My Husband and I just had a fun birding weekend in Horicon, Wisconsin that I thought I'd share for those who don't know about the Horicon Marsh. This is a HUGE marsh that is partly owned by the State and partly Federally owned. Most of the marsh isn't accessible by car but you can bike, hike, canoe, etc. in designated areas. There is an auto loop on the northern end that has a huge floating boardwalk. You can experience the marsh via pontoon boat from the Blue Heron Landing in town. They have one hour boat tours, one and a half sunset cruises, and two hour birding boat excursions. The "Captain" of the pontoon boat is VERY knowledgeable about the area birds and knows all about the area as he was very young (I believe he said 11 years old) when he gave his first tour. His Father started the business. He has a good ear for birds that you can't see but can identify by sound. He also has a great sense of humor.
We stayed at the Audubon Inn which was built in 1896. The rooms are very charming and the Inn's Restaurant is excellent. The best time to go would be the month of May but we definitely enjoyed seeing the Sandhill Crane, Egret, Green Heron, Great Blue Heron, Belted Kingfisher, Black Tern, Wood Duck, Tree Swallow, Barn Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Robin, Blue Jay, Black-capped Chicadee, etc. 36 different birds were seen on the birding cruise with others heard but not seen. We even found baby swallows in their nest being fed by Mom! CUTE! Horicon, WI also has Bird Festival in May which is supposed to be worth going to. Linda and Kevin Krueger www.FlightOfNature.com ---- Join or Leave mou-net: http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=mou-net Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html
