NAVARINO, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The sights and sounds of spring are all around.
“A lot of times you can hear them before you’re going to see them. We’ll hear them. We will hear them all over, flying overhead,” said Tim Ewing, Navarino Nature Center director and naturalist.
Sandhill cranes and other birds are arriving at places like Navarino State Wildlife Area in Shawano County.
The spring season may only be about a week old, but Navarino Nature Center Assistant Naturalist Kaylee Lietz says area migration has been filled with ups and downs.
“We’re on time, but then we stalled, and then we’re back on track again with the last couple snowstorms that we’ve gotten. It’s kind of paused different things. And then all of a sudden, the temperatures will warm back up, and we’ll see numbers keep climbing from there,” said Lietz.
Hundreds of sandhill cranes are arriving at the 15,000-acre wildlife area south of Shawano.
“It’s a very popular time for birders. We’ve been getting phone calls since the beginning of March. Are they there yet? Where are they at? How many do you have?” asked Ewing.
Ewing says an upcoming hike called “An Evening With the Sandhill Cranes” may help.
“As long as we keep it quiet, when they come from the farm fields, they’ll basically fly right over our heads, and then come down right in front of us in the flowage,” he said.
Ewing says the birds spend their days in area farm fields, where in the spring, they may eat freshly-planted corn, causing damage to the crop.
“There are programs that farmers can apply for to kind of get some money, because if you get a hundred or 200 cranes landed down on your field, it can be quite an impact,” he said.
Back in the wetlands, birding continues. From a pair of trumpeter swans to a flowage filled with cranes, and tundra swans coming in for a landing.
“It’s a great opportunity. No matter what to come out here every day. Like I tell people, you never know what you’re going to see,” said Lietz.
Migration at Navarino continues. Experts say they expect the next wave to include bluebirds, Baltimore Orioles and even hummingbirds.
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