Featured Image by Elizabeth Miller
Weather has been much more typical for October in Wisconsin as of late. Many days we have highs in the 60’s, and lows in the 40’s or high 30’s. We have still had some days reaching the 70’s, but fewer and fewer as the weeks go on.
Now is the time of the year where we are within our fall migration. Keep a lookout for a variety of ducks, shorebirds, some remaining songbirds, geese, Sandhill Cranes and more.
The Sandhill Crane migration is in full swing at this point, and viewing has already been spectacular, at Crex Meadows especially, with a noticeable increase in numbers each week. The Crex Meadows refuge is a great place to watch the morning and evening fly in/out. Try parking along Main Dike Road on the south end of the refuge, either for a couple of hours after first light, or the hour before last light!
Crane numbers are estimated to already be at several thousand birds in the area, but this will increase the further we get into October. We typically expect our peak numbers to be present sometime within the last week of October and continuing into early November. This is also the time of year where there are hunting seasons open. Here are the seasons that are open in October for our area:
| Large Game | |
| Deer (Archery & Crossbow) | September 13-January 4 |
| Migratory Birds | |
| Goose | September 1- December 16 |
| Rails, Snipe | September 1- November 9 |
| Mourning Dove | September 1- November 29 |
| Woodcock | September 20- November 3 |
| Waterfowl/Coot | September 27- November 25 |
| Other Game Birds | |
| Turkey | September 13- January 4 |
| Ruffed Grouse | September 13- January 4 |
| Pheasant | October 18- January 4 |
| Sharp-tailed Grouse | October 18- November 9 |
| Small Game | |
| Cottontail Rabbit/Squirrel | September 13- February 28 |
Mammals seen in the area within the last week:
| American Badger | Fisher | Raccoon |
| Beaver | Grey Squirrel | Red Squirrel |
| Black Bear | Muskrat | White-tailed Deer |
Bird sightings within the last week on Crex Meadows, Fish Lake, Amsterdam Sloughs, and surrounding area:
| American Bittern | Eastern Bluebird | Redhead |
| American Coot | Fox Sparrow | Red-winged Blackbird |
| American Crow | Gadwall | Ring-billed Gull |
| American Goldfinch | Golden-crowned Kinglet | Ring-necked Duck |
| American Kestrel | Great Blue Heron | Ring-necked Pheasant |
| American Robin | Greater Yellowlegs | Ruffed Grouse |
| American Tree Sparrow | Green-winged Teal | Rusty Blackbird |
| American Woodcock | Hairy Woodpecker | Sandhill Crane |
| Bald Eagle | Lapland Longspur | Savannah Sparrow |
| Barred Owl | Lesser Scaup | Snow Goose |
| Belted Kingfisher | Long-billed Dowitcher | Song Sparrow |
| Black-capped Chickadee | Mallard | Swamp Sparrow |
| Blue Jay | Merlin | Trumpeter Swan |
| Blue-winged Teal | Mourning Dove | Turkey Vulture |
| Brown Creeper | Northern Flicker | Western Meadowlark |
| Canada Goose | Northern Harrier | White-breasted Nuthatch |
| Cedar Waxwing | Northern Shrike | White-crowned Sparrow |
| Common Grackle | Palm Warbler | White-throated Sparrow |
| Common Raven | Pectoral Sandpiper | Wild Turkey |
| Dark-eyed Junco | Ped-billed Grebe | Wilson’s Snipe |
| Double-crested Cormorant | Pileated Woodpecker | Wood Duck |
| Downy Woodpecker | Red-bellied Woodpecker |