Green Lake Bird Festival

GL Bird Festival ad 2015 - for CraneFestJoin us on April 25th as we celebrate Spring, birding, nature and conservation at the Green Lake Bird Festival.

Schedule of Events:

Friday evening, 6 pm – 7 pm:  “Birds and Brews” kick-off social in the lobby of Town Square. Join us to share a brew (beer and root beer), share a birding story, learn about the new Green Lake Bird and Nature Club, talk about the possible birds we may see on Saturday morning’s field trip to Sunnyside and to view some fabulous BIRD ART.

6 am – 8:30 am Field Trip: Green Team Birdwatching at Sunnyside Conservancy. Your walk leaders will be Tom Schultz (wildlife artist, experienced birder, and OM Whooping Crane handler) and Wendy Schultz, avid birder and founding member of the Green Lake Bird & Nature Club. Ever wonder what’s going on in Green Lake beyond the lake itself? Sunnyside is a 30 acre conservancy property in Green Lake consisting of marsh, swamp, upland prairie and oak savannah areas. With 6,500ft of shoreline, an extensive number of resident and migratory species can be found in this wildlife area (for exact meeting location see map here, page 17 of GLCVB guide, B6).

9 am – 9:30 am: Birdwalk Recap & Breakfast Social. Join us for an early morning social, with “Early Bird” coffee (special roast), tea, juice and cinnamon rolls (from Renard’s Bakery). This is great opportunity to meet fellow birders, recap the morning walk and learn more about the area. Meet at Town Square, 492 Hill St, Green Lake, WI 54941 – (920) 807.0008

courtesy of Tom Schultz

courtesy of Tom Schultz

9:30 am – 9:45 am: Welcome – Recognition of Bird City Award/International Migratory Bird Day (by Tom Schultz, and Green Lake Mayor Jon McConnell). Town Square, 492 Hill St, Green Lake, WI 54941 – (920) 807.0008

9:45 am – 10:45 am: “Woodie Watching” – The Nesting of Wood Ducks, “Beak of the Baltimore” – The Nesting of Baltimore Orioles, “Awakening, Renewal, New Life” – The Springtime Transitions of Nature. Multimedia presentations by Jack and Holly Bartholomai*. Town Square, 492 Hill St, Green Lake, WI 54941 – (920) 807.0008

10:45 am – 11:45 am: “Wisconsin’s Breeding Bird Atlas – WBBA II” – Presentation by Tom Schultz, Bird Artist & Ornithologist. Town Square, 492 Hill St, Green Lake, WI 54941 – (920) 807.0008

11:45 am – 12:15 pm:  “Green Lake’s Ospreys and the Webcam” – A Summary of the 2014 birdcam days following the return of the Osprey’s, including nesting behavior, their eggs, hatching and raising of the young. Presentation by environmentalist Paul Meuer, from the Green Lake Association, and Tom Schultz. Town Square, 492 Hill St, Green Lake, WI 54941 – (920) 807.0008

Other informational booths present: The Green Lake Bird and Nature Club, 2015 Whooping Crane Festival, Wisconsin Society for Ornithology, WI DNR & Green Lake’s Town Square – 492 Hill St, Green Lake, WI 54941 – (920) 807.0008

 For more information, please contact the Green Lake Country Visitors Bureau at 920.294.1050 or trschultz@centurytel.net

Indigo Bunting - photo courtesy of Tom Schultz

Indigo Bunting – photo courtesy of Tom Schultz

*Jack and Holly Bartholmai have been interested in the natural world since childhood and became focused on birds when they moved to 22 acres of varied habitat in rural Beaver Dam – a place they call Hickory Springs – and began feeding the birds in their yard. They are avid backyard birders with a list of 170 some species of birds that have visited Hickory Springs over the last 35 years.  As long-time members of the Horicon Marsh Bird Club, Holly has served as treasurer and Jack is the program chair. They are also on the Horicon Marsh Bird Festival planning committee and lead 2 field trips called “Night Sounds” during the festival. They have been instrumental in helping the city of Beaver Dam obtain the Bird City designation. In 2004, the Bartholmais began holding a Nest Box Seminar in Beaver Dam in conjunction with the Bluebird Restoration Association of Wisconsin and the Wood Duck Society.  They are still involved with that event which has moved to the Horicon Marsh Education and Visitors Center. Jack monitors about 125 nest boxes on trails in the Beaver Dam and Horicon area. He has been photographing wildlife in and around Dodge County for around 25 years and has contributed images to various publications including the Atlas of Breeding Birds of Wisconsin, and Mariette Nowak’s  Bridscaping in the Midwest. Jack and Holly produce presentations using his photography with music and readings selected by Holly to educate and entertain people in civic groups, clubs, churches, nursing homes, and nature centers. Their work centers on bringing the wonders of the natural world to people in a way that inspires them to appreciate and take care of the habitat and creatures found “at their back door”.