Summer Visitor Center Hours
Weekdays from 8:00 am-4:30 pm
Weekends 10:00 am-4:00 pm
If you are planning a trip to Crex Meadows, now is the time to come! We are at the peak of our bird migration season, with our longest sightings list yet at 164 different species (all sighted within the past week). We have also been having lovely spring weather here in the Grantsburg area. There have been many days with temperatures in the 70’s, and only some in the 60’s. Road conditions are improving every day on the wildlife areas. The township staff have been grading roads, and we have had many dry days to help out.
Many waterfowl species are still in the area, though numbers are much smaller than they were two weeks ago, as birds continue to move north to their nesting grounds. Most of the species left are our common local nesters including Mallard, Wood Duck, Ring-necked Duck, and Blue-winged Teal. Other species still being sighted include Common Goldeneye, Lesser Scaup, Gadwall, Northern Shoveler, and Redhead. A great place for viewing most of these species had been Grettum Flowage down in Fish Lake Wildlife Area and some sightings on Phantom Lake in Crex Meadows.
Many of our warblers are starting to show up in the area as well. These include Bay-breasted Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Blue-winged Warbler, Cape May Warbler, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, Wilson’s Warbler and more. In addition to the many warblers around, we also have several different vireos on our list. Newest sightings are Blue-headed Vireo and Philadelphia Vireo.
A few other bird highlights include Black Tern, Bobolink, Common Nighthawk, Dunlin, Forster’s Tern, Indigo Bunting, Scarlet Tanager, Short-billed Dowitcher, and Virginia Rail.
Visitors should also be aware that we are at the time where wood ticks and deer ticks will become abundant. Be sure to wear the appropriate clothing and utilize permethrin or other deterring sprays on your clothing to minimize risk.
Mammals seen in the area within the last week:
| 13-Lined Ground Squirrel | Grey Wolf (tracks) | Red Squirrel |
| Beaver | Muskrat | River Otter |
| Black Bear | Raccoon | Striped Skunk |
| Grey Squirrel | Red Fox | White-tailed Deer |
| Woodchuck |
Bird sightings within the last week on Crex Meadows, Fish Lake, Amsterdam Sloughs, and surrounding area:
| American Bittern | Eastern Bluebird | Pileated Woodpecker |
| American Coot | Eastern Kingbird | Pine Siskin |
| American Crow | Eastern Meadowlark | Pine Warbler |
| American Goldfinch | Eastern Phoebe | Purple Finch |
| American Kestrel | Eastern Towhee | Purple Martin |
| American Redstart | Eastern Whip-poor-will | Red-bellied Woodpecker |
| American Robin | Eastern Wood-pewee | Red-breasted Nuthatch |
| American White Pelican | European Starling | Red-eyed Vireo |
| American Wigeon | Field Sparrow | Redhead |
| American Woodcock | Forster’s Tern | Red-headed Woodpecker |
| Bald Eagle | Gadwall | Red-necked Grebe |
| Baltimore Oriole | Golden-winged Warbler | Red-tailed Hawk |
| Bank Swallow | Grasshopper Sparrow | Red-winged Blackbird |
| Barn Swallow | Gray Catbird | Ring-billed Gull |
| Barred Owl | Great Blue Heron | Ring-necked Duck |
| Bay-breasted Warbler | Great Crested Flycatcher | Ring-necked Pheasant |
| Belted Kingfisher | Great Horned Owl | Rose-breasted Grosbeak |
| Black Tern | Greater Yellowlegs | Ruby-crowned Kinglet |
| Black-and-white Warbler | Green Heron | Ruby-throated Hummingbird |
| Blackburnian Warbler | Green-winged Teal | Ruddy Duck |
| Black-capped Chickadee | Hairy Woodpecker | Ruffed Grouse |
| Blackpoll Warbler | Hermit Thrush | Sandhill Crane |
| Black-throated Green Warbler | Hooded Merganser | Savannah Sparrow |
| Blue Jay | Horned Lark | Scarlet Tanager |
| Blue-gray Gnatcatcher | House Finch | Sedge Wren |
| Blue-headed Vireo | House Sparrow | Semipalmated Plover |
| Blue-winged Teal | House Wren | Sharp-tailed Grouse |
| Blue-winged Warbler | Indigo Bunting | Short-billed Dowitcher |
| Bobolink | Killdeer | Solitary Sandpiper |
| Broad-winged Hawk | Lark Sparrow | Song Sparrow |
| Brown Thrasher | Least Flycatcher | Sora |
| Brown-headed Cowbird | Least Sandpiper | Spotted Sandpiper |
| Bufflehead | Lesser Scaup | Swainson’s Thrush |
| Canada Goose | Lesser Yellowlegs | Swamp Sparrow |
| Canada Warbler | Lincoln’s Sparrow | Tennessee Warbler |
| Cape May Warbler | Magnolia Warbler | Tree Swallow |
| Cedar Waxwing | Mallard | Trumpeter Swan |
| Chestnut-sided Warbler | Marsh Wren | Turkey Vulture |
| Chimney Swift | Mourning Dove | Veery |
| Chipping Sparrow | Nashville Warbler | Vesper Sparrow |
| Clay-colored Sparrow | Northern Cardinal | Virginia Rail |
| Cliff Swallow | Northern Flicker | Warbling Vireo |
| Common Goldeneye | Northern Harrier | White-breasted Nuthatch |
| Common Grackle | Northern Parula | White-crowned Sparrow |
| Common Loon | Northern Rough-winged Swallow | White-throated Sparrow |
| Common Merganser | Northern Shoveler | Wild Turkey |
| Common Nighthawk | Northern Waterthrush | Wilson’s Snipe |
| Common Raven | Orange-crowned Warbler | Wilson’s Warbler |
| Common Yellowthroat | Orchard Oriole | Wood Duck |
| Cooper’s Hawk | Osprey | Wood Thrush |
| Dark-eyed Junco | Ovenbird | Yellow Warbler |
| Double-crested Cormorant | Palm Warbler | Yellow-bellied Sapsucker |
| Downy Woodpecker | Pectoral Sandpiper | Yellow-headed Blackbird |
| Dunlin | Philadelphia Vireo | Yellow-rumped Warbler |
| Pied-billed Grebe | Yellow-throated Vireo |
Did you see something that’s not on our list? Give us a call to report it at 715-463-2739