Winter Visitor Center Hours
Weekdays from 8:00 am-4:30 pm
Weekends CLOSED
Featured image: “Sharptail Dance” by Sue Herwig
Spring is in the air- finally! Temperatures have been on the rise the past couple of weeks, with some highs close to the 60’s! In the upcoming forecast, we expect there will be many warmer days mixed in with more typical temperatures for this time of the year.
Snow is pretty much gone in the area, but there is more in the forecast over the next ten days. We are also seeing patches of open water pop up around our properties- including Refuge Extension Flowage and Phantom Lake.
Because things are thawing, it also means that our roads are getting a bit muddy. Kylingstad Road is almost impassable, and the far east end of Main Dike Road is also not good for travel at this time.
We are seeing a few of our earlier migrating birds coming back to the area, including high numbers of Trumpeter Swans, Canada Geese, Mallards, and also high numbers of Bald Eagles.
We can expect to see many more ducks showing up within the next few weeks and will likely lose our winter residents soon as well.
Highlights this week include: Common Goldeneye, Green-winged Teal, Horned Lark, Killdeer, Northern Pintail, Snow Goose, and Wood Duck.
Mammals seen in the area within the last week:
| Beaver | Grey Wolf | Red Fox |
| Cottontail Rabbit | Muskrat | Red Squirrel |
| Fisher | Porcupine | River Otter |
| Grey Squirrel | Raccoon | Striped Skunk |
| White-tailed Deer |
Bird sightings within the last week on Crex Meadows, Fish Lake, Amsterdam Sloughs, and surrounding area:
| American Crow | Green-winged Teal | Red-winged Blackbird |
| American Goldfinch | Hairy Woodpecker | Ring-billed Gull |
| American Robin | Hooded Merganser | Ring-necked Duck |
| American Tree Sparrow | Horned Lark | Ring-necked Pheasant |
| Bald Eagle | Killdeer | Rock Pigeon |
| Barred Owl | Mallard | Rough-legged Hawk |
| Black-capped Chickadee | Mourning Dove | Ruffed Grouse |
| Blue Jay | Northern Harrier | Sandhill Crane |
| Canada Goose | Northern Pintail | Sharp-tailed Grouse |
| Common Goldeneye | Northern Shrike | Snow Bunting |
| Common Grackle | Pileated Woodpecker | Snow Goose |
| Common Merganser | Purple Finch | Trumpeter Swan |
| Common Raven | Red-bellied Woodpecker | Tundra Swan |
| Dark-eyed Junco | Red-headed Woodpecker | White-breasted Nuthatch |
| Downy Woodpecker | Red-tailed Hawk | Wild Turkey |
| Wood Duck |