Chequamegon Audubon Society

10/09/2025

Lead poisoning leeches into the bloodstream and causes neurological symptoms and shuts down internal organs. Most likely this juvenile recently ingested this lead sinker, but still had the energy to take off. While flying, the effects of this toxin leeching into his bloodstream caused him to become disoriented and crash landed hard on his bill.
IF this juvenile did not ingest this fatal lead sinker, we would be continuing his journey south!
We sound like a broken record, lead tackle kills our loons and other wildlife.
It is SO PREVALENTABLE by switching to lead free tackle such as tungsten, steel, tin, bismuth, and glass.
PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD TO GET THE LEAD OUT OF YOUR TACKLE BOXES…it will save a loon from this senseless death!

Send a message to learn more

10/08/2025

10/08/2025

!SPARROW APPRECIATION POST!

If September belongs to warblers, then October is surely the month of sparrows. As short-distance migrants (with the exceptional few making it down into southern Central America) sparrow migration through NW Ohio is later than other songbirds, extending from about mid-September into mid-November.

While many migrating sparrows begin appearing in September (including the Lincoln's Sparrow whose peak is right at the end of September) October is really when these birds move en masse through the region, with White-throated, White-crowned, and Song Sparrow leading the charge. The appearance of the American Tree Sparrow toward November is often the signal that fall migration is nearing its end and that the next season will soon be upon us.

Because of their subdued colors and patterns, sparrows are often confounding to people, earning the group as a whole the throwaway nickname "little brown birds" or "little brown jobs." But rather than simply impress with flash, sparrow plumage begs for closer inspection, revealing a plethora of earthly colors. A wide array of brown, russet, tan, rust, red, peat, loam... These birds are truly made of the rich soil they scratch in.

And while many may share the similarity of being "streaky," each sparrow species has its own style and placement of streaks (or lack thereof). When searching for an identification, streaking on the breast is often the place to start, noting its presence or absence and deducing from there.

For a full look at the timing of fall migration visit the BSBO website, here: https://www.bsbo.org/timing-of-fall-migration.html

10/08/2025

You cut the line and walked away.
But it didn’t disappear.

To you, it was trash.
To me, it’s a noose.

One forgotten strand of fishing line can silence a life forever. Please pack it out, every time.

10/08/2025

There's another major migration push predicted, so here are a few BIG ways you can help birds RIGHT NOW!

💡 Turn your lights off between 11pm and 6am this week.
🐦 Help survey a newly added site as part of the Bird Collision Corps, once a week, now thru 11/1: swibirds.org/bcc
🎨 Join us with Dane County Humane Society's Wildlife Center this weekend (10/11) for a crafty event to raise awareness about this problem: swibirds.org/crafting
🏡 Come to Middleton Public Library next week (10/16) to learn how you can reduce collisions at your own home: swibirds.org/events

Graphic courtesy of BirdCast (Cornell Lab of Ornithology). A migration map of the US shows a large number of birds predicted to migrate through much of Wisconsin and the central part of the country on the night of October 7.

10/08/2025

When looking at the differences between Swainson's Thrush (SWTH) and Gray-cheeked Thrush (GCTH), note the overall richer colors of the SWTH (russety-brown olive) compared to the cool gray-olive of the GCTH (as if they're a desaturated thrush).

The buffy eye ring and lores of the SWTH typically stand out compared to other thrushes, whereas GCTH may show a hint of an eye ring and varying little streaks in the face, but are overall uniform gray.

Learn about the timing of thrush migration and more at BSBO's Bird Migrations Profiles by clicking here: https://www.bsbo.org/thrushes-mimids-waxwings.html

10/08/2025

10/04/2025

Make sure to join us tomorrow October 4th to learn more about Saw-whet Owls and how they can use your help!

RSVP here:https://www.cablemuseum.org/event/saw-whet-owls-in-bayfield-county/

09/30/2025

The irreverent and wildly entertaining birding documentary “Listers” has been viewed more than a million times since its creators, the Reiser brothers, posted it on YouTube a month ago. Check out our interview with the Reisers get to know the filmmakers, who decided to attempt a Big Year while knowing nothing about birds.

Owen and Quentin Reiser take us behind the scenes of “Listers” and preview their next project.

09/30/2025