Horicon Marsh Bird Festival

Press release: Horicon Marsh Bird Club invites birders of all skill levels – as well as anyone who enjoys the great outdoors – to the 22nd Annual Horicon Marsh Bird Festival (May 9-13, 2019). This weekend-long event provides family-friendly activities and educational experiences designed to showcase Horicon Marsh’s role as an important habitat for birds and wildlife.

Highlights of this year’s Bird Festival include a keynote speech from Karla Bloem, director of the International Owl Center in Houston, MN; ‘The Big Sit’, a daylong marathon to identify as many species of birds as possible from a fixed location; and ‘Mom and Me, Dissecting Together’, a new event where we’ll discover what local owls are eating through hands-on pellet dissection (a truly unique way to spend some time with mom on Mother’s Day). See our schedule of events.

This vast wetland is both a State Wildlife Area and a National Wildlife Refuge. Originally established as habitat for migrating and nesting ducks, it has since become a stopover for Canada Geese.

Today, Horicon Marsh is increasingly recognized and managed as a wetland ecosystem for all of its plants and animals. Horicon Marsh has been designated as a Wetland of International Importance by the Ramsar Convention and a Global Important Bird Area by the American Bird Conservancy. No group of wildlife better represents the vitality of this marsh better than its birds. Over the years, a total of 304 species of birds have been sighted on this marsh.