The BIPOC Birding Club was invited to spend a very special afternoon at the Aldo Leopold Foundation on Sunday November 23rd, from 2 pm - 5 pm. We will be given a private tour of the land and spend time in a blind to view migrating Sandhill Cranes up close!
We are honored to have Aldo Leopold Foundation Education Coordinator McCale Carter and Education Fellow Kei Kohmoto as our guides. McCale informed me that she would like to focus our time together on birding within the Leopold-Pine Island IBA (Important Birding Area) and thought we could start with a tour of the Leopold Shack and Farm. This is the space in which Aldo Leopold recorded the majority of his ornithological field notes, and the heart of their Foundation. She hopes we will see or hear many of the birds that Aldo wrote about within A Sand County Almanac.
After the Shack tour we will take a 15 minute “open air” truck ride to the crane blind situated along the Wisconsin River, to witness upwards of 10,000 cranes coming in to roost at one of Wisconsin’s largest staging sites.
Schedule
2:00-2:20 Welcome to the Aldo Leopold Foundation
2:20-3:20 Birding at the Leopold Shack and Farm
3:20-3:40 Transfer to the Crane Blind
3:40-4:40 Crane Viewing
4:40-5:00 Transfer Back to Vehicles
Their is a blind limit of 22, so it is first come, first serve! You can register via the Eventbrite link on our Facebook page.
We will meet at the Aldo Leopold Foundation, E13701 Levee Road. McCale and Kei will meet us at the main entrance at 2:00 pm. There are a few resources for driving directions below.
(Click here for directions to the Leopold Center from your location. Please note that they are in a rural area, and there is minimal signage posted along the route. Call at 608-355-0279 if you have any questions now, or while in route. Please note that although the majority of this program will be held outdoors, The foundation does currently require masks within the building and crane blind.
Please bring hats, gloves and warm layers as it is likely to be cold at that time and blinds are generally not very warm.
For more information regarding the Aldo Leopold Foundation and the cranes you can explore their website.
Photo by Aldo Leopold Foundation