Featured Image by Sue Herwig
Fall has been in the air in the Grantsburg area! We have had much cooler weather move in over the past week, with many days in the 60’s and nights getting into the low 40’s. However, just when we think the weather may have shifted for the season, we see that the 10-day forecast shows a bit of a warm-up, with highs evening rising back up into the 80’s some days.
Now is the time of the year where we are seeing the earliest stages of fall migration happening in our area. Keep a lookout for a variety of ducks, some remaining songbirds and shorebirds, geese, and also watch for some of our local birds to begin flocking up (ducks, Sandhill cranes, etc.). We will expect to see more of this behavior as we move through the rest of September.
Sandhill Crane season is coming up quickly! We are seeing small groups of cranes hanging around together in some of our flowages and in local fields that are nearby. This migration is still in its earliest stages, however, and we won’t be seeing our peak numbers of cranes until late in October.
Grettum Flowage and Phantom Lake have both been quite active recently, with Grettum still holding a large number of American White Pelicans and Trumpeter Swans. There was also a Caspian Tern sighted on Grettum Flowage recently, which is an uncommon bird for us! This is also the time of year where there are hunting seasons open. Here are the seasons that are open in September:
Large Game
Black Bear September 3- October 7
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
Youth Waterfowl September 20-21
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
Small Game
Cottontail Rabbit/ Squirrels September 13-February 28
Mammals seen in the area within the last week:
| Beaver | Grey Squirrel | Raccoon |
| Black Bear | Mink | Red Squirrel |
| Fisher | Muskrat | White-tailed Deer |
Bird sightings within the last week on Crex Meadows, Fish Lake, Amsterdam Sloughs, and surrounding area:
| American Bittern | Cooper’s Hawk | Red-bellied woodpecker |
| American Black Duck | Double-crested Cormorant | Red-breasted Nuthatch |
| American Crow | Downy Woodpecker | Red-eyed Vireo |
| American Goldfinch | Eastern Bluebird | Red-headed Woodpecker |
| American Kestrel | Eastern Kingbird | Red-tailed Hawk |
| American Redstart | Eastern Phoebe | Red-winged Blackbird |
| American Robin | Eastern Towhee | Ring-billed Gull |
| American White Pelican | Eastern Wood-pewee | Ring-necked Duck |
| American Woodcock | Golden-winged Warbler | Ring-necked Pheasant |
| Bald Eagle | Gray Catbird | Rose-breasted Grosbeak |
| Barn Swallow | Great Blue Heron | Ruby-throated Hummingbird |
| Barred Owl | Great Egret | Ruffed Grouse |
| Belted Kingfisher | Great Horned Owl | Sandhill Crane |
| Black-and-white Warbler | Green Heron | Savannah Sparrow |
| Black-capped Chickadee | Hairy Woodpecker | Sedge Wren |
| Black-throated Green Warbler | Hermit Thrush | Sharp-tailed Grouse |
| Blue Jay | Hooded Merganser | Song Sparrow |
| Blue-gray Gnatcatcher | Horned Lark | Sora |
| Blue-headed Vireo | House Finch | Swainson’s Thrush |
| Blue-winged Teal | Lesser Yellowlegs | Swamp Sparrow |
| Brewer’s Blackbird | Magnolia Warbler | Tennessee Warbler |
| Broad-winged Hawk | Mallard | Tree Swallow |
| Canada Goose | Marsh Wren | Trumpeter Swan |
| Caspian Tern | Merlin | Turkey Vulture |
| Cedar Waxwing | Mourning Dove | White-breasted Nuthatch |
| Chestnut-sided Warbler | Nashville Warbler | White-throated Sparrow |
| Chipping Sparrow | Northern Flicker | Wild Turkey |
| Clay-colored Sparrow | Northern Harrier | Wilson’s Warbler |
| Common Grackle | Osprey | Wood Duck |
| Common Loon | Palm Warbler | Yellow-rumped Warbler |
| Common Nighthawk | Pied-billed Grebe | Yellow-throated Vireo |
| Common Raven | Pileated Woodpecker | |
| Common Yellowthroat | Purple Finch |