Horicon Marsh Bird Club

08/23/2026

Everyone I know has a "great customer service" story about Vortex! Here's another one!
https://www.facebook.com/share/1DbYcQWjkp/

VORTEX, what a great Wisconsin Company! Several years ago, FDL Audubon received a grant from Eagle Optics for 15 binoculars. The well- used field glasses developed a sticky outer coating, although the optics were fine. Eagle Optics had been sold to a new company, Vortex, so we contacted that company for possible cleaning. Three Alliance Board members took the binoculars to the Vortex showroom near Barneveld on a Tuesday. On Friday, FDL Area Bird & Nature Alliance received a shipment of 15 brand-new binoculars with cases at no charge! Plus, the assistance at the showroom was spectacular and the showroom itself is a great place to visit. Bird watchers, please consider optics made by this company. Besides binoculars, they have spotting scopes, monoculars, and a host of other equipment. Purchases have a lifetime warrantee and we have experienced that they easily and quickly comply. See https://vortexoptics.com/.

07/14/2026

Temps nearing 100* today, but did you know "fall" migration is well underway ?
Right now there are hundreds of shorebirds in the Bachhuber Impoundment just West of the Horicon Marsh Education and Visitor center.
These birds have already nested in the arctic and are working their way south. Some winter in South America.
Bird include, mostly Lesser Yellowlegs, some Greater Yellowlegs, Stilt Sandpipers, Least Sandpipers, Short-billed Dowitchers, Killdeers and a handful of Semi-palmated Plovers. Plus several dozen Black-necked Stilts including some young that have just hatched.
Stilt sandpipers in photo

06/21/2026

One of the last birds to arrive is the Dickcissel. A grassland bird with a unique song

05/26/2026

It's that time of year when we are getting lots of ducklings. Here are some starting out in Dodge county. Wood ducks and a couple Hooded Mergansers made the jump today. May 25 Can you pick out the Hooded Merganser ducklings?

05/22/2026

The flurry has settled from the 2026 Horicon Marsh Bird Festival and we again wanted to say how thankful we are to everyone who participated in one way or another!

We had 140 species seen during the festival and here is the final e-Bird Trip Report. https://ebird.org/tripreport/513557

As we start planning for our 30th anniversary of the Horicon Marsh Bird Festival, we'd love to hear from you! What were your favorite moments, trips, birds, photos etc. Feel free to put in the comments or send to [email protected]. We'd also love to hear any ideas you have for future festivals. Trips, events, works days, places you'd like to see highlighted.

Lastly, this event is a labor of love by many volunteers and partner organizations. We are always looking for more people to join our Horicon Marsh Bird Festival Committee, whether joining from near or far (Zoom is still a thing ;)), let us know if you'd be interested in helping with future events.

📷by Leslie Andrich

05/20/2026

I've been monitoring nest boxes for 35+ years .. here is a first. A Robin nest in a Wood Duck box.

05/18/2026

Spring is really happening right now. Here are some shots of Hooded Mergansers ducklings leaving the nest box

05/14/2026

Migration should be high the next couple of nights! Lights out for the birds!

05/12/2026

Lights out for the birds tonight!

🚨Lights Out Alert! 🚨 Tonight, an estimated 17.6 million birds will fly over Wisconsin!

We’re urging everyone to turn off or dim non-essential outdoor lights and close window shades from 11 p.m.–6 a.m. to help birds safely on their journey.

Most birds migrate at night, and light pollution can disorient them, leading to deadly window collisions. In addition to turning down the lights, you can also help by treating windows. If you’re looking for a quick fix, draw lines on your windows (no more than 2” apart) with a bar of soap or washable window markers.

A few simple steps can save countless birds, conserve energy, and protect our night skies. 🌌🐦

👉 Share this post to spread the word!

Want migration alerts sent straight to your inbox? Sign up for Cornell Lab of Ornithology BirdCast alerts through the link in the comments. BirdCast added 4 Wisconsin cities this year: Appleton, La Crosse, Madison, and Milwaukee. If you don’t live near one, choose the closest city to you.

BirdCast sends alerts only on the biggest migration nights; about 8–10 nights each season that account for roughly half of all migration traffic.

SOS Save Our Songbirds | Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance | Wisconsin Society for Ornithology - WSO | Kickapoo Valley Dark Sky Initiative | Focus on Energy

05/11/2026

The last tour of the 2026 Horicon Marsh Bird Festival is now complete and all we can say is WOW and THANK YOU!

👥Thank you to all of the participants who chose to spend a day or their weekend birding at Horicon Marsh. We enjoyed getting to know new people and seeing old friends. Please feel free to share your favorite moment or photo in the comments below!

🤓Thank you to all of the guides who gave us their time, knowledge, patience and enthusiasm for birds!

🐾Thank you to all of our partners across the marsh like Marsh Haven Nature Center, Blue Heron Landing, Friends of Horicon Marsh Education and Visitor Center, Friends of Horicon National Wildlife Refuge, Wisconsin DNR, USFWS, Mayville City Parks, Dodge County Parks and the Milwaukee Audubon Society.

🦆Thank you to the Horicon Marsh Bird Club and the Bird Festival Committee for their countless hours to make this event happen. Many do this on volunteer time and we cannot run this event without them.

🚩📢Our final checklists are still coming in, but here is the updated e-Bird Trip Report. We'll have a final tally later this week when we check the lists twice!

https://ebird.org/tripreport/513557