A group of colleagues from the Wisconsin Stopover Initiative, including partners within the Endangered Resources division of the Wisconsin DNR, the Western Great Lakes Bird and Bat Observatory, and other entities, will be hosting a one-day workshop entitled "Grosbeaks Galore!" on Saturday, October 8, at the Forest Beach Migratory Preserve, just north of Port Washington, in Ozaukee County. Learn how to use native plants to attract and SUSTAIN migratory songbirds and the insects they feed on - and much more!

Fee is only $5, and includes a lunch, a list of excellent speakers and both indoor and outdoor presentations and activities.

Speakers and topics include:

Dr. Doug Tallamy - University of Delaware – (Keynote Speaker) - author of "Bringing Nature Home": saving the ecosystem-sustaining matrix of insects and animals


Kim Grveles - Wisconsin DNR: Stopover ecology: providing an oasis for birds


Craig Thompson - Wisconsin DNR: Orioles to Ocelots: The winter homes of “our” birds: what’s going on in the tropics


Vicki Piaskowski - formerly of Birds Without Borders – Aves Sin Fronteras, Zoological Society of Milwaukee: Which birds to expect on your property in WI; why they are where they are


Mariette Nowak - author of "Birdscaping in the Midwest": Wisconsin plants that birds use: which plants to choose in your location


Bill Mueller & Scott Diehl - Western Great Lakes Bird & Bat Observatory and Wisconsin Humane Society - Wildlife Rehabilitation Center: ELIMINATE Threats to birds - learn about them, how to prevent window collisions and eliminate other dangers


Dr. Noel Cutright - Western Great Lakes Bird and Bat Observatory: Connecting Migrant Birds with the Landscape; planning for future events, WGLBBO news

In addition to these speakers, there will be activities both indoors and outdoors, native plant vendors and restoration consultants, displays and presentations on the Bird City Wisconsin program, invasive plants and how to deal with them on your land, water features for birds, a bird-banding demonstration area, and guided walks around Forest Beach Migratory Preserve, which is being developed specifically for migratory songbirds. Come look at our preserve, learn what we are doing, and how you can attract many more bird species to your land or yard and provide habitat for them!

Thanks for your assistance with promoting this event. Please register to save your spot at this event! Call or write Kim Grveles at the Wisconsin DNR to register: Phone: 608-264-8594 E-mail: Kim.Grveles@Wisconsin.gov