DIckcissel perched on the edge of a branch, yellow chest and eye stripe popping against a soft green background. Photo by Jeff Galligan.
EVENT FULL: Register below to join the wait list!
Join us for a day of birding at the historic Badger Lands Army Ammunition Plant! We’ll be on the lookout for notable grassland bird species, including Bell’s Vireo. Whether you're a seasoned birder or just starting out, this is the perfect opportunity to connect with nature and like-minded individuals.
What to Expect
Our day will start with a tour of the Museum of Badger Army Ammunition, followed by multiple stops featuring the natural and cultural history of Badger over millennia. We will be joined by guides with the Sauk Prairie Conservation Alliance! To see a diversity of landscapes on this 7,000 acre site, we’ll be using cars to go between locations. While we won’t be "windshield birding," we’ll meet at the museum to share directions and offer carpooling to those who are interested.
As a reminder, the museum is the only location of bathrooms along our route.
Trail surfaces are a mixture of maintained roads, not-maintained roads, gravel, old fields, and undeveloped woods/shrubs/prairie. Depending on the sites chosen, there may be concrete or metal items left over from the ammunition plant. Trip leaders have been doing biological research at Badger for decades and can help navigate these hazards.
We're expecting to spend most of the time absorbing the bird life in a limited area, rather than covering a lot of ground. The exception is the Great Sauk State Trail. We may walk up to 1 mile on this well-maintained trail.
Location
Meeting place information will be provided to registered attendees.
Species List (eBird)
Mourning Dove 4
Killdeer 1
Great Blue Heron 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee 1
Willow Flycatcher 2
Eastern Phoebe 1
Great Crested Flycatcher 3
Eastern Kingbird 2
Bell's Vireo 2
Blue Jay 1
Tree Swallow 8
European Starling 6
Gray Catbird 1
Brown Thrasher 2
Northern Mockingbird 1
American Robin 2
Cedar Waxwing 4
American Goldfinch 3
Grasshopper Sparrow 1
Chipping Sparrow 4
Clay-colored Sparrow 1
Field Sparrow 3
Henslow's Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 2
Bobolink 1
Eastern Meadowlark 4
Baltimore Oriole 1
Red-winged Blackbird 12
Brown-headed Cowbird 4
Common Yellowthroat 1
American Redstart 1
Yellow Warbler 2
Northern Cardinal 2
Rose-breasted Grosbeak 1
Indigo Bunting 1
Dickcissel 4