Lake Superior Reserve Hosts Accessible Bird Watching Event

SUPERIOR, WI – The Lake Superior Reserve hosted a free bird observing event this morning at the Estuarium on Barker’s Island.  The focus of the event was to make birding accessible to people of all ages, knowledge and abilities. The tour was a short distance along wheelchair accessible paths and they also had wheelchair mounts available for spotting scopes.  It was an opportunity for participants to have a guided look at some of the birds that visit the Saint Louis River Estuary during the fall migration season.

“Some of the things we were looking for is if a bird flies by, what are some really quick things that you can look for to even help figure out generally what kind of bird it is. Like how fast did it go?  Was it low?  Was it high?  Could you see any colors?  What shape was its beak?  Those observation habits are really nice to practice and they’re also sort of a mindful, calming thing to focus on as well,” said Luciana Ranelli, education coordinator at the Lake Superior Reserve.

Unfortunately, the wind kept some of the birds in hiding, but there was plenty of knowledge gained on the ducks and geese hanging out on the water.  The Lake Superior Reserve does not have any other events planned yet, but hopes to have more soon.

Birding experts from the Hawk Ridge Bird Observatory and the Friends of the Lake Superior Reserve guided the birding outing. This free event was made possible through the University of Wisconsin–Madison Dean’s Innovation Grant to collaborators from Upham Woods Outdoor Learning Center, the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve (Lake Superior Reserve), Wisconsin Sea Grant, University of Wisconsin Extension, and Bayfield and Ashland counties.