Birding in the Center 3 Keys to the Diverse Birdlife and Birding Opportunities in Portage County

Join us 3/16 at 7 p.m. as we welcome Gerry Janz, local bird expert as he presents "Birding in the Center 3 Keys to the Diverse Birdlife and Birding Opportunities in Portage County."

Most bird watchers tend to do most of their birding pretty close to home. There may be the occasional jaunt to check out a regional hotspot or chase a particularly rare vagrant. Perhaps even a vacation trip to a more exotic birding location. But it’s the local, close to home locales that are relied upon for day to day bird walks. A lifelong resident of Central Wisconsin, Gerry has come to realize how special it is to have this area as a birding base. The birding in Portage County is very good indeed. While there are probably a number of reasons leading to that effect, this program will look at three that seem particularly important.

Gerry grew up near the confluence of the Big Eau Pleine and Wisconsin Rivers and attended the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point earning degrees in biology and outdoor education. A lifelong birdwatcher, he has conducted Breeding Bird Survey and Grassland Survey Routes for the USGS as well as Nocturnal Bird surveys. He’s an active member of the Central Wisconsin Kestrel Research team and the Aldo Leopold Chapter of the National Audubon Society. A past president of ALAS, he now serves as board member and is the compiler for the Stevens Point CBC. He continues to lead field trips for ALAS and has been a trip leader for the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology and the Natural Resources Foundation. Every May, with Nancy Stevenson, he spends a week teaching a bird field identification and behavior class at The Clearing, an immersive learning folk school in Ellison Bay, Wisconsin.

This program is free and open to the public. Register online at https://bit.ly/3nQoqhn