Wildlife Habitat_Content Page_Birding

Birding And Bird Conservation

Wisconsin is home to over 300 species of birds and thousands of birding enthusiasts. Explore the links below for information on birds, bird identification, birding locations and how to get involved in conservation efforts.

 

Birdfeeder Tips

Ten Tips For Winter Bird Feeding

Winter is a great time to feed the birds, as higher energy demands and fewer natural foods allow us to bring some species closer to home.

  1. The best seed to provide is black oil sunflower, which has high-fat content and attracts the most species.
  2. Offer nyjer seed for finches, white millet for sparrows, doves and other ground-feeding species, and both suet and peanut chunks for woodpeckers, chickadees and nuthatches.
  3. Avoid generic seed mixes as these tend to have more waste and attract less desired bird and mammal species.
  4. Deter squirrels with cone- or dome-shaped baffles above hanging feeders or below pole-mounted feeders.
  5. Place feeders closer than 3 feet or farther than 30 feet from your home to avoid the deadliest window collision zone.
  6. Minimize disease by cleaning your feeders at least once every two weeks using soapy water and a 10% bleach solution.
  7. Provide covers such as brush piles or dense shrubs for roosting and escaping predators.
  8. Offer water to attract a wider variety of species, using a heating element when temperatures dip below freezing.
  9. "Birdscape" your property with native plants such as fruit-bearing shrubs and evergreen trees.
  10. Contribute to bird science and management by reporting birds you see at your feeder. The Great Backyard Bird Count, hosted every February, is an easy, fun way to get started. For at least 15 minutes, tally the numbers and kinds of birds you see on one or more days. Project Feederwatch spans the entire winter.

Find Birds

Explore the information below to learn more about great birding places in Wisconsin.

Report a Bird

Amateur birders have always been leaders in the field of citizen science. The following links provide several web-based tools to report and track your daily bird sightings. DNR and conservation partners use data across the hemisphere to monitor migratory bird populations.

  • Wisconsin eBird allows you to report and track your daily sightings from birding excursions and at home. It also allows you to explore real-time bird sightings from other birders across the state.
  • Wisconsin Society for Ornithology provides a variety of ways to document rare birds and how to use eBird for seasonal reports.
  • Report a banded bird at the U.S. Geological Survey bird banding lab website. This website includes both aluminum leg bands and some other colored leg bands and wing markers used by scientists to track individual birds.
  • The Great Backyard Bird Count is a global project to record bird abundance and distribution once a year in February. You can contribute to our understanding of Wisconsin birds during that time by watching birds in your backyard or elsewhere and reporting your observations.
  • Report a banded racing pigeon through the American Racing Pigeon Union website. Racing pigeon bands will start with the letters "AU."
  • Report a rare bird using a fillable report form. This form is used for species on Wisconsin's Natural Heritage Working List.
  • Report a Whooping Crane at the whooping crane reporting website for the eastern U.S.
  • Report a sick or dead bird by using our directory of wildlife rehabilitators or contacting your local DNR office.

Bird ID and Information

The links below provide helpful tips for identifying birds and information on their biology, status and conservation in Wisconsin.

  • Cornell Lab of Ornithology: All About Birds website contains information on most North American species, including pictures, videos and songs/calls. Also, see the great series of online videos on being a better birder.
  • Audubon's Online Guide to North American Birds provides excellent accounts of all Wisconsin species, including range maps, illustrations, habitats, photos, sounds and more.
  • The USGS's Dendroica is an interactive website to help students, volunteers and professionals improve their skills at identifying wildlife by sight or by sound, particularly so that they can participate in nature surveys and monitoring programs.
  • Wisconsin All-bird Conservation Plan contains species accounts, habitat management guidance and other relevant conservation information.
  • Wisconsin Breeding Bird Atlas II completed fieldwork in 2019. See what species are nesting, where they are found and how these compare to the first Atlas conducted two decades ago.
  • Wisconsin's rare birds contain information on Wisconsin's endangered and threatened birds as well as species of greatest conservation need.

Create Habitat

  • Establish native plants for birds to use as feeding, resting and nesting sites. For information on what to plant and Wisconsin native plant nurseries, visit the DNR's Plant Native Plants webpage.
  • Read how Wisconsinites are taking steps to help birds in the Fall 2020 Wisconsin Natural Resources magazine.
  • Learn about ten great native plants, trees and shrubs to plant for birds.
  • Provide more food for birds and maintain a healthier natural environment by removing plants not native to your area.
  • Provide fresh water for birds. A frog pond, water garden, fountain or even a shallow, regularly cleaned dish of water will get lots of bird use, especially if the water is dripping, moving or otherwise making a sound.
  • Maintain bird feeders in your yard, placed at least 30 feet from windows and near the natural protection of trees and shrubs; fruit, suet, and mealworms can supplement traditional seeds such as black sunflower and niger seed.
  • Build a brush pile for shelter from predators and the weather.
  • Add nest boxes for species like bluebirds or chickadees that nest and roost in cavities.
  • Prevent collisions with window glass with non-reflective window coatings, window screens, awnings, flash tape, paracord or bird netting. Visit Preventing Bird Collisions at Home by the American Bird Conservancy for DIY ideas.
  • Keep cats indoors or confined to an outdoor enclosure to help reduce the hundreds of millions of birds killed by cats in the U.S. each year.
  • Limit or avoid pesticide use on your property. Pesticides harm birds directly through exposure/contact and indirectly by reducing the insect populations they need to survive. Birds are natural pesticides.

How to Help

See the links below for ways to get involved in birding and bird conservation efforts around the state.