Migration continues to ramp up across southern Wisconsin, bringing more birds inching farther north almost daily. The return of sandhill cranes, Canada geese, red-winged blackbirds and American robins have been especially welcome for many bird lovers from Eau Claire to Wausau to Green Bay and southward. Other new arrivals include the first American woodcocks, tree swallows, turkey vultures, eastern bluebirds, song sparrows and American white pelicans.
Ready for spring? We have good news for you – in the bird world, it’s underway! Southeast Wisconsin always sees the first migrants, and this year is no exception as the first red-winged blackbirds, killdeer and sandhill cranes have been reported there. American robins overwintered in good numbers, but new migrants are also moving in now. Horned larks, an early migrant of open grasslands and agricultural fields, are also showing well on rural roadsides. Farther north, trumpeter swans are returning to limited areas of open water, and the first bald and golden eagles have begun to wing their way northward overhead.