The sight of Canada geese darkening autumn skies draws visitors from around the globe each year to Horicon Marsh. That still leaves 269 bird species and three seasons to find them on the largest freshwater cattail marsh in the United States. So, pack your binoculars and field guide, and let’s go. Thanks to the refuge and local business (and predicable migration routes and times) bird watching is fun, easy, and affordable. A perfect family outing!

Goose Moon is what Hudson Bay’s Cree Indians call the season of returning geese. Northbound Canada geese, en route to Hudson Bay, begin to arrive on the refuge in late February. A host of waterfowl is close on their tails in March as local ice begins to blacken and crack. Snow-white tundra swans and striking black and white ducks (scaup, goldeneye, bufflehead) crowd into small sashes of open water. After stopping by the marsh, fill up the gas tank and Thermos and head for the flooded fields. Puddle ducks such as pintails, widgeon, gadwall, and mallard are attracted to this “new” water. They can be seen, sometimes by the hundreds, their white butts tipped up, feeding on water-soaked seed and grain.

By April’s end, a deep emerald green takes hold of Dodge County’s landscape. Returning from mild wintering grounds, here to greet new buds and grasses, are a host of bright-colored birds. Showy drake wood ducks chase would-be suitors from their hens in roadside ponds and ditches Blackbirds, yellow-headed and red-winged, stake out nests in the cattails. And in tree canopies just starting to leaf out, bringing with them tropical hues, are striking songbirds indigo buntings, scarlet tanagers, and yellow warblers. May is the peak of warbler migrations. These bird calls may be distinct in sound, but they are universal in message: Spring is here! Spring is here!

Summer is the time to see resident marsh life up close and personal. Rent a canoe or a kayak from Horicon Marsh Boat Tours in Horicon and see the thrilling Four-Mile Island Heron Rookery. These prehistoric birds nest here in dead, marshside trees. Plovers, sandpipers, and other shorebirds probe mudflats for insects with their long bills. Shy rails dart in and out of the reeds. And various ringneck ducks, redhead, teal, wood duck, and mallard—raise their young on the marsh’s fertile waters.

As wood smoke trails from farmhouse chimneys, cool September nights speak to area birds. Ducks and shorebirds hatched on scattered wetlands flock up on the big marsh. This staging prepares them for their long southbound journey. Fall’s first coldfronts freeze Hudson Bay’s sedge meadows, two thousand miles north, and send Mississippi Valley Population (MVP) Canada geese into migration. MVP Canada geese begin to arrive at the marsh in mid-September. Waves of Prairie-bred gadwall, widgeon, pintail, and teal arrive in mid-October. Next come cold-weather-loving diving ducks and grain-fatted mallards from points north and west.

By November 1, the marsh may hold 60,000 ducks and 200,000 geese. From September on, hunting is in full swing. Consult DNR officials for boundary lines and/or regulations. December ice and snow force the majority of waterfowl from the area. Now raptor watching is at its best. Hawks and owls circle fields in search of the unsuspecting rabbit or pheasant; look for these raptors perched in ridges or woodlots. Bald eagles and ospreys roost along the Rock and Crawfish rivers, waiting to pluck fish from icy waters; watch for big silhouettes perched in bare riverside trees. Snow bunting, Lapland longspurs, and a variety of woodpeckers can be seen in the marsh’s uplands during winter.

Still need more elbow room for your birding? Shaw Marsh, Mud Lake, and Waterloo State Wildlife Areas offer 10,000 acres of unspoiled land in eastern Dodge County. Federal Waterfowl Production Areas, totalling 2,000 acres, can be found in the vicinity of Horicon Marsh. These areas are open to nature study year-round and hunting in season.