willow Flycatcher |
| Cooper’s Hawk | Northern Harrier | Wilson’s Snipe |
| Dark-eyed Junco | Northern Rough-winged Swallow | Wood Duck |
| Dickcissel | Osprey | Yellow Warbler |
| Double-crested Cormorant | Ovenbird | Yellow-bellied Sapsucker |
| Downy Woodpecker | Pied-billed Grebe | Yellow-headed Blackbird |
| Eastern Bluebird | Pileated Woodpecker | Yellow-rumped Warbler |
| Pine Warbler | Yellow-throated Vireo |
Recent mammal sightings in Burnett County (focused on areas around Crex Meadows, Fish Lake, and Amsterdam Sloughs Wildlife Areas):
| Beaver | Muskrat | Striped Skunk |
| Black Bear | Pocket Gopher | White-tailed Deer |
| Chipmunk | Red Squirrel | 13 Lined Ground Squirrel |
| Grey Squirrel | River Otter |