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Endangered Resources News & Events
Donate to the Wisconsin Endangered Resources Fund!
Now you can make your donation online at our new Endangered Resources Online Donation Center! It's easy, fast, and efficient! Individuals can make their donation to the Endgangered Resources Fund with a credit card or eCheck.
Original Watercolor Painting "Through the Eyes of John Muir" by Janet Flynn
Now you can own a beautiful limited edition print of this original watercolor painting of the boyhood home of John Muir! Available in two sizes, the signed limited-edition prints will make a great gift any occasion. In addition, a beautiful poster and note cards complete the line. The image depicts a variety of native species of plants and animals in rich vibrant colors. Proceeds from this select line of products helps the Endangered Resources Program continue its work to preserve species for future generations. Read More...
Wisconsin osprey chicks moving to Iowa
Wisconsin's growing and thriving osprey population is being used to start populations in Kansas and Iowa. The two chicks plucked from the nest at the edge of Rice Lake, along with eight other chicks taken Monday and Tuesday last week, are destined for Iowa, which has paid $550 per osprey, averaging 10 each year, since 1996. The money, which is raised through private donations in Iowa, covers the expenses in Wisconsin including transportation and aerial surveys of nests as well as health exams at The Raptor Center in Minnesota. Read more...(exit DNR)
Young Peregrine Falcons Learning to Fly
Three young falcons are now honing their flying and hunting skills atop the
MG&E power station in downtown Madison. Since the adult's arrival in March,
wildlife experts and bird lovers have been watching the birds and their historic
nesting attempt closely. When the young were 3 weeks old they were banded, which
will allow researchers to track and study their movements. It is hoped that
with this year's successful rearing of young falcons that the adults will return
again next year after their long journey south and back again next spring.
See
videos of the young being banded and now flying...
Another Peregrine Falcon Success for Wisconsin 
When a pair of peregrine falcons took up residence in Ashland, it was the first time biologists knew of this species nesting there. Now, it appears the same falcon pair has successfully fledged three chicks from their historic nest site on the Ashland Ore Dock. Read more....
Peregrine Chicks Banded
The three falcon chicks that hatched in a nest box located on MG&E's Blount
Generating Station in Madison have now been banded. Scientists will use the
bands to track and study the birds. This reflects a success story for Wisconsin's
peregrine population which now has 27 nesting pairs. The nest box was built
by the plant manager and his son for which two of the chicks are named. The
box can easily be seen from the Isthmus bike path.
Read
background about the birds or Visit
the MGE website (exit DNR) for videos.
A warble from the barrens
On a windless June morning in a dewy pine barren, a tiny, colorful bird adds its song to the typical chorus of Wisconsin's shrubland birds. Amid the melodious notes of vesper sparrows and bouncing calls of field sparrows, a distinctive chip chip che-way-o announces the presence of a rare, elusive species- the Kirtland's warbler. The male's song is followed by chipping calls from the female. She alights on a pine branch and is photographed, marking the first time a female of this species has been seen in Wisconsin. Careful scrutiny leads to another first discovery on this fine morning. Concealed among grasses under a pine branch is a Kirtland's warbler nest containing five eggs! Read More...
$950,000 destined for private land habitat management in Driftless Area
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Secretary Matt Frank today announced the state has received a $559,602 from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's State Wildlife Grant Program to enhance privately owned prairie and savanna habitat throughout the driftless area of Wisconsin in coming months along with $397,486 in state and private matching funds. Funds will be distributed through Wisconsin's Landowner Incentive Program. Read More...
State of the Birds - The 2009 Report
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar issued a comprehensive report on bird populations in the US showing the decline of birds and solutions to reverse the trend. View the Report (exit DNR).
Trumpeter Swans... For Generations To Come
The Wisconsin DNR is proud to announce the availability of a new DVD video for sale, titled: "Trumpeter Swans... For Generations To Come." This informative video covers the history of the recovery effort from its early years in the late 1980's to the present. The video includes spectacular footage from Alaskan egg collections to restoration efforts at Crex Meadows and elsewhere, and features several interviews with principal players highlighting the many public-private partnerships that have made it a nationally recognized conservation success story. Length: 25 minutes. Cost: $25. To order this DVD, mail a check made out to the Department of Natural Resources to: DNR Video/EI, PO BOX 7921, Madison WI 53707-7921, or call (608) 266-6790. You may view a promo clip of the video below:
Trumpeter swan sighting is worth, well, trumpeting
Sixteen years ago, a young trumpeter swan was released in northwestern Wisconsin. Last week, that bird's great-grandchild, now 3 years old, gave Hoosiers along the Wabash River a bit of excitement. Read the Article (exit DNR)
New Birding and Nature Trail Guide!
The Great Wisconsin Birding and Nature Trail is your invitation to observe the fascinating and diverse world of wildlife that exists in every corner of Wisconsin. This fifth in a series of five guides – the Southern Savanna Birding and Nature Trail – covers thirteen Wisconsin counties in the southcentral portion of the state. Published in 2008, it includes 78 waypoints from the 30,000-acre Horicon National Wildlife Refuge in the east to Yellowstone State Park in the west. The first four guides in the series – the Lake Superior Northwoods edition released in 2004, the Mississippi/Chippewa Rivers edition from 2005, the Lake Michigan edition from 2006, and the Central Sands edition from 2007 – are all still available in limited numbers. View the Guide! [PDF 9.2MB]
Bring Back The Cranes!
Watch whooping cranes following ultralight airplanes and interacting with costumed biologists! This video provides information about the whooping cranes' decline, previous and current reintroduction efforts, and how whooping cranes learn to migrate from Wisconsin to the southern U.S. by following ultralight aircraft. View the Video [VIDEO Length 18:31].
To order a copy of this DVD, please print, complete, and mail the order form [PDF 12KB]. Educators may obtain a free copy by calling (608) 267-9351.
Second Edition of Great Wisconsin Birding and Nature Trail Checklist Available!
For this Second Edition, 5 species have been added to the Checklist (Cackling Goose, White-winged Tern, Greenbreasted Mango, Rock Wren, Great-tailed Grackle) and one has been deleted (Streak-backed Oriole) based on input from Bill Mueller, the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology’s Conservation Chair. Other checklist elements have also been updated to reflect the most current information on Wisconsin birds. View the Checklist [PDF 1.25MB]
Wisconsin Frog and Toad Survey
The Bureau of Endangered Resources’ Ecological Inventory and Monitoring Section
and Beaver Creek Reserve’s Citizen Science Center in Fall Creek, WI have recently
completed updates to the existing Wisconsin
Frog and Toad Survey (WFTS) web site (exit DNR)
and associated volunteer survey manual. The Wisconsin Frog and Toad Survey is
a citizen-based monitoring program coordinated by the Bureau of Endangered Resources
and the Bureau of Science Services at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
The primary purpose of the WFTS is to determine the status, distribution, and
long-term population trends of Wisconsin’s thirteen frog species. The new WFTS
site is intended to be a resource for WFTS volunteers as well as a general resource
on identification of Wisconsin frogs and their calls, WFTS calling survey protocols
and analyses, and WFTS publications. Current WFTS volunteers will receive their
new survey manuals in March when yearly materials are distributed. Funding for
this project was provided by the Citizen-based Monitoring Network of Wisconsin.
Caring for the Swans
Trumpeter swans are making an impressive comeback in Wisconsin. Nick Vander Puy from the Superior Broadcast Network checks out a swan nesting lake with DNR avian ecologist Pat Manthey. Pat Manthey is an avian ecologist who cares for trumpeter swans because trumpeter swans were missing from Wisconsin and the DNR Bureau of Endangered Resources attempts to restore animals that were adversely impacted by humans. More... (exit DNR)
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