First-Season Findings from Wisconsin Breeding Bird Atlas

Information gathered in the first season by more than 700 volunteers documenting bird breeding activity in Wisconsin found an impressive array of birds in the state, including eight species nesting here that weren’t found 15 years ago and range shifts in others such as the wild turkey.

“With only one breeding season down and four to go it’s too early to say how most species’ populations are changing, but we’re very pleased with participation so far and what volunteers have been able to document in these early stages,” says Nick Anich, lead coordinator of the Wisconsin Breeding Bird Atlas survey and conservation biologist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

“Turkeys are on the move and are now found in every corner of the state. We’re also seeing whooping cranes and seven other species that weren’t nesting here 15 years ago.”

With observations slowing to a trickle as the bird breeding season ends and many birds now migrating south, Anich and other leaders of the Wisconsin Breeding Bird Atlas II are taking stock of data recorded this season.

Volunteers submitted nearly 24,000 checklists documenting the location and breeding activity of more than 1.7 million birds of 229 species. The survey will continue for the next four years to document the abundance and location of Wisconsin’s breeding birds. Click here for more information.