Horicon Marsh Nest Box Seminar
Description
Interested in birdhouses, but don’t know where to begin? Wondering what you can do to help cavity-nesting animals? Head to the Horicon Marsh Education & Visitor Center to bolster your nesting knowledge. Speakers will discuss popular nest boxes, such as bluebirds and wood ducks. Come for a specific topic or stay for all three. Whatever you choose, these presentations will cover many topics to “brood” about for this upcoming nest season!
Doors will open at 8:00 a.m. so that early birds can peruse displays on cavity nesting birds, talk with DNR experts on how to attract birds to your yard or purchase your own nesting box. Speaker times will be 8:30 a.m., 9:45 am and 11 a.m. Bluebird/tree swallow, bat or Wood Duck boxes will be available for purchase on site. Cash, check or credit will be accepted.
The Friends of the Horicon Marsh Education and Visitor Center will provide kits and fully assembled boxes for sale. Doughnuts and coffee will also be available for a donation during the day. Get involved or learn more in the classrooms, where there will be displays from local bird conservation organizations.
Free entrance event, and all ages are welcome. No registration required.
For a detailed list of all Horicon Marsh Education and Visitor Center special events, please visit the Friends of Horicon Marsh website.
Speaker Details
- 8:30 a.m.- Liz Herzmann
- Bluebirds - Speaker will be Liz Herzmann, DNR Wildlife Conservation Educator and recipient of the 2021 Bluebird Restoration Association of Wisconsin (BRAW) Educator of the Year. Liz has lived in the “new to the bluebird world” as a new homeowner 15 years ago. She has experienced the trials and tribulations of establishing a successful nest box trail. Liz now shares her experiences with her husband and 2 children at home, along with her children’s classmates at Mayville Elementary School. Liz has established a trail at the school to show students the wonders of the outdoors. Liz has a wealth of outdoor knowledge, from birds to butterflies to dragonflies to native plants.
- 9:45 a.m.- Christa Trushinsky
- Bats - Christa will present a talk focusing on bat boxes and their placement, care and maintenance, along with some biology and fun facts about Wisconsin bats. Christa has enjoyed more than 20 years of environmental education in both formal and informal settings and is proud to have been the naturalist and Director of Education for River Bend Nature Center since 2016. In the past, she has worked with the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and the Belize Zoo, doing primate research in Central America and with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the US Fish and Wildlife Service at Horicon Marsh, performing wetland ecology research regarding muskrat populations and aquatic vegetation. After earning her master’s in Conservation Biology at UW-Madison, she has become more involved with WAV (Water Action Volunteers), Snapshot Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Bat Program, and Wisconsin Master Naturalists’ Bat Ambassadors.
- 11 a.m.- Wood Ducks with Jeff Bahls
- Making Wood Duck Boxes Pro”duck”tive - Jeff has placed and monitored Wood Duck nest boxes for over 30 years and in that time produced an estimated 16,000 ducklings from the 150 nest boxes he supervises. He will share his formula for success and lessons learned along the way. He has been a lifelong outdoorsman with waterfowl leading the way into birding, paddling and an appreciation of wetlands.
This event will be held rain or shine.
For more information, please contact Liz Herzmann using the information below.
Group/Program Hosting: Horicon Marsh Education and Visitor Center
Event Location: Horicon Marsh Education and Visitor Center, N7725 Highway 28, Horicon, WI 53032
Event Contact: Liz Herzmann, elizabeth.herzmann@wisconsin.gov, 920-210-9054