2023 Bird of the Year t he c onnecticut war B ler

Despite its name, the Connecticut warbler is an important bird this year in Wisconsin!

This mysterious, rarely-seen warbler spends its summer in mature jack pine forest in northwestern Wisconsin, nesting on the ground and walking the forest floor looking for insects.

Though these tiny birds weigh only half an ounce, researchers have documented them flying 48 hours nonstop over open ocean to reach their winter homes in South America.

Because Connecticut warblers are reclusive and usually found in remote habitats, we have little information about this rapidly-declining bird. A recent Bird Protection Fund grant supported awareness and outreach for this and other migratory birds that winter in Central and South America. Thank you to the participants in last year’s Great Wisconsin Birdathon, and to all our Bird Protection Fund donors. You’re helping protect the Connecticut warbler and other birds in Wisconsin.

h elp the connect I c U t War B ler and other m I gratory BI rds

• Landscape with plants that are native to Wisconsin.

• Keep cats indoors.

•Reduce window collisions.

• Turn lights out at night.

• Drink shade-grown coffee.

•Donate to the Bird Protection Fund.

The Great Wisconsin Birdathon is April 15 through June 15!

Form a team, go birding and help Wisconsin’s birds at wisconservation.org/birdathon

PriVate land, Pu B lic Good

Did you know that 82% of land in Wisconsin is privately owned? At NRF, we’ve always loved and protected our public lands — and if we want to boldly protect whole landscapes in our state, we need the help of private landowners, too.

Whether you’ve got zero acres, 1/10 of an acre, or 100 acres, you can help improve habitat in Wisconsin. The bees and butterflies would love a few potted native plants on your apartment balcony!

F I eld t r I ps F eat U r I ng pr I vate land restorat I on

Learn how to best care for your prairie, wetland, forest, or savanna by attending our special selection of 22 Field Trips this year that showcase private lands restoration and management. Here are a few examples:

Trip #121: Karner Blue Butterflies

A restoration success story! Discover how a private landowner’s restoration efforts on 40+ acres of native prairie and oak savanna provides critical habitat for the federally endangered Karner blue butterfly. Dakota, Marquette Co. 6/17 10AM-12PM

Trip #196: Driftless Wetlands

Wetland habitats are vitally important but create unique management challenges for private landowners. Hear the story of one private landowner’s restoration journey along a tributary of the Kickapoo River. Note: hike on uneven terrain. Steuben, Crawford Co. 8/18 9:30AM-12PM

Trip #201: West Dane Conservancy

Revel in the sights and sounds of a late summer prairie in peak bloom at a spectacular private land restoration. Learn the basics of management plans, conservation easements, and land management funding options. Mazomanie, Dane Co. 8/22 8:30-11:30AM

See all this year’s Field Trips at wisconservation.org/field-trips

F I eld t r I ps to the v ran I ak Fam I ly land shoW hoW h U mans, WI ldl IF e, and land can s U sta I n each other Damian Vraniak’s 40-year restoration of his family’s prairie, savanna, and wetlands have been well worth it. For example, in the first year of their wood turtle conservation work, they recorded less than 100 successful hatchlings — but in 2022, there were over 500!

Biodiversity has increased, and the people who have lived on the land throughout history have inspired many of the species he planted.

Vraniak spent critical portions of his childhood on the land with his Grandfather (Menominee, Hočąk (Ho-Chunk), and Scot/French), and his Grandmother (Anishinaabe (Ojibwe), Nakota (Assiniboine) Cree and French/Irish). One of his great grandmother’s recipes for bison pemmican calls for saskatoon berries‚ so he planted saskatoon (serviceberry) trees. The traditions of his grandmothers then inspired the addition of native American chestnut and hemlock trees, an Irish potato garden and prairie turnips, the introduction of Franklin’s ground squirrels, the planting of ancient wheat and more.

Join Vraniak as he leads two Field Trips on his land this summer, #79-A and B. Identify native flowers and grasses, learn about turtle ecology (trips take place during nesting and hatching!) and become part of the history of this place yourself.

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We just went about our restoration work, step by step, season by season. When you reach certain thresholds, everything blooms and blossoms. Then, looking back, you recall all the things that you’ve done to foster such abundance.