Thousands of Wisconsin birders are looking forward to the 29th annual Great Backyard Bird Count this weekend.
It’s a free, global event that helps scientists understand changes in bird populations and distribution. Last year, birders from 217 countries or eBird subregions collectively reported 8,207 of the world’s known species. That included more than 165,000 checklists identifying 674 species in the United States.
Winter in Wisconsin is not the peak season for spotting birds, but the more than 3,500 participants found 128 species. Brown County birders submitted 77 checklists, with 48 species seen. That was the 13th most species reported in the state’s 72 counties.
Participants spend as little as 15 minutes tracking the birds in their favorite places, whether the backyard, afield or from a vehicle. They then submit the species seen and how many of each via the eBird or Merlin apps, or from a desktop computer or laptop.
If it’s your first time, you may want to bookmark one of these:
• Using the Merlin Bird ID app: https://www.birdcount.org/merlin-bird-id-app/
• Using eBird mobile: https://www.birdcount.org/ebird-mobile-app/
• Using eBird on a computer: https://www.birdcount.org/ebird-on-computer/
Learn more about next weekend’s count at https://www.birdcount.org/participate/. You can also take a look at the results from last year at https://www.birdcount.org/results/.
Brown County deer hunters registered 3,377 whitetails in all 2025-26 fall and winter seasons combined, including 1,609 antlered bucks. There were 1,331 deer (763 bucks) taken in the metro subunit, and 2,046 (844 bucks) in the rest of the county.
The overall harvest was the most since 2007, and the buck kill the most in at least 20 years (the chart on the County Deer Advisory Council site only goes back to 2007). The antlerless take was the fourth highest since ’07.
Statewide, the preliminary harvest of 339,473 is similar to the 2020 and 2022 seasons. The antlered buck kill of 165,753 is the most since 171,117 in 2007. That may be driven by a huge increase in crossbow use. A record 43,008 bucks were taken with crossbows, about 3,300 more than the previous high set a year earlier. Combined with 25,702 bucks with bow, that’s 68,710 bucks, or nearly 23,000 more than were taken in any archery season prior to the inclusion of crossbows for all in 2014.
Ducks Unlimited (DU) celebrated World Wetlands Day last week by communicating the importance of wetlands for people and wildlife.
Nearly 90 years ago, a small group of waterfowlers, visionaries and community leaders set out to save North America’s waterfowl populations while celebrating the continent’s solid waterfowling heritage. Stressing the critical role wetlands play across North America, DU committed to this mission at the height of the Great Depression and one of the worst droughts in history.
“Ducks Unlimited was founded by hunters in 1937, and hunters continue to make up the backbone of our membership,” said DU CEO Adam Putnam. “Thanks to the unwavering commitment of these sportsmen and women, along with the hard work of our members, volunteers, partners and supporters, Ducks Unlimited has conserved more than 19 million acres of wetlands and waterfowl habitat across North America.”
The Department of Natural Resources is again partnering with the Department of Public Instruction and more than 120 libraries across the state to provide free day passes to check out state parks.
Check Out Wisconsin State Parks At Your Library was launched 3-1/2 years ago, with 20 libraries participating. Two years later, more than 200 locations were offering the passes and state park system information kits at no cost.
Participating area libraries include Brown County Library in Green Bay, the Oneida Community Library, and Brown County’s Ashwaubenon Branch (1060 Orlando Drive), East Branch, Kress Family Branch, Southwest Branch, Weyers-Hilliard Branch, Wrightstown Branch and Green Earth Branch.
Check out some of the most stunning images from the more than 16 million photos that people contributed to the Cornell Lab’s Macaulay Library through eBird last year at https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/macaulay-library-best-bird-photos-2026/.
Lake Michigan water levels are four inches lower than last year, and 48 inches below the all-time February high set in 2020. Water levels are still about a foot below long-term averages, but 17 inches above the record monthly low, set in 1964.
If you’ve heard about the terrific sea lamprey documentary, “The Fish Thief,” but haven’t yet seen it, here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8toayz9KfkY.
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