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Our facility is open Monday through Friday, 9am to 4pm, and from 10am to 2pm on weekends.

Visit us. Everyday, our trails are free and open from dawn until dusk.

Our facility will be closed on Friday, Mar 21st for an all-staff meeting.

Our building will reopen to the public at 10am on Saturday, Mar 22nd.

Everyday, our trails are free and open from dawn until dusk.

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Gobble gobble! It’s courtship season for turkeys

Gobble gobble! It’s courtship season for turkeys!
If you haven’t seen it yet, the mating behavior of adult male turkeys, called toms or gobblers, resembles that of peacocks. They try to attract females by puffing up their feathers, spreading their tails, gobbling loudly, and dragging their wings… And this behavior, called strutting, is certainly a sight to see!
Closely related males, such as brothers or half-siblings, often strut together in flocks to court females and chase off other competing males. Interestingly, only the dominant brother mates, while the subordinate brothers serve as “wingmen”. Over the mating season, dominant males with wingmen are more likely to successfully breed with multiple females than solo males. Even if the wingmen don't mate, in evolutionary terms, their genes get passed on because of kinship.
What other signs of spring do you see? Visit us for a hike or take a walk around your neighborhood to observe life cycle events that are influenced by seasonal changes!
Photo: Stephanie Briand, Aldo Leopold Nature Center
#PhenologyFriday #WildTurkeyCourtship #WIEnviroEd #NatureIsEverywhere #NatureIsForEveryone #EveryBodyOutside

American goldfinch, the wild canary of North Ameri

American goldfinch, the wild canary of North America!
This yellow bird, with its calming song, is a year-round resident of Wisconsin. You might not have noticed, however, because for half of the year, the males are missing their bright yellow colors. The American goldfinch is the ONLY finch that molts its feathers twice a year. Molting, of course, is the process of a bird shedding their old feathers to replace them with new ones.
When male goldfinches molt in late winter, they get their breeding plumage: bright yellow with black forehead and tail. They also have black wings with contrasting white wing bars. At the end of the summer, it’s time to switch to a warmer plumage that is less showy: they lose their black forehead and their bright yellow becomes a dull brownish-gold. Females and juveniles look similar to non-breeding males. To identify them year-round, look for their short, conical bill and notched tail!
Another surprising fact about American goldfinches is that they keep a strict vegetarian diet. They are not interested in insects and invertebrates, and this preference actually helps them avoid brood parasites, such as cowbirds. Brown-headed cowbirds lay their eggs in other bird nests, relying on them to raise their young. This tactic doesn’t work with American goldfinches because cowbird chicks cannot survive on a vegetarian diet!
Lastly, paired goldfinches have very interesting behaviors. They tune their flight calls to be nearly identical, which may help other goldfinches distinguish pairs of birds. American goldfinches breed later than most North American birds, waiting to nest until mid-summer. This is because they must wait for plants to produce fibrous materials for their nests and plenty of seeds to feed their young.
Visit us for a hike or take a walk around your neighborhood to see if you can spot this beloved songbird!
Photo: Wikimedia commons
#PhenologyUpdate #AmericanGoldfinch #WIEnviroEd #NatureIsEverywhere #NatureIsForEveryone #EveryBodyOutside

Thank you to everyone who has already purchased pl

Thank you to everyone who has already purchased plants at our native plant sale!
We’ve already sold 399 plants and raised $1,995 to support both children’s environmental education and our local pollinators. 🐝🌼💛
Help us reach our goal to raise $3,000! There are still plenty of plants to purchase through the end of the month. We have varieties that are suitable for sunny, shady, and wet areas, and plants are available as 2×2 plugs for $5 each.
Stop in to buy them on-site or pre-order online.
Another big round of applause goes to our partners Good Oak Ecological Services and Quercus Land Stewardship Services for providing the native plants for the sale. This event would not have been possible without their support.
More information about all the plants available and pre-order here: https://aldoleopoldnaturecenter.org/event/pre-order-online-native-plant-sale/
Photo: Stephanie Briand, Aldo Leopold Nature Center
#ThankfulThursday #NativePlantSale #WIEnviroEd #NatureIsEverywhere #NatureIsForEveryone #EveryBodyOutside @goodoakecologicalservices @quercuslandstewardship

Aldo Leopold Nature Center is at Aldo Leopold Nature Center.

6 hours ago

Gobble gobble! It’s courtship season for turkeys!If you haven’t seen it yet, the mating behavior of adult male turkeys, called toms or gobblers, resembles that of peacocks. They try to attract females by puffing up their feathers, spreading their tails, gobbling loudly, and dragging their wings… And this behavior, called strutting, is certainly a sight to see!Closely related males, such as brothers or half-siblings, often strut together in flocks to court females and chase off other competing males. Interestingly, only the dominant brother mates, while the subordinate brothers serve as “wingmen”. Over the mating season, dominant males with wingmen are more likely to successfully breed with multiple females than solo males. Even if the wingmen don't mate, in evolutionary terms, their genes get passed on because of kinship.What other signs of spring do you see? Visit us for a hike or take a walk around your neighborhood to observe life cycle events that are influenced by seasonal changes!Photo: Stephanie Briand, Aldo Leopold Nature Center#PhenologyFriday #WildTurkeyCourtship #WIEnviroEd #NatureIsEverywhere #NatureIsForEveryone #EveryBodyOutside ...

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Aldo Leopold Nature Center

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330 Femrite Drive
Monona, WI 53716

Phone: (608) 221-0404
Fax: (608) 709-1611

alnc@aldoleopoldnaturecenter.org

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Saturday and Sunday: 10am to 2pm

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ABOUT
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