Bring the family and join the Ferryville Tourism Council, Bird City, Wisconsin, and the Mississippi Valley Conservancy in their cosponsored International Spring Migration Day hike on May 10.  We will be meeting at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 10 at the Ferryville Village Hall on Highway 35. 

Treats will be served as we gather for information, directions, and introductions. Then we will carpool to the trailhead at the top of the Sugar Creek Bluff Natural Area for our hike.  Bird lists will be available, and this is for beginning as well as serious bird watchers.  It will be especially geared to families!  The terrain will be level for walking.

We are recommending that each participant wear sturdy shoes, long pants with rubber bands around the base to prevent ticks, bring water and insect repellant, and dress in layers for the weather.

The Environment for the Americas, a Boulder, Colorado based group, is the agency who encourages Migration Day events in North and South America.  According to the director, Susan Bonfield, Wisconsin hosts more spring migration events than any other state.  We are proud to be one of the events, and we hope that you will join us.

We have two expert birders who have volunteered to guide us for this hike.  One is Dave Troester, the County Conservationist for Crawford County, and an expert on natural area land management who is especially familiar with the Sugar Creek Bluff State Natural Area.  He has been involved with prescribed burns, removing cedars, and controlling invasive species.  Our other leader will be Martin Murphy, a wildlife biologist and GIS specialist.  He has done extensive data collection on migratory birds, GIS mapping, and is the person responsible for the up to date bird list for the Ferryville area.  We also hope to be joined by a board member of the Mississippi Valley Conservancy, Loran Nordgren.

Our bird list currently contains 197 species.  It is available for printout on our website www.visitferryville.com and will also be available at the Village Hall on May 10.  Ferryville has recently been named the smallest Bird City in Wisconsin, and we are so excited about sharing our bird-filled area with you!

If you are able to join us for this Migration Day event, please email your RSVP to Kathy Frise at kfrise@mississippivalleyconservancy.org by May 7.   If you have questions, call Joanne White, 608-734-9018.

Let us all celebrate the return of our migratory birds: warblers, orioles, indigo buntings, and scarlet tanagers to name just a few.  We hope you will join us!  Wisconsin is the second “bird-i-est” state in the United States, and we hope your love for birds will bring you out on May 10!