Birding festivals growing into Junefest

By Tom LaVenture

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MERCER, Wis. — For groups involved with the fifth Mercer Bird Festival on Saturday, the event has increased its visibility by joining the annual Lupine Junefest at Carow Park.

The Bird Festival is a collaboration with the Mercer Area Chamber of Commerce and it’s still a work in progress but is doing well, said Licia Johnson, education director and naturalist at the North Lakeland Discovery Center, which started the birding event five years ago. This is the second year together with the Lupine Junefest.

“Our birding festival was traditionally around the second week of May and we pushed it back to June 1 this year to book-end with this birding event so we can do more things together,” Johnson said. “This is the first time we’ve done it this late.”

The reason the birding festivals were held in early May was to catch migrating birds on their way north and while there are few leaves on the trees, she said. These are birds that are seen here just once a year and by June the leaves make it hard to see them and the mating season has passed with fewer bird calls, she said.

“This is a little late for birding because all the leaves are out now,” Johnson said. “Spring is the best time to do your birding.”

The Lupine Junefest collaboration is important as an outreach component of the Discovery Center, she said. There are possibilities of doing more to showcase birding as a hobby, she said.

Mercer is a birding attraction during the spring with people coming from around the region, she said. The Discovery Center helps to teach how to distinguish birds and study bird behavior to spot issues that may be linked to wintering habitats, she said.

“It’s a good way to keep track of a species too in terms of their health and numbers,” Johnson said. “We do quite a few surveys throughout the year and we have a great birding club that does that as well at the center.”

Volunteer birders record and report at eBird website, a nationwide database for birding and bird sitings, she said. People are also getting exercise outdoors, having fun and learning about plants, birds and habitat, she said.

“You go out early in the morning when nobody else is out so you can see the critters moving,” Johnson said.

Dianne Briggs, a board member of the Discovery Center, said the festival helps to reach kids and adults about year-round activities. Most everything is free to use with 12 miles of summer and winter trails and kayaks to use in the lake.

“There are summer programs, field trips, pontoon rides and a bog walk — lots of stuff,” Briggs said.

The summer and winter programming includes a monarch butterfly farm and speaking events on everything from geology to wolves. The center staff presents at schools, libraries and public events, she said.

UW Extension has been present at all Junefest events to share the message that the Iron County office has a host of programs, said Amy Osal, community development educator.

“Our office also does the 4-H programming for positive youth development,” Osal said.

Darrin Kimbler, agriculture educator, said the purpose of Extension is to bring the “Wisconsin idea” that is developed at the universities into the local communities.

Kelly Martinko, the Iron County Forester Ranger for Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry, said this is the first year her office was at the event. She is reaching out to landowners who want to learn about managing woods and forests, she said.

“I can help them look at projects,” Martinko said. “It doesn’t always have to be about cutting trees and it can be improving wildlife habitat.”

Every land owner has his or her own goals and the objective is to help them meet those goals, she said. Many land owners want to increase habitat for birds and want to know what kinds of plants and trees can do that, while others want to know what treatment and management can help prevent the spread of tree diseases, she said.